gives neither date nor cause of any of the events which he relates. The Sicilian captain refused to join an English convoy, and afterwards to stop at the little isle of St. Pierre, near Sardinia, where he had been warned of the appearance of an Algerine squadron. He obstinately set sail at a time when all the passengers expected to remain several days in the road.

"We spent a gloomy and agitated night. I was beginning to shut my eyes for a moment, when the chevalier Rossi, who had risen with the sun, came and told me that the same sails which we had formerly seen were still to be discovered. I sprung from bed, got on deck, and found all the passengers in anguish and confusion. The six sails appeared then only like imperceptible points on the vast plain of the waves. These vessels made

a threatening evolution, which manifested their hostile designs. A cry of terror and grief burst from our sailors. They began, in their trouble, to run, to fatigue themselves, to make a hundred useless efforts for safety. Agitation is not activity, and operations without a plan produce only delay and confusion. By a horrible fatality, the wind, which till then, had blown with violence, suddenly fell; and we found ourselves fixed down in the middle of the vast element. The captain was mute and stupified; he did nothing, which was the very worst thing he could do. Let us try, said we, with all our sails, and if sails are insufficient, with oars, to gain the coast of Sardinia: if we cannot do better, let us at least take to the boat, and save our persons. But the captain pointed with his finger to a hostile vessel which was to leeward, and opposed our retreat. I know not what weight there was in his reasons; but I know that he did nothing, either to fly or to defend us. The first time that we discovered the enemy, they were eighteen miles off, and Sardinia was not three. The pirates have since told us, that we had a bad rais; that, if they had seen the least movement made towards the shore, they would not have so much as turned towards us; but that seeing us remain immoveable, and even approach them, they thought us enchanted, or, according to their emphatic expression, drawn by the spirit of darkness towards our inevitable ruin.

"We remained six'hours in this state of horrible perplexity. When the barbarians came near, we heard their frightful cries, we saw the immense crowd of Moors make their appearance. The most courageous then lost all hope; we all fled at this cruel spectacle, and shut ourselves up in our little cells, awaiting the grand catastrophe of this tragedy. We heard the cries of the Africans, who, with naked sabres, boarded our vessel. The "loud firing of a cannon sounded in our ears; we believed that it was the commencement of the action, and that we should soon go to the bottom; but it was only the signal of a fair prize. A second discharge announced

the capture and the possession of the vessel. The Algerines had darted upon our ship; they made their cangiar and attagan flash over our heads; they commanded us to make no resistance, and to submit. What could we do? We obeyed. The Algerines then, assuming a less ferocious air, began to cry out, No fear, no fear. They demanded rum, and the keys of our trunks. They separated us into two divisions, one of which remained in the vessel, and the other was transported into the Algerine frigate. I was of the latter number.

"On reaching Algiers, we were landed in two boats, and found a numerous population assembled to celebrate the triumphant return of the fleet. Yet we were neither stripped nor insulted as christian slaves are said usually to be when they arrive on this inhospitable shore. We had a long walk before arriving at the palace where the council is assembled,-where the great examinations are made,—and the sentences pronounced. The rais entered the palace of the marine, and we remained at the gate. Then a large curtain was raised, and we saw the hall of the palace where the members of the regency, the ulemas of the law, and the first agas of the divan, appeared, seated in their barbarous pomp, and horrible majesty. Presently, without ceremony or preamble, our papers were demanded and examined. The usual formalities were observed to give an appearance of justice to acts of rapine. Our papers were presented to the English consul, who had been sent for to verify them. He saw fully their insufficiency, but, impelled by the goodness of his heart, and by pity for so many sufferers, he made the most generous efforts to extricate us from this horrible danger. His eagerness was not diminished by our belonging to a country united to France; we were unhappy, and, consequently, sacred in the eyes of an Englishman. But the rais, Hamida, insisted upon the ferocious laws of piracy; he established the nicest distinctions between domicile and nationality; he showed himself a complete master of the African code of jurisprudence.

"We heard the council repeat, a good prize, prisoners, slaves! These words were echoed by the crowd assembled in the great square; who, by their cries, seemed to call for this decision. The consul then demanded the English lady and her two daughters; granted. The chevalier Rossi, husband of the lady, advanced with courage and dignity; he urged his claims as husband of an English lady, and father to English children. He was declared free also; he went to join his wife and children. The consul made yet one attempt for the safety of all; it was useless. The horrible cry, Slaves, slaves! resounded tumultuously through the hall, and was echoed by the multitude. The members of the regency rose, the council was dissolved, the English consul and vice-consul retired with the family

of Rossi, and we remained immoveable, stupified, as if thunder had fallen on our heads.

"We arrived at the pachalic, or palace of the pacha, now inhabited by the dey. The first object which struck our eyes, and froze them with horror, was that of six bloody heads, newly cut off, which were spread round the threshold; it was necessary to remove them with the foot before we could enter. They were those of some turbulent agas who had shown discontent against the prince; but they were supposed, by us, to be heads of christians exposed there in order to fill with terror the new visiters of these fatal regions. A deep silence reigned throughout these walls; terror was painted in every countenance. We were ranged in a row before the windows of the dey, to flatter the view of the despot. He appeared at the balcony, viewed us haughtily and disdainfully; then smiled with a ferocious joy, made a sign with his hand, and ordered us to depart. We made a circuit through the winding streets of the city. We arrived at length at a large and gloomy building; this was the great bani, or slave-prison. We crossed its dark and dirty court, amid the multitude of slaves; they were ragged, pale, haggard, with downcast heads, their cheeks hollowed by the deep furrows of wo, their souls so exhausted by long suffering, that every affection of their hearts seemed destroyed; they viewed us with stupid indifference, and gave no sign of pity. The day on which the slaves do not go to work, they remain shut up, and wander like pale spectres in this abode of darkness.

