REFINEMENT OF ARROGANCE. 13% 
^nd suppose tliat the sun rises for them alone. Contemplate 
that planet," said a Moor to a Christian slave ; ^' it is unknown 
in thy country : during the night you are not enlightened like 
us, by that orb which rules on our days and our lasts^ or by 
those luminaries which fill the celestial arch, and indicate the 
hours for our prayers ~(he alluded to the stars.) You have no 
trees, nor camels, nor sheep, nor sand, nor goats," continued 
he ; nor are your women made like ours. You do not inhabit 
the earth, but '4i'e born^ live, and die in your houses that float 
jon the sea." 
The greatest luxury of a Moor is to see his wives and daughters 
richly dressed, and on them he exhibits all his opulence by or^ 
^lamenting their ea^s, arnjs, and legs with ^ings of gold and 
i^ilver. 
They have no knowledge of the arts and trade, though they 
make in a rude manner, pikes, knives, and even kettles, from the 
native iron which is fmiiished to them by the Negroes. Everything' 
else for which they have occasion comes to them either directly 
or indirectly from the Europeans. They are a pastoral kind of 
people ; and when at peace, rear great numbers of oxen, cow5, 
sheep, goats, and horses. Tiiey make their oxen carry burdens, 
and cross rivers, on which occasions thevride them like horses. 
They have no knowledge of cultivating land. The person who 
is charged with the labour, repairs to a spot which appears most 
moistened by rain, and scatters indifferently the seeds of millet, 
barley, and wheat, which he covers by drawing over them a 
plough harnessed to a camel. This implement, without breaking 
the ground, rnakes a simple furrow at its surface. If the sub- 
sequent rains promote the growth of the seed, each person takes 
the portion that belongs to him, and retires to his camp. Some- 
times, instead of waiting till the grain comes to maturity, they 
cut it dov^n and dry it on hot ashes, by which they deprive 
themselves of an abundant harvest, as well as of the straw^ that 
would feed their horses. But the Moors have no regard for fu- 
turity; |:hey think only of the present. 
Their common course of provisions is millet, barley, wheat, 
rnilk, honey, locusts, and wild animals, They make no use of 
poultry or domestic animals, except at the last extremity, or on 
solemn occasions, such as the visits of princes or distinguished 
friends, the birth of sons, marriages, or deaths. They pass al- 
ternately from abstinence to voracity. Their religion subjects 
them to frequent and rigorous fasts: in their travels they endure 
hunger and thirst; but when they find an opportunity of satis- 
fying their appetite, they eat at a single meal more than three 
JEuropeans, and drink in proportion. Several of them, parti- 
