CHAPTER 55

The Mole - The Two Moors - Djmah of - House of God - British Consul - Curious Spectacle - The Moorish House - Joanna Correa - Ave Maria.

So we rode to the Mole and landed. This Mole consists at present of nothing more than an immense number of large loose stones, which run about five hundred yards into the bay; they are part of the ruins of a magnificent pier which the English, who were the last foreign nation which held Tangier, destroyed when they evacuated the place1. The Moors have never attempted to repair it; the surf at high water breaks over it with great fury. I found it a difficult task to pick my way over the slippery stones, and should once or twice have fallen but for the kindness of the Genoese mariners. At last we reached the beach, and were proceeding towards the gate of the town, when two persons, Moors, came up to us. I almost started at sight of the first; he was a huge old barbarian with a white uncombed beard, dirty turban, haik, and trousers, naked legs, and immense splay feet, the heels of which stood out a couple of inches at least behind his rusty black slippers.

"That is the captain of the port," said one of the Genoese; "pay him respect." I accordingly doffed my hat and cried, "SBA ALKHEIR A SIDI" (Good-morning, my lord). "Are you Englishmans?" shouted the old grisly giant. "Englishmans, my lord," I replied, and, advancing, presented him my hand, which he nearly wrung off with his tremendous gripe. The other Moor now addressed me in a jargon composed of English, Spanish, and Arabic. A queer-looking personage was he also, but very different in most respects from his companion, being shorter by a head at least, and less complete by one eye, for the left orb of vision was closed, leaving him, as the Spaniards style it, TUERTO; he, however, far outshone the other in cleanliness of turban, haik, and trousers. From what he jabbered to me, I collected that he was the English consul's mahasni or soldier; that the consul, being aware of my arrival, had dispatched him to conduct me to his house. He then motioned me to follow him, which I did, the old port captain attending us to the gate, when he turned aside into a building, which I judged to be a kind of custom-house from the bales and boxes of every description piled up before it. We passed the gate and proceeded up a steep and winding ascent; on our left was a battery full of guns, pointing to the sea, and on our right a massive wall, seemingly in part cut out of the hill; a little higher up we arrived at an opening where stood the which I have already mentioned. As I gazed upon the tower I said to myself, "Surely we have here a younger sister of the Giralda of Seville."

1 The English held Tangier for a short while only. John Buffa, who visited in 1806, writes: ‘[] continued in [Portuguese] possession for nearly two centuries; and was at length given to our King, Charles II, as part of the dowry of his consort Catharine. We did not keep it long; for, owing to the little harmony that subsisted between that Monarch and his Parliament, it was ceded to the Moors in 1684, after we had blown up all the fortifications, and utterly destroyed the harbour’ [Travels through the Empire of Morocco, 1810, Letter 1]. See also Capell Brooke, vol. 1, chapter 14; and Richardson, vol. 1, chapter 2. George Borrow: The Bible In Spain (Gabicote Edition)

55.1 Tangier harbour with canon on the right

I know not whether the resemblance between the two edifices has been observed by any other individual; and perhaps there are those who would assert that no resemblance exists, especially if, in forming an opinion, they were much swayed by size and colour: the hue of the Giralda is red, or rather vermilion, whilst that which predominates in the Djmah of Tangier2 is green, the bricks of which it is built being of that colour; though between them, at certain intervals, are placed others of a light red tinge, so that the tower is beautifully variegated. With respect to size, standing beside the giant witch of Seville, the Tangerine Djmah would show like a ten-year sapling in the vicinity of the cedar of Lebanon, whose trunk the tempests of five hundred years have worn. And yet I will assert that the towers in other respects are one and the same, and that the same mind and the same design are manifested in both; the same shape do they exhibit, and the same marks have they on their walls, even those mysterious arches graven on the superficies of the bricks, emblematic of I know not what. The two structures may, without any violence, be said to stand in the same relation to each other as the ancient and modern Moors. The Giralda is the world's wonder, and the old Moor was all but the world's conqueror. The modern Moor is scarcely known, and who ever heard of the Tower of Tangier? Yet examine it attentively, and you will find in that tower much, very much, to admire, and certainly, if opportunity enable you to consider the modern Moor as minutely, you will discover in him, and in his actions, amongst much that is wild, uncouth, and barbarous, not a little capable of amply rewarding laborious investigation.

