Genoese Mariners—Saint Michael’s Cave—Midnight Abysses—Young American—A
Slave Proprietor—The Fairy Man—Infidelity.
Throughout the whole of that night it blew very hard, but, as the wind
was in the Levant quarter, I had no apprehension of being detained longer
at Gibraltar on that account. I went on board the vessel at an early
hour, when I found the crew engaged in hauling the anchor close, and
making other preparations for sailing. They informed me that we should
probably start in an hour. That time, however, passed, and we still
remained where we were, and the captain continued on shore. We formed
one of a small flotilla of Genoese barks, the crews of which seemed in
their leisure moments to have no better means of amusing themselves than
the exchange of abusive language: a furious fusilade of this kind
presently commenced, in which the mate of our vessel particularly
distinguished himself; he was a grey-haired Genoese of sixty. Though not
able to speak their patois, I understood much of what was said. It was
truly shocking, and as they shouted it forth, judging from their violent
gestures and distorted features, you would have concluded them to be
bitter enemies. They were, however, nothing of the kind, but excellent
friends all the time, and indeed very good-humoured fellows at bottom.
Oh, the infirmities of human nature! When will man learn to become truly
Christian?
I am upon the whole very fond of the Genoese; they have, it is true, much
ribaldry and many vices, but they are a brave and chivalrous people, and
have ever been so, and from them I have never experienced aught but
kindness and hospitality.
After the lapse of another two hours, the Jew secretary arrived and said
something to the old mate, who grumbled much; then coming up to me, he
took off his hat and informed me that we were not to start that day,
saying at the same time that it was a shame to lose such a noble wind,
which would carry us to Tangier in three hours. “Patience,” said I, and
went on shore.
I now strolled towards St. Michael’s cave, in company with the Jewish lad
whom I have before mentioned.
The way thither does not lie in the same direction as that which leads to
the excavations; these confront Spain, whilst the cave yawns in the face
of Africa. It lies nearly at the top of the mountain, several hundred
yards above the sea. We passed by the public walks, where there are
noble trees, and also by many small houses, situated delightfully in
gardens, and occupied by the officers of the garrison. It is wrong to
suppose Gibraltar a mere naked barren rock; it is not without its
beautiful spots—spots such as these, looking cool and refreshing, with
bright green foliage. The path soon became very steep, and we left
behind us the dwellings of man. The gale of the preceding night had
entirely ceased, and not a breath of air was stirring; the midday sun
shone in all its fierce glory, and the crags up which we clambered were
not unfrequently watered with the perspiration drops which rained from
our temples: at length we arrived at the cavern.
The mouth is a yawning cleft in the side of the mountain, about twelve
feet high and as many wide; within there is a very rapid, precipitous
descent for some fifty yards, where the cavern terminates in an abyss
which leads to unknown depths. The most remarkable object is a natural
column, which rises up something like the trunk of an enormous oak, as if
for the purpose of supporting the roof; it stands at a short distance
from the entrance, and gives a certain air of wildness and singularity to
that part of the cavern which is visible, which it would otherwise not
possess. The floor is exceedingly slippery, consisting of soil which the
continual drippings from the roof have saturated, so that no slight
precaution is necessary for him who treads it. It is very dangerous to
enter this place without a guide well acquainted with it, as, besides the
black pit at the extremity, holes which have never been fathomed present
themselves here and there, falling into which the adventurer would be
dashed to pieces. Whatever men may please to say of this cave, one thing
it seems to tell to all who approach it, namely, that the hand of man has
never been busy about it. There is many a cave of nature’s forming, old
as the earth on which we exist, which nevertheless exhibits indications
that man has turned it to some account, and that it has been subjected
