The other was pork. The very sight of the fatty meat on the table was quite enough to destroy my appetite. It was not so much on account of the rules of the faith which I profess that I was horrified to see the flesh of the pig before me; drinking wine is as strictly forbidden to us as eating pork, but I had already transgressed the good rules of total abstinence. My invincible objection to pork is based upon my early impressions, when I was taught to look upon the pig as the dirtiest animal in creation, and I cannot even now get over that feeling of dislike, though I have been living among pig-eating Europeans for several years.
On the eleventh day after our departure from the Bosphorus we arrived at Gibraltar, where the ship stopped for a few hours, and taking advantage of this, I hailed a Spanish boatman and was rowed to the town. In the town I discovered a Moorish shop, in which an elderly white-turbaned Arab was sitting. Owing to my ignorance of English I had not been able to talk with anyone since our departure, and I was longing to find someone with whom I could have a chat, so I greeted him with a salaam and talked to him. At first he appeared rather reluctant to enter into conversation with me. I think he suspected me of being a fraud, posing as the follower of the same Prophet in order to cheat or swindle him. However, we parted on friendly terms. He entertained a poor opinion of the Spaniards, but liked the English. In this town I saw British soldiers for the first time. They were on parade. I admired the neatness and newness of their uniform, which was decidedly much superior to that of our troops; but, on the other hand, I thought the bearing of the Turkish soldiery was more naturally military than that of the Englishmen. But I was much struck by the appearance of some hardy, weather-beaten, and determined--looking blue jackets who were walking about. It may be that what I had already heard of the men who had helped to build up Great Britain's sea-power made me admire these brave sailors the more. After seeing one or two more of the sights of Gibraltar, I hurried back to our ship, which started about an hour later for England. How dreadfully slowly cargo boats move! It took seven days to go from Gibraltar to Hull.