As the morning sun arose, lighting up Sambro Head in the distance, the
clouds of night dispersed from off the sky, and with a fair breeze we
ran in under the forts which guard McNab's Island, at the entrance of
the fine harbour of Halifax. The capital of Nova Scotia stands on the
side of a hill facing the east, which rises gradually from the water's
edge. Its streets are wide, well laid out, and handsome, mostly
crossing each other at right angles, and extending along the shores of
the harbour for a distance of two miles, and running inland about half a
mile. Fine wharfs, at which ships of any burden can discharge their
cargoes, extend along the water's edge; above them are the warehouses
and merchants' stores; and then come the public buildings; and, lastly,
the houses of the more wealthy inhabitants. The harbour is very fine,
and would hold as large a fleet as ever put to sea. The naval dockyard
is also a handsome establishment, and it is the chief naval station in
British North America. As it is completely open to the influence of the
sea air, its anchorage is very seldom blocked up by ice. It is
altogether an important place, and would become still more important in
war-time.
As soon as we had dropped our anchor, Captain Gale, taking me with him
to carry his papers and other articles, went on shore to find out the
owners of the _Dolphin_. Davidson and Stenning were their names, the
latter being the brother of the master, who was also part owner. He was
dreadfully overcome when Captain Gale announced his errand.
"What do you mean, sir? My brave brother Walter dead! murdered by
rascally pirates!" he exclaimed. "Oh, impossible!--it's too horrid!
What will his poor wife do?"
"I have my hopes that he may still be numbered among the living,"
replied Captain Gale. And he then recounted all that had occurred
connected with the Salee rover.
Both the gentlemen complimented the captain on the way he had behaved,
and then begged him to wait to see Mrs Walter Stenning, who was
residing there. After some time, during which her brother-in-law was
preparing her for the captain's communication, we were called in to see
the lady. She begged that I might come too, that she might question me
about having seen her husband in the rigging of the rover. She was not
very young, but she was handsome, and very modest-looking; and as she
was dressed in mourning, she appeared very interesting, and I for one
thought that I should be ready to do anything to please her. She
listened attentively to all the captain had to say; and after talking to
him some time, cross-questioned me very narrowly as to how I knew that
he was the man I had seen on board the rover.
"It was him--it was him, I am certain!" she exclaimed. "My good and
noble husband cannot be killed. His life has been spared. I feel it--I
know it. I'll go and find him out. I'll search for him everywhere.
I'll rescue him even if he is in the very heart of Morocco."
"I fear, madam, that's more than you or any other woman can accomplish,"
answered Captain Gale. "But if any human being is able to rescue your
husband, even though the risk may be very great, I for one shall be more
than glad to engage in the work. If he's above the water and above the
earth, we'll find him."
There spoke the warm-hearted impetuous sailor. He did not stop to
consider difficulties, but at once undertook to do what his heart
prompted. It was not quite at the spur of the moment either, because he
had, from the moment he thought Stenning dead, been feeling a sentiment
of pity for his widow; and now he saw her sweet, amiable face, he was
still more anxious to relieve her grief.
Mrs Stenning, as may be supposed, could scarcely find words to thank
Captain Gale for his offer; and when he repeated it the following day,
the owners replied that they would most thankfully accept it, and would
put him in charge of the _Dolphin_, that he might go out in her to
commence his search.
In the meantime, the people we had picked up at sea were landed, and
taken care of by the inhabitants of the place. Mrs Stenning insisted
on taking charge of poor Mrs Ellis, the widow of the captain of the
_Eagle_; and Mr Carr volunteered to join the _Dolphin_, to go in search
of Walter Stenning, with whom, curiously enough, he was well acquainted.
Captain Gale at once offered to take me instead of sending me home, as
had been arranged he should do; and, of course, I was delighted to join
him. Peter Poplar at once volunteered to accompany him; as indeed did
all the crew of the brig, and some of the seamen we saved from the
wreck: the greater number were, however, too ill to serve again at sea.
