Brackenbury, the British consul-general. His house, which is the corner
one at the entrance of the _Alameda_ or public walk, enjoys a noble
prospect of the bay, and is very large and magnificent. I had of course
long been acquainted with Mr. B. by reputation. I knew that for many
years he had filled with advantage to his native country and with honour
to himself the distinguished and highly responsible situation which he
holds in Spain. I knew likewise that he was a good and pious Christian,
and moreover the firm and enlightened friend of the Bible Society. Of
all this I was aware; but I had never enjoyed the advantage of being
personally acquainted with him. I saw him now indeed for the first time.
I was much struck with his appearance; there is much dignity in his
countenance, which is, however, softened by an expression of good humour
truly captivating and engaging. His manner is frank and affable in the
extreme. I am not going to enter into minute details of our interview,
which was a very interesting one to myself. He knew already the leading
parts of my history since my arrival in Spain, and made several comments
thereon which displayed his intimate knowledge of the situation of Spain,
as regards ecclesiastical matters, and the state of opinion respecting
religious innovation. I was flattered to find that his ideas in many
points accorded with my own, and we were both decidedly of opinion that,
notwithstanding the great persecution and outcry which had lately been
raised against the Gospel, the battle was by no means lost in Spain, and
that we might yet hope to see the holy cause triumph.
During my stay at Cadiz I experienced every kind of hospitality from Mr.
B. and his charming family. Upon my departure he supplied me with a
letter of introduction to Mr. Hay, the British consul at Tangiers, which
I have since learned was most flattering to myself and worded in the most
energetic manner. I quitted Cadiz on the morning of Sunday, the 4th
August, in the steamer _Balear_, arriving at Gibraltar on the evening of
the same day. Nothing particular occurred to me during my stay at
Gibraltar, where I engaged my passage on board a small trading vessel for
Tangiers. We were detained by various causes until Thursday the 8th,
when we sailed about noon, and assisted by a strong and favourable wind
we reached the harbour of Tangiers before sunset. I was not permitted to
go on shore that night, my passport and bill of health having first to be
examined by the authorities. Early however on the following morning, Mr.
Hay, who had received Mr. Brackenbury's letters of introduction, sent a
Moorish soldier and his own servant to conduct me to his house, where he
received me in the kindest manner. He had already procured me a
comfortable lodging in the house of a Christian woman where I have
remained ever since my arrival at Tangiers, constantly receiving every
species of attention and civility from Mr. Hay.
Tangiers stands on the side of a rather steep hill which rises above the
sea. It is a walled town, and towards the water is defended with
batteries mounted with heavy cannon. The streets are very numerous and
intersect each other in all directions; they are narrow and precipitous,
and the houses low, small and mean. The principal mosque, or _jamma_
[_djmah_] is rather a handsome edifice, and its tower, or _sumah_, which
is built of bricks of various colours, presents a picturesque appearance
when viewed from the sea: of its interior I can of course say little, as
any Christian who should venture to intrude would be instantly cast forth
and probably killed by the populace. About half way up the hill within
the town there is a small market-place called in the language of the
country _soc_. It is surrounded with little shops or booths, in which
all kinds of dry fruits, such as dates, raisins, almonds, and walnuts are
exposed for sale, and also honey, soap, sugar, and such other articles of
grocery. These little shops are not in general kept by Moors, but by
people from the country of Suz, who speak a different language from the
Moors, and are of a different race, being a branch of the Berber stem;
they are the grocers of Barbary and are, in comparison with the Moors, an
honest, peaceable, and industrious people. The castle of the Governor
stands at the northern extremity of Tangiers, on the top of a high
eminence which towers above the town; its outer walls embrace a very
large portion of ground, which is principally occupied by large edifices
in the greatest dilapidation and decay. The castle itself when I visited
it was undergoing repair, during the absence of the pasha who has since
returned. All its inlets and outlets and also the greatest part of the
apartments were choked up with ruins, rubbish, and mortar. The courtyard
however is very fine, and is adorned with a fountain distilling limpid
water, which is a rare spectacle in Tangiers where water is not in
abundance. At each end of this court there is a hall of audience, highly
magnificent in its way, with a roof of rich fretted work in the old
Moorish taste, such as I have seen in the Alhambra of Granada, and in
that truly fairy palace the Alcazar of Seville.
