We Were
Joined By A Considerable Number Of Fresh Arabs, Who "Played At Powder,"
And Kept Firing And Galloping Before
The Bey the whole day; some of them
managed themselves and their arms and horses with great address,
balancing the
Firelock on their heads, firing it, twisting it round,
throwing it into the air, and catching it again, and all without once
losing the command of their horses. An accident happened amidst the fun;
two of the parties came in contact, and one of them received a dreadful
gash on the forehead. The dresses of some of them were very rich, and
looked very graceful on horseback. A ride over sand-hills brought us in
view of the town, embedded in olive and date-trees, looking fresh and
green after our hot and dusty march; it lay stretched at the foot of a
range of hills, which formed the boundaries of another extensive plain.
We halted at Ghafsa, [37] which is almost a mass of rubbish filled with
dirty people, although there are plenty of springs about, principally
hot and mineral waters. Although the Moors, by their religion, are
enjoined the constant use of the bath, yet because they do not change
their linen and other clothes, they are always very dirty. They do not,
however, exceed the Maltese and Sicilians, and many other people of the
neighbourhood, in filth, and perhaps the Moors are cleaner in their
hahits than they. The Arabs are extremely disgusting, and their women
are often seen in a cold winter's evening, standing with their legs
extended over a smoky wood fire, holding up their petticoats, and
continuing in this indelicate position for hours together.
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