"The first ray of morning had not appeared, when we were suddenly awaked by a confused noise of cries and blows, and a clanking of chains. The guardian of the prison instantly summoned us to rise. To work, you cattle! was the general exclamation of the alguazils, spurring forward the slowest by a repeated application of the whip. The black aga arrived at the prison. He had brought iron rings to be put on our left foot, and to remain there for ever in token of the abject condition to which we were reduced. These rings were very small, but how horrible is the weight of the marks of slavery. The black aga fixed the ring on my companions, but he put mine into my hand, seeing that his excellency the pacha granted me the distinguished favour of placing it on my own foot.

"We were, to the number of two hundred, unhappy men of different nations, who had been taken by the infidels in their last cruise. They set us on the road with guards before and behind; an immense band followed; a sad and deep silence reigned among us. We saw passing before us the bands of old slaves, whom their tormentors followed with whips, calling out, To work, you cattle; to work, you infidel dogs! We arrived at the marine, and they threw two black barley loaves to us, in the same manner as to dogs. The old slaves caught them in the air, and devoured them with

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frightful avidity. On reaching the great hall, we found seated there, in horrible majesty, and in all the pomp of this tyrannic government, the members of administration, the agas of the militia, the first rais of the fleet, the grand admiral, the mufti, the ulemas of the law, and the judges, according to the Koran. We were filed, numbered, selected, and examined, as is done in the East at the sale of the Icoglans, or in America at the great market of black slaves. A profound silence reigned. Our eyes were fixed on the ground; our hearts beat. A voice was heard. It was that of the minister of the marine, the first secretary of state. A name is pronounced: it is mine. I was desired to come forward; divers questions were put to me, as to my residence in England, my connexions, and my employments in that country. The minister terminated them by these amazing words, "You are free." A soldier was ordered to take from my foot the iron ring; he obeyed, and advised me to go and thank the minister, who squeezed my hand, and said a number of obliging things. He then ordered the dragoman to conduct me to the house of the English consul. Joy had overflowed my heart the moment I could move my foot freely; but my second thought was for my unhappy companions, who, after what had happened, gave way, in their turn, to flattering hopes. I also hoped for their liberty; I walked slowly, and paused at every step, to see if they did not follow. But the order was given to conduct them to labour; their various employments were assigned to them, and they were obliged to set out. I saw them with downcast heads, and eyes swelled with tears, sadly begin their march; they turned once again, squeezed my hand, bade me adieu, and disappeared.

"I was recalled to the marine, and the great magazine of prizes, to recover my effects, which were to be restored by order of government; but money, goods, baggage, all had been seized, plundered, carried off by the Turks and Moors, and I could recover nothing. I suffered this day an immense loss; the fruit of so many years of labour, of industry, of privation, was gone. I had suffered a still more grievous loss, that of all my books and manuscripts." [To be continued.]

CUSTOM OF UNCOVERING.

THE custom of men sitting uncovered in church, is certainly very decent, but not very ancient. Richard Cox, lord bishop of Ely, died 22d July, 1581, and was afterwards very solemnly buried in his own cathedral. I have seen an admirable, fair, large old drawing, exhibiting in one view, his funeral procession, and, in another, the whole assembly (and, as appears by the drawing, a very great one too) sitting in the choir, to hear the funeral sermon, all covered, and having their bonnets on. John Fox, the martyrologist, died the 18th of April, 1587, and being then a very old man, he wore a strait cap, covering his head and ears, and over that a deepish crowned shallow-brimmed slouched hat. This is the first hat I have yet observed in any picture. Peck's Desiderata Curiosa.

Discourses on the Evidence of the Jewish and Christian Revelation. By Sir Henry Moncrief Wellwood, Bart. D.D., &c.

[Concluded from page 383.]

It was not unreasonable to suppose, that those who already believed in the existence and superintendance of one only God, would be much better prepared for the reception of christianity, than those who blindly invested with the attributes and honours of the Deity every object of their fear and love: and consequently that Jews would become Christians more readily than Greeks or Vandals. But in this, as in many other cases, the result to which experience conducts, is different from that which theory would lead us to expect; for it has been found much more easy to expose the absurdity of polytheism, than to demonstrate to the satisfaction of some zealous theists, that our faith is built upon a sound foundation. Where a disposition to be convinced is wanting, the progress made in religious knowledge is an impediment rather than a help to conviction on some abstruse subjects in christian theology. The founder of our religion himself, when he invites us to cultivate docility of mind, clearly intimates the necessity of it; and there is no other way of accounting for the scepticism of many men of enlarged capacity, than by supposing them unwilling to be convinced. It cannot be doubted, after what we have all seen, that prejudice is generally much more difficult to combat than ignorance; and that argument is seldom very efficacious when it opposes the passions or the interests of men. The pride of the Jew was wounded, and his ambitious expectations disappointed, by the christian dispensation; and he could not be persuaded to believe that the prophecies had been fulfilled. The less enlightened, but more humble Pagan soon discovered the superiority of the new system, and yielded to the evidence which. his own senses, or the sufficient testimony of others, so amply af forded him. The correct opinions which the Jews entertained respecting the Supreme Being were accompanied with certain other opinions and traditions for which there was no good foundation; and they would have parted as readily with the one, as with the others. Their minds were satisfied as to the conduct which God had resolved to pursue with his creatures; and when given to understand that this conduct was to be different from