Tangiers contains a population of about twenty thousand souls, of which
at least one-third are Jews: the Christian portion does not amount to
about two hundred and fifty individuals, including the various consuls
and their families. These latter gentlemen enjoy considerable authority
in the town, so much so that in all disputes between Moors and Christians
they alone are the judges, and their decision is law; they are a very
respectable body, being without one exception exceedingly well-bred
gentlemanly individuals, and several of them, particularly Mr Hay, the
British consul-general, possessed of high literary attainments. They
enjoy very large salaries from their respective governments, varying from
ten to sixteen thousand dollars per annum, so that, as all the
necessaries and indeed many of the luxuries of life may be obtained at a
very cheap price at Tangiers, they live in a state of magnificence more
akin to that of petty kings than consuls in general. The most perfect
harmony exists amongst them, and if, at any time, any little dispute
occur between two or three of them, the rest instantly interfere and
arrange matters; and they are invariably united to a man against the
slightest infringement of their privileges and immunities on the part of
the Moorish Government, and a slight or injury to one is instantly
resented by all. The duties of the greatest part of them are far from
being onerous, more especially as each is provided with a vice-consul,
who is also an exceedingly well-bred and very well-paid gentleman. They
pass the greatest part of their time in cultivating their delicious
gardens, which, surrounded by hedges of _ksob_, which is a species of
gigantic reed, cover the hills in the vicinity of Tangiers. Their
houses, which are palace-looking buildings in the European taste and
which contrast strangely with the mean huts of the Moors, are all
surmounted by a flag-staff, which on gala days displays the banner of its
respective nation. It is curious then to gaze from the castle hill on
the town below; twelve banners are streaming in the wind of the Levant,
which blows here almost incessantly. One is the bloody flag of the Moor,
the natural master of the soil; but the eleven are of foreigners and
Nazarenes, and are emblems of distant and different people. There floats
the meteor banner of England beside the dirty rags of Spain and Portugal.
There the pride of Naples, of Sardinia, and Sweden. There the angry
tricolor; and not far from it the most beautiful of all, the Dannebrog of
Denmark, a white cross gleaming consolingly amidst blood and fire, as
when first seen by Waldemar; neighbour to it the Austrian; there the
Orange; and yonder, far remote from all, like the country, the stripes
and stars of the United States. Tangiers, with a Moorish and Jewish
population, is not the city either of the Moor or the Jew: it is that of
the consuls.
Were it possible for any unprejudiced and rational being to doubt for a
moment that the religion of Mahomet is a false one and uncalculated to
promote the moral and political improvement of mankind, a slight glance
at this Mahometan country would be sufficient to undeceive him. The
Moors are the most fanatic of all Mahometans, and consider the Turks,
Persians, and other followers of the Desert-Prophet, as seceders from the
severe precepts of their religion. What is their state? They are
governed in their towns and provinces by arbitrary despots called Pashas,
who are accountable to no person but the Emperor, whose authority they
frequently set at nought, and who is himself a despot of the most
terrible description. Their lives, properties, and families are
perfectly at the disposal of these men, who decapitate, imprison,
plunder, and violate as their inclination tempts them. In this country
it is every person's interest, however wealthy, to exhibit an appearance
of abject poverty; as the suspicion of wealth instantly produces from the
Sultan or Pasha a demand for some large sum, which must be forthwith paid
or decapitation or torture are the severe alternatives. Here justice is
indeed an empty name, the most atrocious criminals escaping unpunished if
able to offer a bribe sufficient to tempt the cupidity of those whose
duty it is to administer it. Here money is sought after with insatiable
avidity by great and small, for its own sake, and not for what it will
produce. It is piled up in the treasury or is buried underground,
according to the situation in life of its possessors. In this land there
is neither public peace or individual security; no one travels a league
but at the extreme danger of his life, and war is continually raging not
against foreign enemies but amongst the people themselves. The Sultan
collects armies and marches against this or that province, which is sure
to be in a state of rebellion; if successful, a thousand heads are borne
before him on his return in ghastly triumph on the lances of his
warriors; and if vanquished, his own not unfrequently blackens in the sun
above the gate of some town or village. Here truth and good faith are
utterly unknown, friendship exists not, nor kindly social intercourse;
here pleasure is sought in the practice of abominations or in the chewing
of noxious and intoxicating drugs; here men make a pomp and a parade of
their infamy; and the cavalcade which escorts with jealous eye the wives
and concubines of the potentate on a march or journey is also charged
with the care of his _zammins_, the unfortunate youths who administer to
his fouler passions. Such is the moral, and the political state of
Morocco! Such are the fruits of a religion which is not that of the
Bible.
