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 doomed to death; [29] but,
when purchased by the slave-dealers, their lives are spared, and they
are made True Believers. Still, the Mussulmen would assist the English
in destroying the ships which carry slaves;" (as if the Moors had any
fleet).
The number of slaves in this city is from eight hundred to one thousand.
It is difficult to ascertain any thing like the exact number, the
opulent Moors having many negress slaves, with whom they live in a state
of concubinage. Young, rich, and fashionable Moors, I was told for the
first time in a Mahommedan country, have become disgusted with the old
habit of managing and taking a wife early, and adopt the immoral
practice of buying female slaves, by which they avoid, as they say, the
trouble and expense of marrying females of their own rank in Moorish
society. A good Mussulman must however, marry once in his life.
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