2 The principle Mosque of Tangier.

Chapter 55

As we passed the mosque I stopped for a moment before the door, and looked in upon the interior: I saw nothing but a quadrangular court paved with painted tiles and exposed to the sky; on all sides were arched piazzas, and in the middle was a fountain, at which several Moors were performing their ablutions.3 I looked around for the abominable thing, and found it not; no scarlet strumpet with a crown of false gold sat nursing an ugly changeling in a niche. 4 "Come here," said I, "papist, and take a lesson; here is a house of God, in externals at least, such as a house of God should be: four walls, a fountain, and the eternal firmament above, which mirrors his glory. Dost thou build such houses to the God who hast said, `Thou shalt make to thyself no graven image'? Fool, thy walls are stuck with idols; thou callest a stone thy Father, and a piece of rotting wood the Queen of Heaven. Fool, thou knowest not even the Ancient of Days, and the very Moor can instruct thee. He at least knows the Ancient of Days who has said, `Thou shalt have no other gods but me.'"5

And as I said these words, I heard a cry like the roaring of a lion, and an awful voice in the distance exclaim, "KAPUL UDBAGH" (there is no God but one).6

We were now at the consul's house, a large roomy habitation, built in the English style. The soldier led me through a court into a large hall hung with the skins of all kinds of ferocious animals, from the kingly lion to the snarling jackal. Here I was received by a Jew domestic, who conducted me at once to the consul7, who was in his library. He received me with the utmost frankness and genuine kindness, and informed me that, having received a letter from his excellent friend Mr. B., in which I was strongly recommended,8 he had already engaged me a lodging in the house of a Spanish woman, who was, however, a British subject, and with whom he believed that I should find

3 In his letter of 4 September 1839 to Brandram from Tangier, Borrow wrote: ‘Of [the interior of the principle mosque] 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’ [Darlow, 434].

4 I.e. statues of saints - here the Virgin and new-born Christ – equally abominable to Jews, Muslims and Protestants.

5 The ‘Ancient of Days’ is a Biblical name given to God. See Book of Daniel 7 : 9, 13 and 22.

6 The Islamic profession of faith, in a language which even Burke was unable to identify…

7 Edward William Auriol Drummond-Hay (1785 – 1845), who lies buried in Gibraltar’s Sandpits Cemetery. He was a nephew of the 9th Earl of Kinnoul. After military service in the 73rd Regiment, he became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1823 and in 1829 he was appointed consul at Tangier. He wrote a fascinating description of the trip he made to Marrakesh to present his credentials to the court. After his death, his son John (1816-1893) succeeded to the post, which he occupied until 1885. Drummond Hay’s papers – including journals, correspondence and notebooks - are in the Bodleian in Oxford. (See also Richardson, vol. 1, chapter 1.) The ‘Jew domestic’ was probably either of Drummond-Hay’s Jewish secretary-interpreters: Isaac Pinto and Isac Abensur (internet information).

8 In his letter from Tangiers of 4 September 1839 to Brandram, Borrow wrote: ‘Upon my departure [Brackenbury] 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’ [Darlow, 433].

George Borrow: The Bible In Spain (Gabicote Edition) myself as comfortable as it was possible to be in such a place as Tangier. He then inquired if I had any particular motive for visiting the place, and I informed him without any hesitation that I came with the intention of distributing a certain number of copies of the New Testament in the Spanish language amongst the Christian residents of the place9. He smiled, and advised me to proceed with considerable caution, which I promised to do. We then discoursed on other subjects, and it was not long before I perceived that I was in the company of a most accomplished scholar, especially in the Greek and Latin classics; he appeared likewise to be thoroughly acquainted with the Barbary empire and with the Moorish character.