more or less to his modifying power. Not so this cave of Gibraltar, for,
judging from its appearance, there is not the slightest reason for
supposing that it ever served for aught else than a den for foul night
birds, reptiles, and beasts of prey. It has been stated by some to have
been used in the days of paganism as a temple to the god Hercules, who,
according to the ancient tradition, raised the singular mass of crags now
called Gibraltar, and the mountain which confronts it on the African
shores, as columns which should say to all succeeding times that he had
been there, and had advanced no further. Sufficient to observe, that
there is nothing within the cave which would authorize the adoption of
such an opinion, not even a platform on which an altar could have stood,
whilst a narrow path passes before it, leading to the summit of the
mountain. As I have myself never penetrated into its depths, I can of
course not pretend to describe them. Numerous have been the individuals
who, instigated by curiosity, have ventured down to immense depths,
hoping to discover an end, and indeed scarcely a week passes without
similar attempts being made either by the officers or soldiers of the
garrison, all of which have proved perfectly abortive. No termination
has ever been reached, nor any discoveries made to repay the labour and
frightful danger incurred; precipice succeeds precipice, and abyss
succeeds abyss, in apparently endless succession, with ledges at
intervals, which afford the adventurers opportunities for resting
themselves and affixing their rope-ladders for the purpose of descending
yet further. What is, however, most mortifying and perplexing, is to
observe that these abysses are not only before, but behind you, and on
every side; indeed, close within the entrance of the cave, on the right,
there is a gulf almost equally dark and full as threatening as that which
exists at the nether end, and perhaps contains within itself as many
gulfs and horrid caverns branching off in all directions. Indeed, from
what I have heard, I have come to the opinion that the whole hill of
Gibraltar is honeycombed, and I have little doubt that, were it cleft
asunder, its interior would be found full of such abysses of Erebus as
those to which Saint Michael’s cave conducts. Many valuable lives are
lost every year in these horrible places; and only a few weeks before my
visit, two sergeants, brothers, had perished in the gulf on the right
hand side of the cave, having, when at a great depth, slipped down a
precipice. The body of one of these adventurous men is even now rotting
in the bowels of the mountain, preyed upon by its blind and noisome
worms; that of his brother was extricated. Immediately after this
horrible accident, a gate was placed before the mouth of the cave, to
prevent individuals, and especially the reckless soldiers, from indulging
in their extravagant curiosity. The lock, however, was speedily forced,
and at the period of my arrival the gate swung idly upon its hinges.
As I left the place, I thought that perhaps similar to this was the cave
of Horeb, where dwelt Elijah, when he heard the still small voice, after
the great and strong wind which rent the mountains and brake in pieces
the rocks before the Lord; the cave to the entrance of which he went out
and stood with his face wrapped in his mantle, when he heard the voice
say unto him, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” {330}
And what am I doing here, I inquired of myself, as, vexed at my
detention, I descended into the town.
That afternoon I dined in the company of a young American, a native of
South Carolina. I had frequently seen him before, as he had been staying
for some time at the inn previous to my arrival at Gibraltar. His
appearance was remarkable: he was low of stature, and exceedingly
slightly made; his features were pale, but very well formed; he had a
magnificent head of crispy black hair, and as superb a pair of whiskers
of the same colour as I ever beheld. He wore a white hat, with broad
brim and particularly shallow crown, and was dressed in a light yellow
gingham frock, striped with black, and ample trousers of calico. In a
word, his appearance was altogether queer and singular. On my return
from my ramble to the cave, I found that he had himself just descended
from the mountain, having since a very early hour been absent exploring
its wonders.
