THE MIDDLE AGES* 45 
Granada. Cotton cloth was woven in great quan- 
tity. The merchants were extremely rich ; and 
the king had married his daughters to two of their 
number. The inhabitants were copiously supplied 
with water ; that of the Niger, whenever it over- 
flowed, being conveyed into it by sluices. The 
country round abounded with corn, cattle, and 
all the necessaries of life, except salt, which was 
brought from Tegazza, situated at a distance of 
500 miles ; which was held so valuable, that Leo 
had seen a camel's load sold for 80 ducats. The 
king had a splendid court, and many ornaments of 
gold, some of which weighed 1300 ounces. He 
maintained also 3000 horsemen, and a numerous 
infantry ; many of whom were in the habit of 
using poisoned arrows. Horses were not bred, 
but imported from Barbary, and eagerly sought 
after ; so that the king, whenever any number ar- 
rived, insisted on making a selection for himself, 
paying, however, a handsome price. Manuscripts 
are particularly mentioned, not only as one of the 
imports from Barbary, but as bringing more 
money than any other commodity. The inhabi- 
tants were mild and gentle, and spent a great part 
of the night in singing and dancing. The town 
was extremely exposed to fire, and our author had 
known half of it consumed in the space of five 
hours. The religion was Mahometan ; but the 
intolerance, so strongly reported in modern times, 