The articles, as it happened, which composed the cargo, being much in
demand at the time, sold well; and the owners were the better able,
therefore, to fit out the brig in as liberal a way as could be desired.
She was, accordingly, strongly armed, and well able to contend with any
rover or other vessel we might meet on the African coast. After the
lessons we had received, also, we were not likely to be taken by
surprise,--the mode in which the pirates of those days usually attempted
to capture their prey.
Mrs Stenning used frequently to come on board, to superintend the
outfit of the ship, and to hasten the workmen; and thus everybody
working with a will, and with an important object in view, she was soon
ready for sea. Often and often, on the contrary, have I seen work which
might and should have been rapidly performed, most vexatiously delayed
through the laziness, or ignorance, or carelessness of those employed on
it. One man has not taken a correct measure; another has forgotten to
give a simple order; a third has put off a small piece of work to do
something else which was not so much required; a fourth has ill-fitted a
portion of the machine, or has broken what he calls some trifle which he
has not replaced; and so forth. How much better would it be if they,
and all whose eyes read my story, would but remember that saying of Holy
Writ--"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."
Yes, in that Book, if men would but search earnestly, they would find
with an overflowing abundance all that they can require to guide them
aright, both in everything in regard to this life, as well as to make
them wise unto salvation. But, then, they must not hope to be guided
partly by the rules and maxims of the world, and partly by those of the
Bible. They must study the Bible by the light which the Bible affords--
not by man's light or man's wisdom. They must not suppose that a mere
cursory or occasional reading will suffice. They must read it
diligently with all their heart, with an earnest prayer for
enlightenment, and with an honest wish to comprehend it fully, and a
resolution to be guided by its precepts. Let the worldly-minded
understand that those who do so succeed best, and are at the same time
the happiest men in the world in the long-run. However, Old Jack does
not want to preach just now. If his readers will not believe him,
deeply does he mourn the inevitable consequences to them.
The brig, as I said, was soon ready for sea. It might have appeared
that the shortest way to proceed about our expedition would have been to
sail at once for Morocco; but as the productions of Nova Scotia are
chiefly food and timber, and such articles were in no request in that
part of Africa, it was necessary to go first to England with a cargo,
and then to take in what was required, such as cotton and woollen
manufactures, hardware, arms, and ammunition. Accordingly, we took on
board some quintals of dry fish, and barrels of flour, and beef, and
pork, and pickled fish, and staves, and shingles, and lath-wood, and
hoops, and such like productions of the forest. At that time, however,
the country did not produce any large quantity of those articles for
exportation.
The owners directed us first to proceed to Bristol, where we were to
discharge our cargo, and to take on board another suited to the Morocco
markets. Our departure excited great interest in Halifax, where Walter
Stenning and his family were well-known; and his poor wife was one of
the last people to leave the brig before she sailed.
Once more, then, we were at sea. Several occurrences took place during
the voyage which would be worth narrating, had not I other subjects of
more interest to describe. People talk a great deal of the monotony of
this or that existence, and especially of a long sea voyage. For my
part, I have learned to believe that no day is altogether barren of
incident, if people would but learn to look inwardly as well as
outwardly. Something of interest is always taking place in nature, but
men must keep their senses awake to observe it; so some process is
always going forward in a man's moral being, but his conscience must be
alive to take note of it.
We reached Bristol in six weeks--not a bad passage in those days, when
navigation had not made the strides it since has. We brought the first
account of all the events I have described, and as the passengers and
most of the crew of the _Dolphin_ had belonged to Bristol, several
families of the place were plunged in deep grief, and a universal desire
prevailed to recover any of those who might have been carried into
captivity, and to ascertain further particulars of the tragedy. No
time, therefore, was lost in shipping a fresh cargo, and in furnishing
us with such supplies as might be required.
Our directions were to proceed first to the port of Alarache, where
resided a merchant who corresponded occasionally with our Bristol
consignees. From him we were to obtain an interpreter, and to proceed
to such other ports as might be judged advantageous according to the
information he might furnish. We had a fair run to Cape Spartel, the
north-western point of Africa. It then fell calm for a day or so.
