480 
adams's narrative* 
mously attest, that at no distant period the Moors 
were numerous, and possessed of great power and 
influence in that city. Putting these statements 
together, it appears almost certain, that there must 
have been a recent and total revolution 5 a struggle 
for power between the Negroes and Moors, which 
ended in the total expulsion of the latter. Still 
numerous and powerful as the Moors are represent- 
ed to have been, nothing could be more natural, 
than that they should make an effort to regain the 
supreme command of which they had been divest- 
ed. If this failed, it would naturally follow, that 
they would be entirely driven out, and a system of 
jealous precaution adopted, such as Adams repre- 
sents to be so rigidly enforced. It may perhaps be 
thought pushing the inference too far to conjec- 
ture, that the new state of Cidi Heshem, on the 
northern border of the desert, may be in a great 
measure composed of the refugees from Tombuctoo. 
Yet it seems difficult otherwise to account for so 
many opulent merchants taking up their abode in 
such a place ; and nothing could be more natural 
in such a colony, than the establishment of a mar- 
ket for the commodities of Soudan. 
Such a revolution, the occurrence of which, at 
one time or other, can scarcely, I think, admit of 
a doubt, would necessarily involve a diminution of 
tie splendour and commercial importance of Tom- 
buctoo. That these have been overrated, I am 