The state of the Jews in this country is in every respect pitiable. It
is one of great thraldom, yet is nevertheless far superior to what it was
previous to the accession of the present monarch Muley Abd al Rahman to
the throne; before that period they enjoyed scarcely any of the rights of
human beings, and were plundered, beaten, and maimed by the Moslems at
pleasure. As the Moors of Barbary are the most fanatic amongst the
Mahometans, so are the Barbary Jews the most superstitious of their race,
observing in the strictest manner the precepts of the Talmud and the
sages. A great many singular ceremonies and usages are to be found
amongst them which are not observed by the Hebrews in any other part of
the world, more especially at their wedding festivals which are carried
on during a period of eleven days, during which the house which is open
to all comers exhibits a continual scene of dancing, feasting, and
revelry of every description. There is much at these marriages which has
served to remind me of those of the Gitanos of Spain at which I have been
frequently present, especially the riot and waste practised; for like the
Gitano, the Barbary Jew frequently spends during the days of his wedding
not only all that he is possessed of, but becomes an embarrassed man for
the rest of his life by the sums which he is compelled to borrow in order
not to incur the opprobrium of appearing mean on so solemn an occasion.
The books current among them are the Bible with the commentaries of the
rabbins, parts of the Mischna, and the prayers for all the year;
likewise, but more rare, the Zohar, which all speak of with unbounded
veneration, though few pretend to understand it. I have not unfrequently
seen at their synagogues the Bible Society's edition of the Psalms, and
they appeared to prize it highly.
A market is held on every Thursday and Sunday morning beyond the walls of
Tangiers in a place called the _Soc de Barra_ or outward market-place.
Thither repair the Moors from the country, bringing with them corn, fruit
and other articles, the productions of their fields and gardens for the
consumption of the town. It is my delight to visit this spot which is on
the side of a hill, and sitting down on a stone to gaze. What a singular
scene presents itself to the view: a wild confusion of men and horses, of
donkeys and camels, of countenances of all hues, swarthy and black, livid
and pale, of turbans of all dyes, white, green and red, of Jewish
skull-caps with here and there an Andalusian hat, of haiks and
gaberdines, of arrogant Moors, indifferent Europeans and cringing
Hebrews, the latter walking barefooted in the place where the corn is
sold, which the Moor says is sacred and unfit to be pressed by the
sandals of the dog-Jew. What a hubbub of sounds: the unearthly cry of
the enormous camels and the neighing, braying, and bleating of other
quadrupeds, mingled with the discordant jabber of various and strange
tongues. I have been in many singular places in the course of my
existence, but certainly in none more so than the _Soc de Barra_ of
Tangiers.
There is much Spanish spoken in this place, especially amongst the Jews;
it is also generally understood by the Europeans. The prevalent language
however is the Arabic, or rather a dialect of it called by some
Mograbbin. I was glad to find that I could make myself very well
understood with the Arabic of the East, notwithstanding that it differs
in many points from the Mograbbin, or language of the West. One thing
has particularly struck me; namely that the wild people, who arrive from
the far interior and who perhaps have never before seen a European,
invariably understand me best, and frequently in conversation designate
objects with the same words as myself, which however are not intelligible
to the Moors of the coast. I am by this time exceedingly well known at
Tangiers, indeed I take the best means of being so by entering into
discourse with every person. I believe I am liked by the Moors and am
certainly treated with much respect by the Jews amongst whom a report
prevails that I am a Polish rabbi. Shortly after my arrival I was
visited by the most wealthy Jewish merchant of Tangiers, who pressed me
in the strongest manner to take up my abode at his house, assuring me
[that I should live] at free cost, and be provided with all the comforts
and luxuries which could be procured.