After this we had very light and baffling winds, and we sighted more
than one suspicious-looking craft; but they did not, apparently, like
our appearance, and made sail away from us. At length we came off
Alarache. A bar runs across the mouth of the harbour, which even at
spring-tides prevents large ships from entering, though there were
sufficient water on it to allow us to get over. No pilot came out, so
Captain Gale resolved to make a bold stroke, and to carry the brig in by
himself.
It was nearly high-water, and the breeze was favourable as we stood
towards the land. The sky and sea were blue and bright, with a line of
foam where the water ran over the shallower part of the bar. Dark rocks
and yellow sands were before us, with white-washed, flat-roofed houses,
and here and there a minaret or cupola of a mosque, and tall, slender,
wide-spreading topped date-trees scattered over the landscape; while
lower down, protecting the town, was a frowning castle or fort, with a
few vessels at anchor before it. A boat-load of officials, with very
brown faces, white dresses, and red caps, came off to inquire our
business, and get bucksheesh, as the Turks call such gratuities as they
can collect from travellers and voyagers. The captain could only reply
by showing a document in Moorish with which he had been furnished, and
repeating the name of Mynheer Von Donk, the Dutch merchant at the place,
to whom we were consigned. This, in the course of a couple of hours,
produced Mynheer Von Donk himself, to ascertain what was required of
him. I cannot pretend to say that all Dutch merchants are like him, for
if so, they must be a very funny set of people. He was very short and
very fat, with queer little sparkling eyes, and a biggish snub-nose, and
thick lips, and hair so long and stiff that his three-cornered hat could
scarcely keep it from starting out all round his bullet-shaped head. He
had on very very wide brown breeches; and very very large silver buckles
to his shoes; and a waistcoat of yellow silk, embroidered all over with
strange designs, and so ample that it almost superseded the necessity of
breeches; and his brown coat looked as if made with a due preparation
for the still further enlargement of its respectable owner. Mynheer
informed the captain that he could speak every language under the sun
like a native; but, as Peter remarked, then it must have been like a
native who had lived away from home all his life, and forgotten his
mother-tongue. We, however, made out that it was very necessary to be
cautious in our dealings with the Moors, as they were the greatest
thieves and rogues in the world, and that they would only desire an
opportunity of seizing the brig, and making slaves of us all; but that
while we remained in Alarache, we should be safe under his protection.
When Captain Gale explained to him the real object of the voyage, he
brightened up considerably, as he saw that he might have an opportunity
of making even more out of the ship than he at first expected. I do not
say that Mynheer Von Donk was destitute of human sympathies; but he had
gone out to that far from agreeable place to make money, and money he
was resolved to make by every means in his power. He was ready enough
even to promise to assist in finding poor Captain Stenning, provided he
could be paid for it--he preferred labouring in a laudable object with
pay, to labouring in an object which was not laudable, if no more money
was to be made in one way than in another; but he had no desire to
labour in anything without pay.
We saw very little of the shore in this place, for he asked that we
should not be allowed to land, except in company with one of our
officers and his interpreter. We had, however, a pretty brisk traffic
for the goods we had brought, we taking chiefly hard dollars in return;
however, the captain did not refuse some articles, such as bees-wax,
hides, copper; dates, and almonds, and other fruits not likely to spoil
by keeping. It was, at the same time, important that we should not fill
up entirely with merchandise, that we might have an excuse for visiting
other ports. As far as we could judge, the dangers we had heard of had
been very much exaggerated, and arose chiefly from the careless and
often violent conduct of those who visited the country. Captain Gale,
aided by Mr Carr, kept the strictest discipline on board; and we must
have gained the character of being very quiet well-disposed traders,
without a thought beyond disposing of our merchandise. Our guns merely
showed that we were able to defend what had been placed under our care.
