The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous, Vol. 3: Who was a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, a spy, a slave; among the moors...Sala, George Augustus
General
The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous, Vol. 3: Who was a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, a spy, a slave; among the moors...
Sala, George Augustus
Adventure and adventurers -- Fiction
The Head Gardener of the Dey was an old Renegado German, named Baupwitz,
who tried hard to convert me to the Mussulman Faith. But in addition to
my stanch Attachment to the Protestant Religion, I could see that the
State and Condition of the few Renegados in Algiers was very mean and
miserable, and that they were despised alike by Turks, Moors, Arabs,
Bedoweens, and Jews. And, indeed, what good had Baupwitz done himself by
turning Paynim? Thus much I put to him plainly; at which the Old Man was
angered, and for some days used me very spitefully; when the Dey, coming
to the Castle, took it into his head to have me brought back to Algiers,
and enrolled among his Musicians as a Player upon the Cymbals. I declare
that although able to troll out a Stave now and then, I could not so
much as Whistle "God save the King;" but I managed to clash my two
Saucepan-Lids or Cymbals together and to make a Noise, which is all the
Turks care for, they having no proper Ear for Music. As one of his
Highness's Musicians, I was dressed very grandly, with a monstrous
Turban all covered with Gold Spangles and Silk Tassels; but I had a
Collar of Silver riveted round my Neck, and Silver Shackles round my
Ancles, and Silver Manacles round my Wrists; and was still a Slave.
The rest of the Musicians were either Black Negroes or Cophtic
Christians, and they used me with Decent Civility; nor did the Master of
the Musicians--otherwise a most cruel Moor--go out of his way to flout,
much less smite me with his Rattan. If he had dared but to lay one
Stripe upon me, I would have sprang upon the Wretch and dashed out his
Brains with my Cymbals, even if I had been put upon the Pale for it half
an hour afterwards.
Lodged in the Guard-house at the Dey's Palace, with pretty abundant
Rations, and some few Piastres daily to buy Wine (I being a Frank) and
Tobacco, and pretty well treated by the Colologlies, or Moorish
Soldiers, I did not pass such a very bad time of it; and when off Duty,
had liberty to go about the City and Suburbs pretty much as I chose. And
I was a hundred times better off than the Moslem Slaves are at Malta.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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