I will now proceed to relate what has been accomplished in the cause of
the Gospel since my arrival at Tangiers. I will endeavour to be as
concise as possible, reserving some particulars until a future occasion.
For the first fortnight I accomplished nothing, and indeed attempted
nothing in the way of distribution, being occupied in making myself
acquainted with the place and studying the character of its inhabitants.
I occasionally spoke to the Christians, who are principally Genoese and
Spanish sailors and their families, on the subject of religion, but with
the greatest caution, being unwilling to alarm the two or three friars
who reside in what is called the Spanish convent, who are the only
officiating Christian priests of the place, and who might have warned
their flock against the heretic intruder. I found, as I had anticipated,
great ignorance among these poor people respecting the most important
points of the religion which they profess, and the Gospel of God they had
never seen nor heard of. At the end of the above-mentioned period I
employed a Jewish youth to carry the Testament to their houses and to
offer it to them for sale. It is with humble gratitude to the Lord that
I am able to state that considerable success crowned our efforts. The
blessed Book is now in the hands of most of the Christians of Tangiers,
from the lowest to the highest, from the fisherman to the consul. One
dozen and a half were carried to Tetuan on speculation, a town about six
leagues from hence; they will be offered to the Christians who reside
there. Other two dozen are on their way to distant Mogadore. One
individual, a tavern-keeper, has purchased Testaments to the number of
thirty, which he says he has no doubt he can dispose of to the foreign
sailors, who stop occasionally at his house. You will be surprised to
hear that several amongst the Jews have purchased copies of the New
Testament, with the intention as they state of improving themselves in
Spanish, but I believe from curiosity. Whatever their motive be, let
them but once read this holy Book and I have no fear of their remaining
enemies of the Lamb whom their fathers crucified. I regret that only few
can read the Spanish language, their law forbidding them to read or write
any characters but the Hebrew. Had I the New Testament to offer them in
the latter tongue, I believe that I could dispose of thousands of copies
in Barbary. My work being completed here for the present, I now hasten
back to Seville; pray write to me speedily directing to the usual place.
I remain, Revd and dear Sir,
Truly yours,
G. BORROW.
To the Rev. G. Browne
(_Endorsed_: recd. Oct. 7, 1839)
CADIZ, _Sepr._ 21 [1839].
REVD. AND DEAR SIR AND EXCELLENT FRIEND,--I arrived at Cadiz this morning
by a small coasting-vessel, after undergoing a quarantine of four days at
Tarifa. On calling at Mr. Brackenbury's I received your kind
communication of the 29th July, acquainting me with the resolution of the
Committee.
Had I been aware of that resolution before my departure for Tangiers, I
certainly should not have gone. My expedition, however, was the result
of much reflection. I wished to carry the Gospel to the Christians of
the Barbary shore who were much in want of it; and I had one hundred and
thirty Testaments at San Lucar which I could only make available by
exportation. The success which it has pleased the Lord to yield me in my
humble efforts at distribution in Barbary will, I believe, prove the best
criterion as to the fitness of the enterprise.
I stated in my last communication to Mr. Brandram the plan which I
conceived to be the best for circulating that portion of the edition of
the New Testament which remains unsold at Madrid, and I scarcely needed a
stimulant in the execution of my duty. At present however I know not
what to do; I am sorrowful, disappointed, and unstrung.
I wish to return to England as soon as possible; but I have books and
papers at Madrid which are of much importance to me and which I cannot
abandon. This perhaps alone prevents me embarking in the next packet. I
have moreover brought with me from Tangiers the Jewish youth who so
powerfully assisted me in that place in the work of distribution. I had
hoped to have made him of service in Spain; he is virtuous and clever.
My servant Antonio I was compelled to send back to Madrid ere my
departure from Seville on account of his many irregularities.
I am almost tempted to ask whether some strange, some unaccountable
delusion does not exist. What should induce me to stay in Spain, as you
appear to suppose I intend? I may, however, have misunderstood you. I
wish to receive a fresh communication as soon as possible either from
yourself or Mr. Brandram; in the meantime I shall go to Seville, to which
place and to the usual number pray direct.