Meantime Mynheer Von Donk was making every inquiry in his power for
Captain Stenning, or any of the survivors from the massacre on board the
_Dolphin_. He ascertained that no such vessel as we described had come
into Alarache, but that one exactly answering her description belonged
to the port of Salee, some leagues to the southward, and that she had
been on a long cruise, and had returned about the time the captain
calculated she might, with some booty and some captives on board. What
had become of them he could not learn, but concluded that, as they had
not been sent to the northward, they were still in the neighbourhood.
One day, the interpreter having come on board, we got under way, and
without let or hindrance stood over the bar. We lay up well
along-shore, which is in some places very mountainous and rocky, and the
following day we were off Salee. This is also a bar harbour, but,
waiting for high-tide, we ran over it, and came to an anchor opposite
the town, and near an old fort, the guns of which did not look very
formidable. As we ran up the harbour we looked anxiously around to
ascertain if our friend the rover was there; but no vessel exactly like
her could we see, though there were several suspicious-looking craft,
which, no doubt, were engaged in the same calling. Salee itself is
composed chiefly of mean houses, with very narrow dirty steep streets;
but some of the dwellings in the higher part of the town are of greater
pretensions as to size and architectural beauty.
Our consignee in this place was an Armenian merchant, who presented a
great contrast in outward appearance to Mynheer Von Donk. Keon y Kyat
was tall, and thin, and sallow and grave, dressed in long dark robes,
and a high-pointed cap of Astrakan fur,--he looked more like a learned
monk than a merchant; but in one point he was exactly like his respected
correspondent,--he came to the country to make money, and money he was
resolved to make, at all events! This circumstance, however, was an
advantage to our enterprise, as he was willing for money to afford us
that assistance which he would, probably, otherwise have refused.
Our interpreter, Sidy Yeusiff, was a character in his way, though
certainly not one to be imitated. His mother was a Christian slave, an
Irish Roman Catholic, married to a Mohammedan Moor. She had brought him
up in her own faith, in which he continued till her death, when, to
obtain his liberty, he professed that of his stepfather. He had all the
vices consequent on slavery. He was cringing, cowardly, false, and
utterly destitute of all principle; but, at the same time, so plausible,
that it was difficult not to believe that he was speaking the truth. He
was a young, pleasant-looking man; and as he used to come forward and
talk freely with the seamen, he became a favourite on board. Poor
fellow! had he been brought up under more favourable circumstances, how
different might have been his character! His professed object was, of
course, to interpret for the captain in all matters connected with the
sale of the cargo; but he used to take every opportunity of going on
shore to try and gain information about Captain Stenning or any of his
companions.
I had few opportunities of making remarks about the people of this
place, but Sidy corrected some of the notions I had first formed. The
boys all go bare-headed; the men wear red caps. They have their hair
shaved off their heads, with the exception of a tuft on the top, by
which they expect Mohammed will draw them up to paradise. I have seen
it remarked that Mohammed, who had very erroneous notions on scientific
subjects, fixed the articles for the religious belief of his followers
according to them, thereby entirely disproving their divine origin;
whereas the writers of the Bible, guided by inspiration, made numerous
statements which, with the knowledge then possessed by mankind, would
have been impossible for them to understand clearly unless explained to
them by the Holy Spirit, but which subsequent discoveries in science
have shown to be beautifully and exactly correct.
Mohammed thought that the world was flat, and so placed his paradise in
an atmosphere above it.
To return to the dress of the Moors. They wear long beards and large
whiskers, but shave their upper lip and directly under the chin. A
gentleman of the upper class wears a long shirt without a collar, and
over it a sort of spencer or waistcoat, joined before and behind.
