The Jewish Town Is Quite Distinct From That Of The Moors; But The
Difference Between Them Is Very Little:
The streets are equally narrow
and dirty, and the houses have no windows on the outside; the roofs
are also quite flat; the only variation is, that the streets are
covered with a roof extending from the houses on each side, and have
the appearance of subterraneous passages.
There is a regular
communication between the houses at the top, which is the favourite
scene of recreation. Some of the women scarcely ever take the air,
excepting on these flat roofs: in short, the inhabitants, both Jews
and Moors, dance, sing, and take all their amusements on them. The
rooms of the Jewish houses (as well as of the Moors) are long, narrow,
and lofty, resembling galleries. Most of the houses are occupied by
several families, which are generally large. Those inhabited by the
more opulent are kept tolerably neat, and are adorned with rich and
curious furniture; but they are, for the most part, exceedingly dirty;
and the exhalations from the garlic and oil, which they use in great
quantities in frying their fish, are enough to suffocate a person not
entirely divested of the sense of smelling. Their taste is so
exquisitely refined, in regard to the oil they use, that they prefer
our lamp-oil to any other, on account of its high flavour.
Notwithstanding all these apparent obstacles to health, they contrive
to preserve it admirably well. To an Englishman, their mode of life
would scarcely appear worthy to be called living, but merely
vegetating. Since the last plague, however, in Barbary, which
destroyed a vast number of the Jews, they have not suffered from any
infectious or contagious disorder, and their population has augmented
so prodigiously, that the Emperor must, however reluctantly, extend
the limits of their town. The Jews marry extremely young. It is not
at all unusual to see a married couple, whose united ages do not
exceed twenty-two or twenty-three years.
I cannot quit Tetuan, without giving you some account of _Ceuta_,
which is at so small a distance from it. From its situation, it
perfectly corresponds with the _Exillissa_ of _Ptolemy_, being the
first maritime town to the eastward of the ancient _Tingis_, or modern
Tangiers. It also clearly appears to have been the _Septa_ described
by _Procopius_, who, with many others, derives this name from the
adjacent seven hills. It was a place of great note in the time of the
Vandals. It is now a strong regular fortified town. Ceuta is thirty
miles from Tangiers, and nearly opposite to the entrance of the bay of
Gibraltar. It is nominally still in the hands of the Spaniards; but
it is confidently rumoured, and believed, to have been ceded by treaty
to the French. This important fortress has been, and is still,
occasionally most awfully distressed for want of provisions; insomuch,
that if closely besieged by land, by the Moors, and blocked up by the
English by sea, it could not hold out any considerable time in
possession of the French. The advantages resulting to Great Britain
from such a valuable acquisition are incalculable.
Every person who is acquainted with the situation of Ceuta, the rival
of Gibraltar, must be very much astonished, that it should still be
permitted to remain in the possession of the Spaniards, since a
squadron of men of war, and a flotilla of gun and bomb vessels, might
reduce it, even without the assistance, of the Moors; and thereby
England would be sole mistress of the entrance to the
Mediterranean. Convoys could collect in safety at Ceuta, and our trade
in this sea be comparatively secure from annoyance. I understand this
place was closely invested by Muley Yezid (the late Emperor of
Morocco, and brother to the present Emperor), but for want of proper
co-operation by sea, where it is most vulnerable, he was necessitated
to raise the siege, and withdraw his troops.
This garrison is supplied with provisions from Spain, the Moors being
prohibited, on pain of death, from sending their commodities thither;
and in order that this interdiction may be strictly observed, picquets
and posts of Moorish cavalry and infantry are so judiciously
stationed, that it is impossible for the mountaineers to smuggle in
the smallest article. The supplies from Spain are extremely
precarious, from the necessity of conveying them in small fishing
craft, to prevent their falling into the hands of the English.
_Melilla_ also is in the possession of the Spaniards: this maritime
town lies to the eastward of Tetuan. Many authors assert it to have
been founded by the _Carthaginians_. It is likewise called _Melela_,
from the great quantity of honey annually obtained in its
neighbourhood. It was taken by the Spaniards about the beginning of
the fifteenth century, and has remained under their dominion ever
since. It has a strong castle, built on a rock, named _Gomera_. Along
this coast, particularly from Tetuan to Melilla, there are several
coves, in which the Spanish gunboats, and other small armed vessels,
find shelter in cases of necessity. Indeed _Melilla_ is itself a place
of refuge for those vessels of the enemy fitted out for the annoyance
of our Mediterranean trade.
I shall conclude this with a copy of a letter, which I have just
received from Mr. Ross, the acting Consul-general in the room of the
late Mr. Matra:
"DEAR SIR, _Tangiers_,
"I heard only to-day of your arrival at Tetuan, on your way to
Larache; and this evening I received a letter from Sidy Mahommed
Eslawee, Governor of that place, to request, that, if I knew you were
in this country, I would beg you to use, every possible endeavour to
come to him at Larache, and to accompany him to the Emperor, who
wishes very much to see you. Let me therefore request your repairing
as quickly as possible to Larache, and joining him before he departs;
but should you miss him, he has left orders with his
Lieutenant-governor there, to forward you on immediately.
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