A man of the rock asked him how he liked the excavations. “Liked them?”
said he; “you might just as well ask a person who has just seen the
Niagara Falls how he liked them—like is not the word, mister.” The heat
was suffocating, as it almost invariably is in the town of Gibraltar,
where rarely a breath of air is to be felt, as it is sheltered from all
winds. This led another individual to inquire of him whether he did not
think it exceedingly hot? “Hot, sir?” he replied, “not at all; fine
cotton-gathering weather as a man could wish for. We couldn’t beat it in
South Carolina, sir.” “You live in South Carolina, sir—I hope, sir, you
are not a slave proprietor,” said the short, fat Jewish personage in the
snuff-coloured coat, who had offered me the bitters on a previous
occasion; “it is a terrible thing to make slaves of poor people, simply
because they happen to be black; don’t you think so, sir?” “Think so,
sir?—no, sir, I don’t think so—I glory in being a slave proprietor; have
four hundred black niggers on my estate—own estate, sir, near
Charleston—flog half a dozen of them before breakfast, merely for
exercise. Niggers only made to be flogged, sir; try to escape sometimes;
set the bloodhounds in their trail, catch them in a twinkling; used to
hang themselves formerly—the niggers thought that a sure way to return to
their own country and get clear of me; soon put a stop to that; told them
that if any more hanged themselves I’d hang myself too, follow close
behind them, and flog them in their own country ten times worse than in
mine. What do you think of that, friend?” It was easy to perceive that
there was more of fun than malice in this eccentric little fellow, for
his large grey eyes were sparkling with good humour whilst he poured out
these wild things. He was exceedingly free of his money; and a dirty
Irish woman, a soldier’s wife, having entered with a basketful of small
boxes and trinkets, made of portions of the rock of Gibraltar, he
purchased the greater part of her ware, giving her for every article the
price (by no means inconsiderable) which she demanded. He had glanced at
me several times, and at last I saw him stoop down and whisper something
to the Jew, who replied in an undertone, though with considerable
earnestness, “Oh dear no, sir; perfectly mistaken, sir; is no American,
sir; from Salamanca, sir—the gentleman is a Salamancan Spaniard.” The
waiter at length informed us that he had laid the table, and that perhaps
it would be agreeable to us to dine together: we instantly assented. I
found my new acquaintance in many respects a most agreeable companion: he
soon told me his history. He was a planter, and, from what he hinted,
just come to his property. He was part owner of a large vessel which
traded between Charleston and Gibraltar, and the yellow fever having just
broken out at the former place, he had determined to take a trip (his
first) to Europe in this ship; having, as he said, already visited every
state in the Union, and seen all that was to be seen there. He described
to me, in a very naïve and original manner, his sensations on passing by
Tarifa, which was the first walled town he had ever seen. I related to
him the history of that place, to which he listened with great attention.
He made divers attempts to learn from me who I was, all of which I
evaded, though he seemed fully convinced that I was an American; and,
amongst other things, asked me whether my father had not been American
consul at Seville. What, however, most perplexed him was my
understanding Moorish and Gaelic, which he had heard me speak
respectively to the _hamáles_ and the Irish woman, the latter of whom, as
he said, had told him that I was a fairy man. At last he introduced the
subject of religion, and spoke with much contempt of revelation, avowing
himself a deist: he was evidently very anxious to hear my opinion, but
here again I evaded him, and contented myself with asking him whether he
had ever read the Bible. He said he had not, but that he was well
acquainted with the writings of Volney and Mirabeau. I made no answer,
whereupon he added, that it was by no means his habit to introduce such
subjects, and that there were very few persons to whom he would speak so
unreservedly, but that I had very much interested him, though our
acquaintance had been short. I replied, that he would scarcely have
spoken at Boston in the manner that I had just heard him, and that it was
easy to perceive that he was not a New Englander. “I assure you,” said
he, “I should as little have thought of speaking so at Charleston, for if
I held such conversation there, I should soon have had to speak to
myself.”
Had I known less of deists than it has been my fortune to know, I should
perhaps have endeavoured to convince this young man of the erroneousness
of the ideas which he had adopted; but I was aware of all that he would
have urged in reply, and, as the believer has no carnal arguments to
address to carnal reason upon this subject, I thought it best to avoid
disputation, which I felt sure would lead to no profitable result. Faith
is the free gift of God, and I do not believe that ever yet was an
infidel converted by means of after-dinner polemics. This was the last
evening of my sojourn in Gibraltar.