Again, over this he puts a very large coat, ornamented with numberless
buttons, and with sleeves reaching only to his elbows. His coat, which
he folds round him, is secured by a thick coloured sash or girdle, into
which he sticks a very long knife or dagger, and where he carries his
money, supposing he has any. He wears only a pair of linen drawers
reaching to the ankle. His shoes are of goat-skin, very well-dressed,
the sole being but of one thickness. He wears over his dress a fine
white blanket, with which he can completely shroud himself, leaving only
his right arm exposed. It is called a haik. Some of these haiks are
very fine and transparent, while others are thicker and more fit for
general use. In cold weather he puts on a bournous or capote, with a
hood such as the Greek fishermen and sailors wear. A labouring man does
not wear a shirt, and his drawers come only as far as his knee, leaving
the rest of his leg exposed.
The women's clothes are cut something like those of the men. Round the
head they wear a coloured sash, which hangs down to the waist; their
hair is plaited; and they have the usual gold and silver ornaments in
their ears and on their fingers, and red shoes. The poorer classes wear
necklaces, and silver or copper rings on their fingers and thumbs.
Their shirts are beautifully ornamented in front, to look like lace.
When they leave the house they put on drawers of great length, which
they turn up into numerous folds over their legs, giving them a very
awkward appearance. Besides the haik, which is like that of a man's, a
lady wears a linen cloth over her face, to conceal it from the profane
vulgar when abroad. Such were the people we saw moving about on shore.
Day after day passed by, and no account could we gain of poor Captain
Stenning. It was very clear, also, that if we did, we should not be
able to obtain his liberation by force. At last one day the captain
sent for me.
"Williams," said he, "I have had news of one of the _Dolphin's_ people,
if not of Captain Stenning himself. I must myself go and see him, and I
want a companion in whom I have perfect confidence. As you are a
steady, sensible man, with good nerve, I shall be glad to take you with
me, if you are willing to accompany me. I should probably have taken
Poplar, but his figure is so conspicuous that he would have been
remarked."
I was much pleased with the way in which he spoke of me, and I told him
that I was ready to follow wherever he chose to lead the way.
"That is the spirit I expected to find in you," he replied.
"It is, however, right that you should understand that there is
considerable danger in the expedition; for if our errand was to be
discovered, we should certainly be sacrificed to the fury of the Moors."
"I've no fear about that, sir," said I. "A man cannot expect to be
always able to do what is right without running some risk and taking
some trouble."
Sidy that evening brought us off some Moorish clothes, in which the
captain and I rigged ourselves out. We certainly did look two funny
figures, I thought, as we turned ourselves round and round in them.
Sidy had not forgotten a couple of long knives, to which the captain
added a brace of pistols a piece. I was very glad it was dusk when we
left the ship, for I should not have liked my shipmates to have seen me
with my bare legs and slippers, and a dirty blanket over my head just
like an old Irishwoman.
A shore-boat was alongside--a sort of canoe turned up at both ends, and
flat-bottomed. An old Moor sat in her. Sidy had bribed him to put us
on shore, and to ask no questions. He told him that we were Moors, who
had had business on board the brig, and that we desired to land without
notice. He accordingly pulled to an unfrequented part of the harbour,
and we stepped on shore, as we believed, unnoticed. The captain and
Sidy led the way, I following in the character of a servant. Of course,
if spoken to, I was to be dumb. We passed along a narrow sandy road,
with low stone walls on either side skirting the town, till we arrived
at the entrance of a house of somewhat larger dimensions than those of
the neighbouring edifices. This, I found, was the residence of a German
renegade and a merchant, who had, by Sidy's means, been bribed to assist
us.
We were ushered into his presence as Moorish guests come to visit him.
He was seated cross-legged on a cushion at one end of a room, with a
large pipe by his side. The apartment was not very finely furnished,
seeing that it had little else in it besides a few other cushions like
the one he sat on. Certainly he looked exactly like an old Moor, and I
could not persuade myself that he was not one. He invited us to sit
down; which the captain and Sidy did near him, while I tucked my legs
under me at a distance. After he had bowed and talked a little through
the interpreter, he clapped his hands, and some slaves brought each of
us a pipe--not an unpleasant thing just then to my taste. Again he
clapped his hands, and the slaves brought in some low, odd, little
tables, one of which was placed before each of us. There was a bowl of
porridge, and some plates with little lumps of fried meat, and rice, and
dates, but not a drop of grog or liquor of any sort. Afterwards,
however, coffee was brought to us in cups scarcely bigger than thimbles;
but it did little more than just warm up my tongue. As soon as the
slaves had withdrawn, I was not a little surprised to hear the seeming
Moor address the captain in tolerable English.
