St. Landry democrat., 1880-04-24
Tastes and Virtues Of the MOorS.


The Tunisian correspondent of the
London GIote writes: The Moors may be
/ described us he semi-civilized - town
Arab The Arab, or Bcdouin, who in
habits the country is lean and meagre,
without an ounce of SupertuouS flesh.
His far-secing eyes are black, sparkling
| in a nest of wrinkles under the bony,
contracted eyebrow. His nose is we'll
shaped and thin; his lips. are colorlcss
and pursed up, as if with perpetual 81
lence, but when they are parted the
glimpse of the dazzling white teeth under
the coarse, black mustache, added to the
accompanying twinkle of the eye, renders
his smile very charming. The Bedouin
woman, when one rarely catches a sight
| of her features. seems to be pretty, when
Young, for she has the most lovely eyes,
/ shaded with long lashcs; but | fancy her
features are rather flat, and she has an
ugly habit of tatooing her face.
The physiognomy of the Moor is rath-
er different. His complexion is much
/ fairer than Of the sun-burnt Arab. Occa-
: sionally his hair and mustache are quite
! blonde, and blue and gray eyes are far
j from uncommon. The Moors of Tunis
are less fanatical and more susceptible to
European influence than their brethren
! in Morocco and even Algiers. They are
rather superstitious-as for instance,
they object to be painted or photographed
| for fear that YOU will use the counterfeit
for the purpose of sorcery-but after all,
so are most CT the people inhabiting the
Mediterranean basin. They are clearly
~, t1,.,i,. tInf
| nails are always kept close and clean,
and contrast pleasantly with the dirty
claws of the 1ndians); they are kindly
and hospitable, suaye, polite. and in their
own funny way, very intelligent.
1t is unfortunately true, however, that
they are very ignorant and self-sut1icient
If you attempt to instruct them on any
topic they simply do not believe you,
and think, moreover, that you show very
bad taste in pretending to know more
than they do. Despite their objection to
being individually reproduced on paper
or by the camera, they show childish
fondness for pictorial representations.
went one day to the house of an Arab Of
high birth and distinction here. He had
charming patio with orange trees and
I'LL Illlitltl ultlDlC loOl, uC Hat, Dtitutl1ul
specimens of Moorish filigree work and
Arab decorations full of rich color; but
it was not these he had brought me to
see. Hung up on the walls were two
rival advertisements of Peak Frean' s
and Huntley & Palmer's biscuits. 1t
was before these Mashe stopped with
pride. He revelled in the steep perspec-
tive, the countless chimneys vomiting
forth smoke; he pointed out with glee
the carts in the streets bearing the names
of the great biscuit manufacturers so dis
tinctly written, and he followed with his
finger the trains which bore away in all
directions the world-famed productions
of Reading. Some far-seeing Maltese
had given him these gaudy cards and
thereby gained his custom.
The frugality of the Arabs is too well
known to need much description. Bread
and oil form the chief articles of diet.
A greasy sort of pancake is one of their
greatest luxuries. Oranges, dates and
most sorts of fruit are eaten largely.
Game they never touch, and mutton and
poultry are almost the only forms of
meat they indulge in. They are kind to
their wives and children, fairly thought
full to their animals, and, in their own
peculiar way, very honest. They love
to cheat you in bargain, and will think
it excusable to give you wrong change;
but the true Arab rarely steals. The Sc
curity of life and property outside the
town is wonderful. / cannot say much
about their veracity, for they simply do
not know the difference between false
hood and truth; but l think 1 have
enumerated sufficient number of virtues
in the character of the Tunisian Arab to
lead us to hope that this race will one
day be reused from its stagnation and
advance toward nobler civilization.