The governor of Tangier, the three sons of the late bashaw, and the
other person, who were freed of their chains to be spectators of
the slaughter, were petrified with horror at the sight and full of
apprehension that they were reserved for sufferings more severe. At
length, the emperor approaching them warned them of the spectacle
they beheld, and advised them to take care that his affairs be
properly administered at Tangier in future.
By this means he intended to extort a sum of money from their
friends, but as this did not follow according to his expectations
he summoned them once more before him and gave orders for their
immediate execution. He had previously told them, however, that
having promised they should not die by the sword, they should all
suffer by the bow-string. Hereupon two of his guards were selected
who were employed to strangle them, one after another; which they
did with all imaginable deliberation, in obedience to the orders
of the emperor to take a moderate time in the executions for the
sake of his own enjoyment. And notwithstanding the small number of
victims, it occupied two hours.
[Illustration: TAKING ON THE PILOT IN THE 18TH CENTURY]
The British sailors confessed that such barbarity made them tremble,
and all that sustained their hopes was the rumor of the expected
arrival of an ambassador from England. The consul could do nothing for
them. Mr. Kilbs, the sailing-master of the _Inspector_, fainted at
his work while the emperor was inspecting the building. The despot of
Morocco inquired why the overseers permitted such indolence, but when
the case was explained and he saw that the mariner was in the agonies
of death, he was kind enough to order him carried into the castle,
where he soon expired. In this instance there was no touch of the
whimsical humor displayed when two superannuated Moorish soldiers
toppled over with exhaustion. The emperor cursed them most heartily, at
which the two old men in tremulous accents entreated him to pity their
infirmities and grant them charity during the few years of life left to
them, reminding the emperor of their eighteen years of service in the
army. To this plea their ruler amiably replied that he could perceive
their inability to labor any longer and it was therefore his duty to
protect them against the evils of old age and poverty. He therefore
graciously ordered that they both be shot through the head without more
ado.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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