"So you want to find one of your captured countrymen?" said he. "Well,
to-morrow morning I start on a journey to visit a friend who has one as
a slave. His description answers that of him whom you seek. I will
obtain for you a short conversation with him. You must contrive the
means of rescuing him. I can do no more."
After some further talk on the subject our host got up, and, having
carefully examined all the outlets to the room to ascertain that no one
was looking in, produced a stout black bottle from a chest, and some
glasses. I found that the bottle contained most veritable Schiedam.
"Now, as I don't think this good stuff was known to Master Mohammed when
he played his pranks on earth, he cannot object to any of his faithful
followers tasting a drop of it now and then."
Thereon he poured out a glass for each of us, and winked at Sidy, as
much as to say, "We understand each other--we are both of us rogues."
The captain took but little; so did I: but Muly Hassan the merchant, and
the interpreter, did not stop their potations till they had finished the
bottle, and both were very drunk. The merchant had sense enough left to
hide his bottle, and then his slaves came and made him up a couch in one
corner of the room. They also prepared beds for us in the other
corners.
The next morning we were up before break of day, and mounted on some
small horses, almost hid by their gaily-coloured saddle-cloths and
trappings. And such saddles! Rising up in peaks ahead and astern, a
drunken tailor could not have tumbled off one of them had he tried. I
do not remember much about the appearance of the country. A large
portion was lying waste; but there were fields of various sorts of corn,
and even vineyards, though the grapes produced from them were not, I
suppose, used for the manufacture of wine: indeed, I know that they are
eaten both fresh and dried. Date-trees were, however, in great
abundance, the fruit being one of the principal articles of food among
the people. The roads were very bad; and altogether there was an air of
misery and neglect which will always be seen where the ruler is a tyrant
and the people are slaves. We rested in some sheds put up for the
accommodation of passengers during the heat of the day, and in the
afternoon proceeded on to our destination.
"Now, my friends, look out for your countryman," said the renegade.
"You will probably see him tending cattle or labouring in the fields
among other slaves. He is probably in his own dress, and you will
easily recognise him."
Curiously enough, we had not ridden on for ten minutes further, when,
not far from the road, we saw a man seated on a bank a short distance
from the road, and looking very sorrowful and dispirited. His dress was
that of a seaman. I looked round, and seeing no one near except our own
party, I slipped off my horse, and ran up to him. Of course, he thought
I was a Moor, and he looked as if he would have fainted with surprise
when he heard me hail him in English.
"Who are you? What do you come here for?" he exclaimed, panting for
breath.
"I belong to the _Dolphin_ brig, and I came here to try and find Captain
Stenning and any of his companions."
"Heaven be praised, then?" he exclaimed, bursting into tears. "He and I
are the only survivors of that demon-possessed craft which he commanded.
But how came your vessel to be called by the name of one which proved
so unfortunate?"
"I cannot tell you all about that just now," I answered, seeing that
much time would be lost if I entered into particulars. I therefore
merely explained the steps we had taken to discover them, and asked him
what had become of Captain Stenning.
"The captain! He has been in this very place till within the last three
or four weeks, when the Moors carried him away to serve on board one of
their ships--the very ship which captured us. They found out that he
was the captain and understood navigation, so they took him to navigate
one of their piratical craft. I was sick and unfit for work, or they
would have taken me likewise; but they saw that I was only a man before
the mast, and guessed that I did not understand navigation. What has
since become of the captain I don't know. There is no one here I can
talk to. They set me to work by signs, which, if I do not understand,
they sharpen my wits with a lash; and they take care that I shall not
run away, by securing me at night with a chain round my leg. There are
several other slaves employed by the same master, but not one of them
understands a word of English."
