“What do you mean?” said I, “by asserting that the Moors know not God? There is no people in the world who entertain sublimer notions of the uncreated eternal God than the Moors, and no people have ever shown themselves more zealous for His honour and glory: their very zeal for the glory of God has been and is the chief obstacle to their becoming Christians. They are afraid of compromising His dignity by supposing that He ever condescended to become man. And with respect to Christ, their ideas even of Him are much more just than those of the Papists; they say He is a mighty prophet, whilst, according to the others, He is either a piece of bread, or a helpless infant. In many points of religion the Moors are wrong, dreadfully wrong; but are the Papists less so? And one of their practices sets them immeasurably below the Moors in the eyes of any unprejudiced person: they bow down to idols, Christian idols if you like, but idols still, things graven of wood, and stone, and brass; and from these things, which can neither hear, nor speak, nor feel, they ask and expect to obtain favours.” “_Vive la France_, _Vive la Guadeloupe_!” said the black, with a good French accent. “In France and in Guadeloupe there is no superstition, and they pay as much regard to the Bible as to the Koran; I am now learning to read, in order that I may understand the writings of Voltaire, who, as I am told, has proved that both the one and the other were written with the sole intention of deceiving mankind. _O_, _vive la France_! where will you find such an enlightened country as France; and where will you find such a plentiful country as France? Only one in the world, and that is Guadeloupe. Is it not so, Monsieur Pascual? Were you ever at Marseilles? _Ah quel bon pays est celui-là pour les vivres_, _pour les petits poulets_, _pour les poulardes_, _pour les perdrix_, _pour les perdreaux_, _pour les alouettes_, _pour les bécasses_, _pour les bécassines_, _enfin_, _pour tout_.” “Pray, sir, are you a cook?” demanded I. “_Monsieur_, _je le suis pour vous rendre service_, _mon nom c’est Gérard_, _et j’ai l’honneur d’être chef de cuisine chez monsieur le consul Hollandois_. _A present je prie permission de vous saluer_; _il faut que j’aille à la maison pour faire le diner de mon maître_.”