The Middy and the Moors: An Algerine Story by R. M. Ballantyne (best books to read in your 20s TXT) đ
- Author: R. M. Ballantyne
Book online «The Middy and the Moors: An Algerine Story by R. M. Ballantyne (best books to read in your 20s TXT) đ». Author R. M. Ballantyne
âIs your business a secret?â asked Foster, as he and his companion descended the picturesque road that led to the city.
âNo, it am no secret, âcause Iâs got no business.â
âYou seem to be in a mysterious mood this morning, Peter. What do you mean?â
âI mean dat you anâ meâs out for a holidayâtwo slabes out for a holiday! Tâink ob dat!â
The negro threw back his head, opened his capacious jaws, and gave vent to an almost silent chuckle.
âThat does indeed mound strange,â returned Foster; âhow has such a wonderful event been brought about?â
âBy lub, Geoâge. Diânât I tell you before dat hub am eberytâing?â
âYes; and my dear old mother told me, long before you did, that âlove is the fulfilling of the law.ââ
âWell, I dun know much about law, âxcepâ dat I bâlieve itâs a passel oâ nonsense, for what weâs got here anât oâ no useâleastwise not for slabes.â
âBut my mother did not refer to human laws,â returned Foster. âShe quoted what the Bible says about Godâs laws.â
âOh! das a bery diffârent tâing, massa, anâ I sâpose your mudder was right. Anyway it was lub what obercame Ben-Ahmed. You see, I put it to âim bery tender like. âMassa,â says I, âhere Iâs bin wid you night anâ day for six year, anâ youâs nebber say to me yet, âPeter de Great, go out for de day anâ enjoy youâself.â Now, massa, I wants to take dat small raskil Geoâge Fuster to de town, anâ show him a few tâings asâll make him do his work better, anâ datâll make you lub âim more, anâ so weâll all be more comfrable.â Das what I say; anâ when I was sayinâ it, I see de wrinkles a-cominâ round massaâs eyes, so I feel sure; for wâen dem wrinkles come to de eyes, it is all right. Anâ massa, he say, âGoâânuffin more; only âGo;â but ob course das nuff for me, so I hoed; anâ nowâweâre bof goinâ.â
At this point in the conversation they came to a place where the road forked. Here they met a number of Arabs, hasting towards the town in a somewhat excited frame of mind. Following these very slowly on a mule rode another Arab, whose dignified gravity seemed to be proof against all excitement. He might have been the Dey of Algiers himself, to judge from his bearing and the calm serenity with which he smoked a cigar. Yet neither his occupation nor position warranted his dignified air, for he was merely a seller of oranges, and sat on a huge market-saddle, somewhat in the lady-fashionâside-wise, with the baskets of golden fruit on either side of him.
Going humbly towards this Arab, the negro asked him in Lingua Franca if there was anything unusual going on in the town?
The Arab replied by a calm stare and a puff of smoke as he rode by.
âI âope his pride wonât bust âim,â muttered Peter, as he fell behind and rejoined his companion.
âDo you think anything has happened, then?â
âDereâs no sayinâ. Wonderful geese dey is in dis city. Dey seem to tâink robbery on the sea is just, anâ robbery ob de poor anâ helpless is just; but robbery ob de rich in Algiersâoh! dat awrful wicked! not to be tololerated on no account waâsomever. Konsikence isâde poor anâ de helpless git some ob de strong anâ de clebber to go on dere side, anâ den dey bust up, strangle de Dey, rob de Jews, anâ set up another guvâment.â
âRob the Jews, Peter! Why do they do that?â
âDun know, massaââ
âPlease donât call me massa any more, Peter, for Iâm not massa in any senseâbeing only your friend and fellow-slave.â
âWell, I wonât, Geoâge. Iâs a-goinâ to say I sâpose dey plunder de Jews âcause deyâs got lots oâ money anâ got no friends. Eberybody rob de Jews wâen dereâs a big rumpus. But I donât tâink dereâs a row jusâ nowâonly a scare.â
The scare, if there was one, had passed away when they reached the town. On approaching the Bab-Azoun gate, Peter got ready their passports to show to the guard. As he did so, Foster observed, with a shudder, that shreds of a human carcass were still dangling from the large hooks on the wall.
Suddenly their steps were arrested by a shriek, and several men immediately appeared on the top of the wall, holding fast a struggling victim. But the poor wretchâs struggles were vain. He was led to the edge of the wall by four strong men, and not hurled, but dropped over, so that he should not fail to be caught on one of the several hooks below.
Another shriek of terror burst from the man as he fell. It was followed by an appalling yell as one of the hooks caught him under the armpit, passed upwards right through his shoulder and into his jaws, while the blood poured down his convulsed and naked limbs. That yell was the poor manâs last. The action of the hook had been mercifully directed, and after a few struggles, the body hung limp and lifeless.
Oh! it is terrible to think of the cruelty that man is capable of practising on his fellows. The sight was enough, one would think, to rouse to indignation a heart of stone, yet the crowds that beheld this did not seem to be much affected by it. True, there were several faces that showed traces of pity, but few words of disapproval were uttered.