The young man's name was Jacob Lyal, he told me; and he said that he was
just out of his apprenticeship when he joined the _Dolphin_.
"I have a father and mother, and brothers and sisters, at home, in
Somersetshire, and it would make their hearts sorrowful if they heard
that I was left a slave in this barbarous country; so you'll do all you
can to help me," he exclaimed, as I was about to leave him, for I was
afraid of remaining longer lest we should be observed.
Just as I was going, however, I told him to try and arrange some plan by
which we might have a talk with him, and let him know how things stood
before we left the place, should we be unable to take him with us. He
also described very accurately the sort of place in which he was locked
up at night; and I promised, if I could, to go and have some more
conversation with him. As we did not lose time in talking of anything
except the matter in hand, I was speedily able to rejoin the captain and
his companions. The captain approved of the arrangements I had made,
though he was very sorry that there was no immediate prospect of meeting
with Captain Stenning.
We were received with all the usual marks of respect by the old Moor who
owned the property. He had been a pirate in his youth, and cut-throats
and robbed without compunction; but he was now a dignified old
gentleman, who looked as if he had been engaged in rural affairs all his
life. I came in for almost as much of the attention and good fare as
the captain; for in that country a beggar may eat off the same table, or
rather the same floor, and sit under the same roof as a prince. The
excuse for the visit was to sell to the old Moor some of the goods
aboard the _Dolphin_, specimens of which the captain had brought with
him.
As soon after our arrival as we had shaken the dust out of our clothes,
and washed our faces and our hands and feet, we were ushered by slaves
into a hall, at one end of which sat the old Moor, and the captain and
the renegade and the interpreter were placed on each side of him, and I
sat a little further off, tucking up my legs as I had done before; and
then some black slaves in white dresses brought in a little table for
each of us, with all sorts of curious things to eat, which I need not
describe, for in that country one feast is very much like another. The
renegade had also brought a case; but that it contained something
besides merchandise he proved by producing, one after the other, several
of his favourite bottles of Schiedam, which apparently were no less
acceptable to the old Moor than to him. I am not, however, fond of
describing such scenes, or of picturing such gross hypocrites as the
renegade and the old Moor.
I gained an advantage, however, from their drunken habits; for as soon
as it was dark I stole out of the house, and tried to find my way to the
shed where Lyal told me he was chained at night. I had taken good note
of the bearings of the place as we rode along. I knew that if I was
found prying about, I should run a great chance of being killed; but
still I was resolved to run every risk to try and rescue the poor fellow
from captivity. Of course, as the captain afterwards told me, we might
have gone home to England, and laid the state of the case before the
Government; and after a year or so spent in diplomatising, the poor
fellow, if he was still alive, might have been released, or the Emperor
of Morocco might have declared that he could not find him, or that he
was dead; and thus he would have remained on, like many others, in
captivity.
There was a little light from the moon, which enabled me to mark the
outlines of the house I was leaving, as well as to find my way. Two
servants were stationed in the entrance passage, but they had wrapped
themselves up in their haiks and gone soundly to sleep, so I stepped
over their bodies without waking them. Every person about the house,
indeed, seemed to have gone to sleep, but the dogs were more faithful
than the human beings, and some of them barked furiously as I walked
along. They were either chained or locked up, and finding my footsteps
going from them, they were soon silent. At length I reached the shed I
was in search of. It was near a cottage, with several other similar
sheds in the neighbourhood. As I came to the entrance, a voice said--
"Come in; but speak low."
At first I could see no one, but on going further in, I discovered the
object of my search sitting in a corner on a heap of straw. He was
chained there, and could not move.
"It gives me new life to see a countryman here, and one who wants to
help me," said the poor fellow. "I thought all the world had deserted
me, and that I should be left to die in this strange land, among worse
than heathens, who treat me as a dog; or that I should be tempted to
give up my faith and turn Mohammedan, as others have done."