lf to the mob, or the
wild levies who had come from their mountains. The fault of the Governor
was, in exciting the warlike fanaticism of the tribes of the interior
against the Christians, which he ought to have known the city
authorities might have extreme difficulty in keeping within bounds. No
European could pass the gates of the city without being spat upon, and
cursed by the barbarous Berbers.

I paid a visit to M. Authoris, the Belgium merchant, and the only
European trader carrying on business independently of the Emperor. He
represented the commerce of the country to be in a most deplorable
condition. "There is now nothing to buy or sell on which there is a gain
of one per cent. The improvidence of the people is so great that, should
one harvest fail, inevitable famine would be the result, there not being
a single bushel of grain more in the country than is required for daily
consumption. Nor will the people avail themselves of any opportunity of
purchasing a thing cheap when it is cheap; they simply provide for their
hourly wants. They act in the literal sense of 'Take no thought for the
morrow, but let the morrow take care of itself.' As to the Jews, they
feast one day and fast the next." With regard to the excitement then
existing, M. Authoris observed. "This Government, on hearing rumours of
Spanish and French expeditions against the country, must naturally make
use of what power it has, the Holy War power, to excite the people in
their own defence. The Moors cannot discriminate Gazette intelligence.
When a worthless newspaper mentions an expedition being fitted out
against Morocco, the Emperor immediately sees a fleet of ships within
sight of his ports, and hears the reports of bombarding cannon." The raw
levies of Shedmah and Hhaha continued to enter the town, but only a
small number at a time, lest they should alarm the inhabitants. They
went about, peeping into houses, and wherever a door was open they would
walk in, staring with a wild curiosity.

I had some conversation with my Moorish friends respecting the abolition
of slavery. An old doctor observed, "The English are not more humane
than other nations, but God has decreed that they should destroy the
slave-trade among the Christians. This, however, is no praise to them,
for they could not resist acting according to the will and mind of God.
As for the Mussulmen, what they do is for the benefit of slaves,
especially females, who, one and all, are do