55.2 Family portrait of Drummond Hay

After half an hour's conversation, exceedingly agreeable and instructive to myself, I expressed a wish to proceed to my lodging: whereupon he rang the bell, and the same Jewish domestic entering who had introduced me, he said to him in the English language, "Take this gentleman to the house of Joanna Correa, the Mahonese widow, and enjoin her, in my name, to take care of him and attend to his comforts; by doing

9 Borrow explained the rather remarkable act of carrying Spanish gospels to Tangier’s foreign residents in a letter to Brandram from Tangiers of 4 September 1839: ‘I had determined to carry the Scripture in Spanish to the Christian families established on the sea-coast of Barbary, (…) the Spanish language being in general use among them, whether Spaniards by birth or Genoese, French or English’ [Darlow, 430]. This of course, was merely a good excuse to undertake an unsolicited trip. Borrow defines the linguistic abilities of the local inhabitants much better later on in the same letter, when he writes that ‘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’ [Darlow, 439].

Chapter 55 which she will confirm me in the good opinion which I at present entertain of her, and will increase my disposition to befriend her."10

55.3 The (with the of the principle mosque)

So, attended by the Jew, I now bent my steps to the lodging prepared for me. Having ascended the street in which the house of the consul was situated, we entered a small square which stands about half way up the hill. This, my companion informed me, was the soc, or market-place.11 A curious spectacle here presented itself. All round the

10 Hay’s friendliness was not as instant as Borrow here pretends. In his letter to Brandram of 29 September 1839, he paints a different picture: ‘I found him at first reserved and distant, and I thought averse to countenance the object of my mission. In a few days, however, his manner changed surprisingly, and at my departure he begged me to communicate to the Bible Society that at all times and seasons he should be happy to receive its commands, and to render all the assistance in Fez and Morocco which his official situation would permit him, should the views of the Society at any future time be directed to those regions’ [Darlow, 446]. The gruff attitude which Hay at first displayed was common with him, and may have been inspired by the apprehension that yet another holiday maker came to cause him trouble with the unsophisticated Moroccan authorities. Richardson [vol. 1, chapter 7, note 36] records the same conduct towards other English travellers, when it writes: ‘Whatever may have been Mr. [John] Davidson's faults, I scarcely doubt that the first impressions of Mr. Consul-General Hay were correct. He says, “I fear, however, that I am not to expect much assistance from him,” (Mr. Hay); and hints, in other parts of his Journal, that Mr. Hay was rather disposed to throw difficulties in his way, than to render him efficient aid.’

11 Nowadays found on European maps as the ‘Petit Socco’. George Borrow: The Bible In Spain (Gabicote Edition) square were small wooden booths, which very much resembled large boxes turned on their sides, the lid being supported above by a string. Before each of these boxes was a species of counter, or rather one long counter ran in front of the whole line, upon which were raisins, dates, and small barrels of sugar, soap, and butter, and various other articles. Within each box, in front of the counter, and about three feet from the ground, sat a human being, with a blanket on its shoulders, a dirty turban on its head, and ragged trousers, which descended as far as the knee, though in some instances, I believe, these were entirely dispensed with. In its hand it held a stick, to the end of which was affixed a bunch of palm leaves, which it waved incessantly as a fan, for the purpose of scaring from its goods the million flies which, engendered by the Barbary sun, endeavoured to settle upon them. Behind it, and on either side, were piles of the same kind of goods. SHRIT HINAI, SHRIT HINAI, (buy here, buy here), was continually proceeding from its mouth. Such are the grocers of Tangier, such their shops.

55.4 Box-shaped market shops

[From: Letter to Brandram of 4 September 1839 from Tangier, in: Darlow, 434]

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 12 with the Moors, an honest, peaceable, and industrious people.’