I enclose the last letter which I received from the firm of O'Shea, from
which it will appear that I received [word missing] thirty of the fifty
pounds drawn for: the residue covers the expenses at Madrid, of which I
defray one-half, the books being deposited at my lodgings. I shall
shortly send in my account for the last four months. Pray present my
kind remembrances to Mrs. B. and believe me to remain, Revd. and dear
Sir,
Ever truly yours,
G. B.
_P.S._--Best regards also to Messrs. Brandram and Jowett.
I have this moment received a letter from Seville, which was awaiting my
arrival at the post office. The British consul states that the Bibles in
embargo there are at the disposal of the Society; this is the work of my
friend Mr. Southern at Madrid, for had he not exerted his powerful
interest in the matter they were lost, and could not even have been
exported. To whom shall I send them? To Gibraltar, or to England?
To the Rev. A. Brandram (Private)
(_Endorsed_: recd. Octr. 14, 1839)
SEVILLE, PLAZUELA DE LA PILA SECA No. 7,
29_th_ _Sepr._ 1839.
REVD. AND DEAR SIR,--I beg leave to return you my best thanks for your
kind communication of the 27th Aug. which I found awaiting me on my
return from Tangiers, and for which I was already to a certain degree
prepared by my dear friend Mr. Browne's letter directed to the care of
Mr. Brackenbury at Cadiz. I shall act up as soon as possible to the
Committee's request, that I take immediate measures for selling the
remainder of our Bible stock in Spain, or leaving it in safe custody. I
will now tell you in a few words the steps which it appears to me most
advisable to take in the present emergency.
I shall mount my horses and depart for La Mancha; where I shall take up
my abode for a few weeks in a town with which you are already acquainted
and where I believe I have friends, and to which place I shall order a
chest of Testaments to be despatched from Madrid, on the receipt of which
I shall endeavour with the assistance of Hayim Ben Attar to put as many
copies as possible into circulation. I have always wished to do
something in La Mancha, which is in every respect the worst part of
Spain. I distinctly see that it must be now or never. God has granted
me success in many difficult enterprises: perhaps it will please Him to
favour me in this.
I shall then move upon Madrid, and arrange matters in that capital. If I
may be permitted here to offer my advice, I would strongly recommend that
four hundred copies of the New Testament be left there in deposit, with
those of Saint Luke in Gypsy and Basque which remain unsold. Of the
former Gospel, indeed, there are not many, nearly one hundred copies
having been circulated amongst the Rommanees of Andalusia during my
present visit. I then purpose to make for France, passing through
Saragossa, in which place, which is large and populous, I hope to
accomplish some good in the Lord's cause. This is the outline of my
plan, which I shall attempt to put into execution without delay; though
if any one could propose a wiser, and better adapted to the present
circumstances, I shall at once relinquish it.
I have just received a communication from Mr. Brackenbury, in which he
has done me the honour to furnish me with a copy of a letter which he has
addressed to yourself and in which he has spoken of me. The principal
consolation of a person in misfortune is the being able to say, 'In
whatever I have done, I have had the glory of God at heart'; and
certainly next to this consolation is the knowledge that his deeds and
actions meet the approbation of the good, the wise, and the
distinguished. I wish not to recapitulate what I have done, but I beg to
be permitted to say that wherever I have been I have endeavoured to
elicit the kindly feelings of my fellow-creatures, not for my own benefit
but for the advancement of the true doctrine. I found Mr. B. during my
last visit in a state of considerable agitation. He showed me a letter
from Lord. P [Palmerston], a circular as it appeared, in which the
British consuls and their assistants in Spain are strictly forbidden to
afford the slightest countenance to religious agents. What was the cause
of this last blow? Mr. B. says it was an ill-advised application made to
his Lordship to interfere with the Spanish Government in behalf of a
certain individual whose line of conduct needs no comment. There are
people in Spain who remember the time when those very consuls received
from a British Ambassador at Madrid instructions of an exactly contrary
character; but when dead flies fall into the ointment of the apothecary,
they cause it to send forth an unpleasant savour.