Mohammed 



"See the surf is white and frothy, 



Lashed upon the yellow sand — 

 I am poor, and wear no small-clothes, 



I will bear my lord to land," 



" If j^ou bear me through the water, 

 What's your price — the smallest sum?" 



For Inglese loves to bargain. 

 And the gold sticks to his thumb. 



"I demand but one peseta, 



One peseta and no more." 

 " Dog ! " he cried, " thou shalt not cheat me, 



Sooner will I wade ashore." 



This impromptu, delivered in a rough sonorous voice, with 

 much spirit and humour, in a lively trochaic (that is to 

 say, trundling) metre, was received w^ith laughter and 

 applause. 



The town of Tangier stands on a slope within the 

 western horn of the bay. On the horn is a ruinous old 

 fortress, up to which the town rises in a flight of flat-topped 

 houses, with here and there a few towers and minarets ; it 

 is in fact like an ordinary picture of an Eastern city. 



When we emerged from the skirmish on the beach, we 

 were still followed by a stately old Moor, with a clean 

 white turban, who seemed in a tranquil manner to have 

 made up his mind that we were now become part of his 

 private property. He talked a peculiar Spanish. 



"Senora Inglesa tengo fonda aqui riba." (An English 

 lady has an hotel up here.) 



" Oh, that's it," said Harry. " He belongs to Miss 

 Duncan's hotel, that's all right." 



"Yez, gen-men, me Mohammed, all right, belongy 

 to Miss Duncan Hotel. Tought gen-men was Spanis ; 

 me talk Inglis same as Spanis. Zat mosky ! musleman 



^74 



