WHERE FISH EX JOY THEMSELVES. 



185 



beautiful view of the bay and surrounding country- 

 is obtained. 



In the cool, clear October mornings, half an hour 

 before sunrise, I know no greater pleasure than to 

 visit this roof in your pyjamas, and have a lounge in 

 a luxurious Oriental chair. Then is the time of day 

 to enjoy your Mocha coffee, half-a-dozen or more of 

 those small, exquisite golden figs, and after- 

 wards a chibouque of pure Latakia tobacco. 

 These three luxuries are all here unrivalled in 

 their excellence, and are only to be obtained in 

 perfection in a Moslem country. This particular 

 variety of fig can also be got in Gibraltar, but they 

 will not bear transportation home, from the 

 delicacy of their nature. Served, floating in a 

 finger-glass of iced water, they are simply delicious, 

 and almost rival that prince of .all fruits, the man- 

 gosteen of Malaya. 



But, while gratifying the palate, the eyes need 

 not be idle. In front of you stretches an entensive 

 bay, not unlike in formation and surroundings to that 

 of Table Bay, when the observer gazes towards the 

 Blue-berg, but the water here is much clearer and a 

 brighter blue than what surrounds the Cape of Good 

 Hope. Moreover, it does not have small trees of 

 kelp floating in every direction over its surface, against 

 which the sea splashes and frets and breaks, destroy- 

 ing in no small degree the otherwise placid picture. 

 The Bay of Tangiers I have frequently seen without 

 a ripple, except when a tunny-fii3h or giant horse- 

 mackerel dashed along the surface in pursuit of some 

 school of sardines or anchovies. The big fish here 

 seem " to have a good time," and possess littlt ""^ar of 

 either hooks or nets, for the dolphin, skip-jacK, and 

 albicore will often be observed in thousands playing 

 the game of ," follow my leader," while every now 

 and again some sportive individual of the interesting 

 coterie will spring eight '^'cn ten feet clear of his 



ii 



