Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-08-11
III TAEGIER.

Sunday is the best market day. When
I awoke at dawn | heard the throb OF the
darabuks down in the place below, and the
innumerable hum of traffic and when l
looked out saw that the Soko was swarm
ing like an ant hill. When we descended
into the motley throng, the business of the
day was in full blast. The beggsrs followed
us about the snake. charmera and story
telers had already formed rings of delight
ed spectators; women clad in coarse white
stuff, with children slupg on their backs
stately, handsome Moorish merchants in
cool, gauzy robes; comedy urchins in rags
begging aud offering to act as guides; sell
ers Of unattractive goods crying their mer-
chandise camels roaring and donkeys
brayiug, and dervishes posturing = the
picture shifted like the bits IN kaleid-
oscope. Here was fantastic dervish ar
rogating to himself the title of Sheriff of
Bsggars, with vsriegated turbsn, his
dress thickly hung with ornaments and four
rings on each finger. Here were the I'M
pleasant Riffs from the country, men In
dirty embroidered robes, with the head all
shaved except one long curl on one side-a
lock left for Lord Mahomet to phil the
wearer up to heaven. The high civilization
and lack of aelf.consciousness Of these peo.
pie are shown by the fact that every body
may wear any dress he chooses, or none,
and attract no attention.
In the town it was Sunday also, and just
as lively The Jews form considerable
portion of the population, ard are in ap-
pearance the most decent and thrifty. We
we're admitted to several Jewish houses,
built with open courts, in the Moorish
style, which were exceedingly neat and
comfortable. The women, who have rep
utation for beauty, are of light complex.
ion-much lighter than the men and
many of them fine eyes, and all the national
fondness for jewelry. Notwithstanding
their wealth and lerly behavior, the
Jews are liked by nobody, and the Moorish
mechants, who are no more scrupulous than
othert traders, always regard the Jew as
dishonest. In no oriental community does
the Jews rise above this prejudice.
Ga street corner was roulette table
| in full operation, whirled by an honest man
from Malaga, who coveted our good opin-
ion, without expecting US to join his game (;
supposing that, as foreigners, we looked
down, as he did, upon these ignoble sur
roundings.
"You ought to be very good here"
said, with three Sabbaths-the Moslem
Friday, the Jewish Saturday and the
Christian Sunday"
sob, yes" replied the devout Spaniard,
giving the wheel whirl; "but Moors nc
keep Sunday. And" (4aid suddenly as II
it were a new thought) christians no keep
it, neither Jews must keep it; 'bliged
by their law"
We left this introducer of Christian ways
whirling his wheel and gathering in tht
stray coppers. How much sin it is to gam
BILE with the Moorish copper is a question
Having need TO fill my pocket with it tt
satisfy the beggars, received from mon
ey.changer large bowlful of it it in ex
change for peseta, silver piece worti
twenty cents.
Tangier for climate, scenery, novel en-
tertainment, is delightful winter resi-
dence. In two weeks, at any rate, we die
not tire of it, and every day became NOR,
in love with the easy terms of existence
there. The broken country in the direo
ton of Cape Spartel is inviting both to thu
foot.pad and the horseman, and the EN-
bassies, when they are not paying thei
annual visit to Morocco, the capital, mus
offer some good society. We went one da,
to the plantation of the American Consul
some two miles out on the road to Cap
: Sportel, which is laid out on one side of
glen, sheltered from the prevailing wind
but open to the ocean breezes. Here in
pretty oriental cottage, with an extensiv
garden, blooming the winter through witt
flowers of every sort, fragrant with tn
orange, the banana, the pepper and th
acacia trees, one might forget that snov
and ice and billiards" and politics ant
all the discomforts of civilization in tn
temperate zone exist.-[Chsrles Dude,
Warner, in August Atlantic.