as his caprice d icta te s; for the same imperious despotism which the Emperor too frequently exercises over his bashaws and alkaids, is exercised b y them ove r those who fall under their g o v e rnm en t; and the same is done again b y their subalterns, when they have it in their power; thus tyranny proceeds progressively from the prince to the lowest o f his officers: these, petty tyrants are dispersed over the whole empire, and often g iv e sanction to their extortions b y effecting them in the name o f their master; the accumulation o f wealth is the grand object o f all the ir desires ; when they learn from their emissaries, or spies, that an individual has acquired considerable property, they contrive to find out some cause o f accusation against him, and by that means extort money from him. It often happens, however, that those who amass the greatest sums in this way enjoy their ill gotten wealth but a v e ry short t im e ; some unexpected order from the Emperor, accusing them o f crimes or misdemeanors, is made a pretext for depriving them, in their turn, o f the ir property, w hich his majesty never fails to inform them can be o f no use to them, being more than sufficient to procure the necessaries o f life, and ought therefore to belong to the (Biet el Mel el Mooselmin) Mohammedan treasury, into which it is accordingly delivered, never more to return to its former possessor. T h e influence o f this mode o f government upon the people is such as might naturally be expected ; they are suspicious, deceitful, and c r u e l ; they ha ve no respect for their neighbours, but w ill plunder one another whenever it is in their p ow e r ; they are strangers to e v e ry social tie and affection, for their hearts are. scarcely ssuceptible o f one tender impression ; the Character o f the Moors. 153 father fears the son, the son the fa th e r ; and this lamentable mistrust, and want o f confidence, diffuses itself throughout the whole community. The pride and arrogance o f the Moors is u n p a ra lle led , or though they liv e in the most deplorable state o f ignorance, slavery, and barbarism, y e t they consider themselves the first people in the world, and contemptuously term all others barbarians. Their sensuality knows no bounds : b y the laws of the Koran, they are allowed four wives, and as many concubines as the y are able to support, but such is their wretched d eprav ity, that they indulge in the most unnatural and abominable propensities;* in short, eve ry vic e that is disgraceful and degrading to human nature, is to be found amongst them. It must be confessed, however, that some o f the well educated Moors are courteous and polite, and are possessed o f gieat suavity o f manners. T h e y are affable and communicative where they repose confidence; and i f in conversation the subje c t o f discussion be serious, and the parties become warm in dispute, they have generally the prudence to turn the subject in a delicate m an n e r; they are slow at taking offence, but when irritated, are noisy and implacable. There is one noble trait in the character o f this people which I cannot avoid mentioning, that is fortitude under misfortune ; this the Moor possesses in an eminent degree; he never despairs ; no bodily suffering, no calamity, however great, w ill make him complain ; he is resigned in all things to the w ill o f God, and waits in patient hope for an amelioration o f his condition. In illustration o f this, I w ill take the lib erty to relate * By the laws of the Koran, these crimes are punishable by death ; but they are so generally indulged in, as to be mutually connived at. X
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