第234章

The Mahasni - Sin Samani - The Bazaar - Moorish Saints - See the Ayana! -The Prickly Fig - Jewish Graves - The Place of Carcases -The Stable Boy - Horses of the Moslem - Dar Dwag.

I was standing in the market-place, a spectator of much the same scene as I have already described, when a Moor came up to me and attempted to utter a few words in Spanish.He was a tall elderly man, with sharp but rather whimsical features, and might have been called good-looking, had he not been one-eyed, a very common deformity in this country.His body was swathed in an immense haik.Finding that I could understand Moorish, he instantly began talking with immense volubility, and I soon learned that he was a Mahasni.He expatiated diffusely on the beauties of Tangier, of which he said he was a native, and at last exclaimed, "Come, my sultan, come, my lord, and I will show you many things which will gladden your eyes, and fill your heart with sunshine; it were a shame in me, who have the advantage of being a son of Tangier, to permit a stranger who comes from an island in the great sea, as you tell me you do, for the purpose of seeing this blessed land, to stand here in the soc with no one to guide him.By Allah, it shall not be so.Make room for my sultan, make room for my lord," he continued, pushing his way through a crowd of men and children who had gathered round us; "it is his highness' pleasure to go with me.This way, my lord, this way"; and he led the way up the hill, walking at a tremendous rate and talking still faster."This street," said he, "is the Siarrin, and its like is not to be found in Tangier; observe how broad it is, even half the breadth of the soc itself; here are the shops of the most considerable merchants, where are sold precious articles of all kinds.Observe those two men, they are Algerines and good Moslems; they fled from Zair (ALGIERS) when the Nazarenes conquered it, not by force of fighting, not by valour, as you may well suppose, but by gold; the Nazarenes only conquer by gold.The Moor is good, the Moor is strong, who so good and strong? but he fights not with gold, and therefore he lost Zair.

"Observe you those men seated on the benches by those portals: they are Mahasniah, they are my brethren.See their haiks how white, see their turbans how white.O that you could see their swords in the day of war, for bright, bright are their swords.Now they bear no swords.Wherefore should they?

Is there not peace in the land? See you him in the shop opposite? That is the Pasha of Tangier, that is the Hamed Sin Samani, the under Pasha of Tangier; the elder Pasha, my lord, is away on a journey; may Allah send him a safe return.Yes, that is Hamed; he sits in his hanutz as were he nought more than a merchant, yet life and death are in his hands.There he dispenses justice, even as he dispenses the essence of the rose and cochineal, and powder of cannon and sulphur; and these two last he sells on the account of Abderrahman, my lord and sultan, for none can sell powder and the sulphur dust in his land but the sultan.Should you wish to purchase atar del nuar, should you wish to purchase the essence of the rose, you must go to the hanutz of Sin Samani, for there only you will get it pure; you must receive it from no common Moor, but only from Hamed.May Allah bless Hamed.The Mahasniah, my brethren, wait to do his orders, for wherever sits the Pasha, there is a hall of judgment.See, now we are opposite the bazaar; beneath yon gate is the court of the bazaar; what will you not find in that bazaar? Silks from Fez you will find there; and if you wish for sibat, if you wish for slippers for your feet, you must seek them there, and there also are sold curious things from the towns of the Nazarenes.Those large houses on our left are habitations of Nazarene consuls; you have seen many such in your own land, therefore why should you stay to look at them? Do you not admire this street of the Siarrin? Whatever enters or goes out of Tangier by the land passes through this street.Oh, the riches that pass through this street! Behold those camels, what a long train; twenty, thirty, a whole cafila descending the street.Wullah! I know those camels, I know the driver.Good day, O Sidi Hassim, in how many days from Fez? And now we are arrived at the wall, and we must pass under this gate.This gate is called Bab del Faz; we are now in the Soc de Barra."The Soc de Barra is an open place beyond the upper wall of Tangier, on the side of the hill.The ground is irregular and steep; there are, however, some tolerably level spots.In this place, every Thursday and Sunday morning, a species of mart is held, on which account it is called Soc de Barra, or the outward market-place.Here and there, near the town ditch, are subterranean pits with small orifices, about the circumference of a chimney, which are generally covered with a large stone, or stuffed with straw.These pits are granaries, in which wheat, barley, and other species of grain intended for sale are stored.On one side are two or three rude huts, or rather sheds, beneath which keep watch the guardians of the corn.It is very dangerous to pass over this hill at night, after the town gates are closed, as at that time numerous large and ferocious dogs are let loose, who would to a certainty pull down, and perhaps destroy, any stranger who should draw nigh.