12 The merchants in question came from the valley known as the Oued Souss, a riverbed which joins the Atlantic just south of Agadir. The Berbers of these regions still play a considerable part in the grocery trade of Morocco. [Fraser, GBB II : 6, 57, note 7]

Chapter 55

[Chapter 55 continued]

In the middle of the soc, upon the stones, were pyramids of melons and sandias, (the water species), and also baskets filled with other kinds of fruit, exposed for sale, whilst round cakes of bread were lying here and there upon the stones, beside which sat on their hams the wildest-looking beings that the most extravagant imagination ever conceived, the head covered with an enormous straw hat, at least two yards in circumference, the eaves of which, flapping down, completely concealed the face, whilst the form was swathed in a blanket, from which occasionally were thrust skinny arms and fingers. These were Moorish women, who were, I believe, in all instances, old and ugly, judging from the countenances of which I caught a glimpse as they lifted the eaves of their hats to gaze on me as I passed, or to curse me for stamping on their bread. The whole soc was full of peoples and there was abundance of bustle, screaming, and vociferation, and as the sun, though the hour was still early, was shining with the greatest brilliancy, I thought that I had scarcely ever witnessed a livelier scene.

55.5 Straw hats of the Tangier market women

Crossing the soc we entered a narrow street with the same kind of box-shops on each side, some of which, however, were either unoccupied or not yet opened, the lid being closed. We almost immediately turned to the left, up a street somewhat similar, and my guide presently entered the door of a low house, which stood at the corner of a little George Borrow: The Bible In Spain (Gabicote Edition) alley, and which he informed me was the abode of Joanna Correa.13 We soon stood in the midst of this habitation. I say the midst, as all the Moorish houses are built with a small court in the middle. This one was not more than ten feet square. It was open at the top, and around it on three sides were apartments; on the fourth a small staircase, which communicated with the upper story, half of which consisted of a terrace looking down into the court, over the low walls of which you enjoyed a prospect of the sea and a considerable part of the town. The rest of the story was taken up by a long room, destined for myself, and which opened upon the terrace by a pair of folding-doors. At either end of this apartment stood a bed, extending transversely from wall to wall, the canopy touching the ceiling. A table and two or three chairs completed the furniture.

I was so occupied in inspecting the house of Joanna Correa, that at first I paid little attention to that lady herself. She now, however, came up upon the terrace where my guide and myself were standing. She was a woman about five and forty, with regular features, which had once been handsome, but had received considerable injury from time, and perhaps more from trouble. Two of her front teeth had disappeared, but she still had fine black hair. As I looked upon her countenance, I said within myself, if there be truth in physiognomy, thou art good and gentle, O Joanna; and, indeed, the kindness I experienced from her during the six weeks which I spent beneath her roof would have made me a convert to that science had I doubted in it before. I believe no warmer and more affectionate heart ever beat in human bosom than in that of Joanna Correa, the Mahonese widow, and it was indexed by features beaming with benevolence and good nature, though somewhat clouded with melancholy.

She informed me that she had been married to a Genoese, the master of a felouk which passed between Gibraltar and Tangier, who had been dead about four years, leaving her with a family of four children, the eldest of which was a lad of thirteen; that she had experienced great difficulty in providing for her family and herself since the death of her husband, but that Providence had raised her up a few excellent friends, especially the British consul; that besides letting lodgings to such travellers as myself, she made bread which was in high esteem with the Moors, and that she was likewise in partnership in the sale of liquors with an old Genoese. She added, that this last person lived below in one of the apartments; that he was a man of great ability and much learning, but that she believed he was occasionally somewhat touched here, pointing with her finger to her forehead, and she therefore hoped that I would not be offended at anything extraordinary in his language or behaviour. She then left me, as she said, to give orders for my breakfast; whereupon the Jewish domestic, who had accompanied me from the consul, finding that I was established in the house, departed.

13 This boarding house – whose precise location is unknown - was opened, approximately in 1831, by Joanna’s husband Francisco Coreo (sic). At that time it was one of only two inns where Christians could put up, the other being a small hostal run by the Spaniard Blas Alvarez [Capell Brooke, vol. 1, 175]. Note, however, that Capell Brooke himself was lodged, during his 1831 visit, in the consulate in the consul’s absence [Capell Brooke, vol. 1, 176]. Joanna Correa’s inn is still mentioned in 1845 by Ford [HB, 522] as one of three boarding houses of good reputation. From Borrow’s letter from Tangier to Brandram of 4 September 1839 [Darlow, 433] one gets the impression that he lodged here during his entire Moroccan séjour.

