These facts
are enough, and with any human man they will out-weigh all other
instances, however numerous, of alleged good treatment on the part of
Moorish slave masters. [32]
I took a ride with Mr. Elton on the sandy beach. There is a fort in
ruins, at about half an hour's distance, illustrating most emphatically
the parable of the man who built his house upon the sands.
This fort, which was to command the southern entrance of the harbour, is
supposed to be of Spanish construction, and built about the same time as
the city.
It was once of considerable size and height, but is now a fallen and
ruined mass, its foundations "upon the sands" having given way. Storms
along this shore are often terribly destructive, we passed a portion of
the hulk of a vessel completely buried in the sand. [33]
Notwithstanding the sober and taciturn character of the Moor, he can
sometimes indulge himself in pleasantry and caricature. The Moors have
made caricatures of the three last emperors, assisted by some Spanish
renegade artist: these Princes are Yezid, Suleiman, and Abd Errahman.
Yezid is represented as throwing away money with one hand, and cutting
off heads with the other, depicting his ferocity in destroying his
enemies, and his generosity in heaping favours on his friends. Suleiman
is represented as reading the Koran, in the character of a devout and
good man.
