I Observed That These Blacks, When The Moors Presented
Them Their Hands At Departing, Invariably Made An Effort To Press
Them to their lips, which effort was as uniformly foiled, the Moors
in every instance, by a speedy and graceful
Movement, drawing back
their hand locked in that of the black, which they pressed against
their own heart; as much as to say, "though a negro and a slave you
are a Moslem, and being so, you art our brother - Allah knows no
distinctions." The boatman now went up to the hadji, demanding
payment, stating, at the same time, that he had been on board three
times on his account, conveying his luggage. The sum which he
demanded appeared exorbitant to the hadji, who, forgetting that he
was a saint, and fresh from Mecca, fumed outrageously, and in
broken Spanish called the boatman thief. If there be any term of
reproach which stings a Spaniard (and such was the boatman) more
than another, it is that one; and the fellow no sooner heard it
applied to himself, than with eyes sparkling with fury, he put his
fist to the hadji's nose, and repaid the one opprobrious name by at
least ten others equally bad or worse. He would perhaps have
proceeded to acts of violence had he not been pulled away by the
other Moors, who led him aside, and I suppose either said or gave
him something which pacified him, as he soon got into his boat, and
returned with them on shore. The captain now arrived with his
Jewish secretary, and orders were given for setting sail.
At a little past twelve we were steering out of the bay of
Gibraltar; the wind was in the right quarter, but for some time we
did not make much progress, lying almost becalmed beneath the lee
of the hill; by degrees, however, our progress became brisker, and
in about an hour we found ourselves careering smartly towards
Tarifa.
The Jew secretary stood at the helm, and indeed appeared to be the
person who commanded the vessel, and who issued out all the
necessary orders, which were executed under the superintendence of
the old Genoese mate. I now put some questions to the hadji, but
he looked at me askance with his sullen eye, pouted with his lip,
and remained silent; as much as to say, "Speak not to me, I am
holier than thou." I found his negroes, however, far more
conversable. One of them was old and ugly, the other about twenty,
and as well looking as it is possible for a negro to be. His
colour was perfect ebony, his features exceedingly well formed and
delicate, with the exception of the lips, which were too full. The
shape of his eyes was peculiar; they were rather oblong than round,
like those of an Egyptian figure. Their expression was thoughtful
and meditative. In every respect he differed from his companion,
even in colour, (though both were negroes,) and was evidently a
scion of some little known and superior race.
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