GIBRALTAR.
February 14th, 1893.
[DEAR MOTHER:]
The luck of the British Army which I am modestly fond of
comparing with my own took a vacation yesterday as soon as I
had set foot on land. In the first place Egypt had settled
down to her sluggish Nile like calm and cholera had
quarantined the ship I wanted to take to Algiers, shutting off
Algiers and what was more important Tunis. The Governor was
ill shutting off things I wanted and his adjutant was boorish
and proud and haughty. Then I determined
to go to Spain but found I had arrived just one day too late
for the last of the three days of the Mardi Gras and too early
for bull fights. Had I taken Saavedra's letters I should have
gone to Madrid and met the Queen and other proud folks. So on
the whole I was blue. But I have now determined to take a
boat for Tangier at once where I have letters to the Duke de
Tnas who is the Master of the Hounds there and a great sport
and they say it is very amusing and exciting. In a fortnight
I shall go to Malta. I called on Harry Cust's brother and
told him who I was and he took me in and put me at the head of
the table of young subalterns in grand uniforms and we had
marmalade and cold beef and beer and I was happy to the verge
of tears to hear English as she is spoke. Then we went to a
picnic and took tea in a smuggler's cave and all the
foxterriers ran over the table cloth and the Captain spilt hot
water over his white flannels and jumped around on one leg.
After which we played a handkerchief game sitting in a row and
pelting the girls with a knotted handkerchief and then
fighting for it — During one of these scrimmages Mulvaney, two
others and Learoyd came by and with eyes front and hands at
their caps marched on with stolid countenances, but their
officers were embarrassed. It is hard to return a salute with
your face in the sand and a stout American sitting on your
neck and pulling your first lieutenant's leg. I am now deeply
engaged for dinners and dances and teas and rides and am
feeling very cheerful again. I am also very well thank
you and have no illnesses of any sort. You told me to be sure
and put that in — As you see, I have cut out half of my trip
to avoid the cholera, so you need not worry about
that.
To-day I am going over the
ramparts as much as they will allow and to-morrow I go to
Tangier where I expect to have some boar hunting. I would
suggest your getting
The Evangelist in a week or two as
Dr.
Field's letters cover all I have seen. I do not tell you
anything about the place because you will read that in the
paper to the H. W. but I can assure you the girls are very
pretty and being garrison girls are not as shy as those at
home in England. I am the first American they ever met they
assure me every hour and we get on very well notwithstanding.
You can imagine what it is like when Spaniards, Moors and
English Soldiers are all crowded into one long street with
donkeys and geese and priests and smugglers and men in polo
clothes and soldiers in football suits and sailors from the
man-of-war. Of course, the Rock is the best story of it all.
It is a fair green smiling hill not a fortress at all. No
more a fortress to look at than Fairmont Park water works, but
the joke of it is that under every bush there is a gun and
every gun is painted green and covered with hanging curtains
of moss and every promenade is undermined and the bleakest
face of the rock is tunnelled with rooms and halls. Every
night we are locked in and the soldiers carry the big iron
keys clanking through the streets. It is going to make
interesting reading.
DICK.