Chapter 55

[From an autograph Ms of The Bible in Spain] 14

Joanna had scarcely been below two minutes when she came running up again in a great hurry, saying that there was a gentleman below who wanted to speak to me. I observed that there was something peculiar in her countenance, but had not time to ask her any question, as the visitor followed close at her heels. ‘Who can this be?’ thought I. The figure which presented itself before me was that of a man of about forty, diminutive in stature, and of a gait which I must call shambling, as I know no other word that can describe it. Upon the face was much purple and blue, especially upon the point of the nose. The eyes were bloodshot, and their expression was much like that of a departed tunny fish or salmon. The apparel was European; the coat and pantaloons of pepper and salt.

‘Good morning,’ said the figure in a strange accent. ‘Good morning, Sir,’ I replied. ‘An English traveller, I presume.’ ‘At your service; pray be seated.’ ‘I am not come here to be seated,’ replied the figure, taking a chair, however; ‘I am come to get you out of this house. I have bespoken a much better lodging for you.’ ‘Exceedingly obliged to you, Sir; may I ask whom I have the honour of addressing? If I am not much mistaken you are a Swede.’ ‘I am no Swede,’ said the figure; ‘what do you mean by calling me a Swede? I am a Scotchman; my name is Dalzel, son of the celebrated Dalzel, the Greek man 15 ; what 's more, I am British vice-consul in Tangiers. Therefore, get up and leave this house as soon as you can.’ ‘Certainly,’ said I, ‘if Mr. Hay desires it; but I am rather surprised that only half an hour since he should have strongly recommended me to a place which he now desires me to quit; for I presume, of course, that you come from him.’ ‘Come from him, indeed!’ replied the vice-consul; ‘what do you take me for? I come from no man and least of all from the like of him. I came to do you a kindness. You are here with an alien, a foreigner, and I should not wish to see you spend your money upon vagabonds. Come with me and I will introduce you to two decent Scotchwomen, real British subjects, and not sham ones, in whose house you will be at home; not hear a word of Spanish or Moorish, which you understand, I dare say, no more than myself. I have spoken to them already, and they are willing to receive you on my recommendation; so you had better make haste and not keep them waiting to welcome you. What do you sit there staring at me for? A'n't you coming?’

‘No, Sir, I am not,’ I replied after I had in some degree recovered from the astonishment which this strange address caused me, ‘and I am surprised that a gentleman in your situation should expect such a thing. Mr. Hay, anticipating my arrival at Tangiers, procured me a lodging much better to all appearance than I had reason to expect, and now you who are a perfect stranger to me would have me leave and accompany you I know not whither. I beg leave to assure you that I am quite incapable of such conduct, and of returning Mr. Hay's kindness with deliberate insult, as I certainly should do were I to follow your advice.’

14 The following episode – reproduced in Knapp I : 321–323 - originally formed a part of The Bible in Spain’s manuscript at this precise spot, but was omitted from the printed version. As in the case of Lieutenant Graydon, Borrow preferred to exclude from his narrative any conflicts he had had with fellow Brits, especially well-connected ones. Knapp calls it ‘The Dalzel Episode’, after its main character, Robert Adam Dalzel, the British Vice-Consul since 1837.

15 Vice-consul Dalzel was a son of Professor Andrew Dalzel (1742-1806), who held the Chair of Greek at the University of Edinburgh. [Knapp I : 320]

George Borrow: The Bible In Spain (Gabicote Edition)

‘Oh, as to that matter,’ said the vice-consul, ‘you are perfectly at liberty to stay where you are; my only motive for calling upon you now was to guard a stranger and a traveller against imposition. Pray do not think I have any other motive. Indeed, at present I wish you to remain here. Perhaps, before a few days are over, you will have occasion to rue not attending to my advice. Be it so; I bear no malice and shall always be ready to introduce you to the house of my friends - very respectable females, I assure you, mantua-makers and Scotchwomen; know perfectly well why you refuse to go there now - deference to some people who are inferior in every point to others whom fortune has placed in a subordinate situation. However, I bear no malice. I am no arbitrary bashaw16 - Mr. What's-your-name - no, Sir, nor a Swede, though you thought proper to call me so. My name is Dalzel, the son of the celebrated Dalzel, the Greek man.’