âCome, come!â cried our midshipman, seizing his companion by the arm and dragging him away, âlet us go. Horrible! They are not men but devils. Come away.â
They passed through the gate and along the main street of the city a considerable distance, before Foster could find words to express his feelings, and then he had difficulty in restraining his indignation on finding that the negro was not nearly as much affected as he himself was by the tragedy which they had just witnessed.
âWeâs used to it, you know,â said Peter in self-defence. âIâs seen âem hanginâ alibe on dem hooks for hours. But datâs nuffin to what some on âem do. Look dar; you see dat ole man a-sittinâ ober dere wid de small tâings for saleâhim whatâs a-doinâ nuffin, anâ sayinâ nuffin, anâ almost expectinâ nuffin? Well, I once saw dat ole man whacked for nuffinâor next to nuffinâon de sole ob his foots, soâs he couldnât walk for âbout two or târee montâs.â
They had reached the market-square by that time, and Foster saw that the man referred to was the identical old fellow with the blue coat and hood, the white beard, and the miscellaneous old articles for sale, whom he had observed on his first visit to the square. The old Arab gave Peter the Great a bright look and a cheerful nod as they passed.
âHe seems to know you,â remarked Foster.
âOh yes. He know me. I used to carry him on my back ebery morninâ to his place here dat time when he couldnât walk. Bress you! darâs lots oâ peepil knows me here. Come, Iâll âtroduce you to some more friends, anâ weâll hab a cup oâ coffee.â
Saying this, he conducted our middy into a perfect labyrinth of narrow streets, through which he wended his way with a degree of certainty that told of intimate acquaintance. Foster observed that he nodded familiarly to many of those who crowded themâto Jews, Arabs, water-carriers, and negroes, as well as to the dignified men who kept little stalls and shops, many of which shops were mere niches in the sides of the houses. So close were the fronts of these houses to each other that in many places they almost met overhead and obscured much of the light.
At last the middy and his friend stopped in front of a stair which descended into what appeared to be a dark cellar. Entering it, they found themselves in a low Arab coffee-house.
Whatever may be said of Mohammedanism as a religion, there can be no question, we should think, that it has done much among the Eastern nations to advance the cause of Temperance.
We make no defence of Mohammedâvery much the reverseâbut we hold that even a false prophet cannot avoid teaching a certain modicum of truth in his system, and when Mohammed sternly put his foot down upon strong drink, and enforced the principle of total abstinence therefrom, he did signal service to a large portion of the human family. Although, for want of better teaching, Mohammedans cling to many vices, one never sees them howling through the streets in a state of wild ferocity, or staggering homewards in a condition of mild imbecility, from the effects of intoxicating drink.
Instead of entering a low den where riot and revelry, with bad language and quarrelling, might be expected to prevail, George Foster found himself in a small white-washed apartment, where there sat several grave and sedate men, wrapped in the voluminous folds of Eastern drapery, sipping very small cups of coffee, and enjoying very large pipes of tobacco.
The room was merely a cellar, the walls being thickly stuccoed and white-washed, and the ceiling arched; but, although plain, the place was reasonably clean and eminently quiet. The drinkers did not dispute. Conversation flowed in an undertone, and an air of respectability pervaded the whole place.
At the further end of the apartment there was a curious-looking fireplace, which seemed to have been formed without the use of square or plummet, and around which were scattered and hung in comfortable confusion the implements and utensils of cookery. Nothing of the cook was visible except his bare legs and feet, the rest of him being shrouded in a recess. Beside the fireplace an Arab sat cross-legged on a bench, sipping his coffee. Beyond him in a recess another Arab was seated. He appeared to be sewing while he conversed with a negro who stood beside him. Elsewhere, in more or less remote and dim distances, other customers were seated indulging in the prevailing beverage.
âYou sit down here, Geoâge; drink anâ say notâing, but wait for me.â
With this admonition Peter the Great whispered a few words to the man who owned the establishment, and hurriedly left the place.
The middy naturally felt a little disconcerted at being thus left alone among strangers, but, knowing that in the circumstances he was absolutely helpless, he wisely and literally obeyed orders. Sitting down on a bench opposite the fire, from which point of observation he could see the entrance-door and all that went on around him, he waited and said nothing until the chief of the establishment presented him with a white cup of coffee, so very small that he felt almost equal to the swallowing of cup and coffee at one gulp. With a gracious bow and âThank you,â he accepted the attention, and began to sip. The dignified Arab who gave it to him did not condescend upon any reply, but turned to attend upon his other customers.
Fosterâs first impulse was to spit out the sip he had taken, for to his surprise the coffee was thick with grounds. He swallowed it, however, and wondered. Then, on taking another sip and considering it, he perceived that the grounds were not as grounds to which he had been accustomed, but were reducedâno doubt by severe poundingâto a pasty condition, which made the beverage resemble chocolate. âCoffee-soup! with sugarâbut no milk!â he muttered, as he tried another sip. This third one convinced him that the ideas of Arabs regarding coffee did not coincide with those of Englishmen, so he finished the cup at the fourth sip, much as he would have taken a dose of physic, and thereafter amused himself with
Comments (0)