With these words he bounced downstairs followed by myself. As he went out of the door Joanna gave me a look. She had been present at a great part of our dialogue, and, though entirely ignorant of English, I have no doubt from her glance that she had perfectly understood the purport of what was said. There are many people who, whatever be the language spoken, require no interpreter, but are rather bewildered by them. They look you in the eyes, observe your mouth, and imbibe your meaning. I have heard of a Malay who knew not a word of any language but his own; yet he explained to his countrymen whatever was said, whether in Chinese, Russian, or English, and very frequently communicated the sense and spirit of a conversation better than a person versed in the respective languages could have done; for your interpreter will render words by their equivalents, but seldom grasps ideas or appreciates feeling, so that, however useful in communicating matters of fact, it is 17 dangerous to trust him when something higher is required.

[Chapter 55 continued]

I speedily sat down to breakfast in an apartment on the left side of the little wustuddur,18 the fare was excellent; tea, fried fish, eggs, and grapes, not forgetting the celebrated bread of Joanna Correa. I was waited upon by a tall Jewish youth of about twenty years, who informed me that his name was Hayim Ben Attar19, that he was a native of Fez,

16 Arabic pronunciation of Turkish Pasha; it may mean an important, but pompous oficial.

17 Knapp [I : 323] tells the sequel to this weird encounter: ‘Dalzel did not cease to call on Borrow and offer to conduct him to the curiosities of the place and its environs; nor could the latter well put him aside, though his language was often coarse and unbecoming an officer in the Queen's service. Finally, there seems to have been a denunciation at the Consulate; for, on the 25th of August, Mr. Drummond Hay took down a verbatim statement from Borrow concerning this troublesome man, apparently for the purpose of entering a complaint at the Foreign Office.’ If there were consequences to this complaint, they cannot have been too severe, for Dalzel was ‘gazetted as far along as 1844 as Consul at Port Mahon, Island of Minorca’ [Knapp, I : 320].

18 Burke [Glossary]: ‘Arabic. Home; abode. Literally: the middle of the house.’

19 Borrow was to hire this young man, first as a colporteur and then as a manservant, whom he took along first to Spain and later to England, in April 1840. Ben Attar stayed with the family for several years, only returning to his native land in 1843. Six years later he wrote Borrow from Tangier. He was now married, and had two sons, but longed to return to England if Borrow could find him work. It seems Borrow never answered… [Shorter, 306-309.] Chapter 55 from whence his parents brought him at a very early age to Tangier, where he had passed the greater part of his life principally in the service of Joanna Correa, waiting upon those who, like myself, lodged in the house. I had completed my meal, and was seated in the little court, when I heard in the apartment opposite to that in which I had breakfasted several sighs, which were succeeded by as many groans, and then came "AVE MARIA, GRATIA PLENA, ORA PRO ME,"20 and finally a croaking voice chanted:

"Gentem auferte perfidam Credentium de finibus, Ut Christo laudes debitas Persolvamus alacriter."21

"That is the old Genoese," whispered Hayim Ben Attar, "praying to his God, which he always does with particular devotion when he happens to have gone to bed the preceding evening rather in liquor. He has in his room a picture of Maria Buckra22, before which he generally burns a taper, and on her account he will never permit me to enter his apartment. He once caught me looking at her, and I thought he would have killed me, and since then he always keeps his chamber locked, and carries the key in his pocket when he goes out. He hates both Jew and Moor, and says that he is now living amongst them for his sins."

"They do not place tapers before pictures," said I, and strolled forth to see the wonders of the land.

20 Burke [footnote to 765]: ‘Hail, Mary, full of grace, pray for me’

21 Burke [footnote to 765]: ‘Remove the faithless race from the borders of the believers, that we may gladly pay due praises to Christ.’

22 Burke [Glossary]: Buckra, Arabic Bikr, a virgin; used for the Blessed Virgin Mary.