pany with the surgeon of this sloop, another officer, and an amiable man who resides with our consul.
“The hani, or bagnio, is in one of the narrow streets of Algiers, has nothing remarkable in its outside appearance, but inside it is the most remarkable house of misery imagination can conceive;. On entering the gate, there is a small square yard for the slaves to walk about in; there they are, on every Friday, locked up, and, as they do not work on that day, they are allowed nothing but water from the Algerine government. We then ascended a stone stair-case, and round the galleries were rooms with naked earthen floors, and damp stone walls. They have an iron grated window, and a strong door; two of these rooms have, in each of them, twenty-four things, like cot-frames, with twigs interwoven in the middle. These are hung up, one above another, round the room, and those slaves, who are able to pay for the luxury of such a bed, are alone admitted.
“I am happy in wanting a comparison in any part of the world where I have been, for this abominable prison, and those deadly cells; but, if they had a little more light, I think they would most resemble a house where the negroes of the West India islands keep their pigs. I must add, that the pestilential smell made Mr. Stanburg so ill, that he nearly fainted, and Doctor M‘Connell and myself were not much less affected.
“The food of the slaves consists of two black loaves, of half a pound each, which are their daily bread: neither meat nor vegetables do they ever taste, those excepted who work at the Marina, who get ten olives per day with their bread; and others in the Spanish hospital, which the Spanish government to this day supports, as well perhaps as it is able. In visiting this hospital, the floors of which were covered with unhappy beings of every age and either sex, I saw some men who looked almost sixty, and some children, who could not be more than eight years old; the whole of them had their legs swelled and cut in such a horrid manner, that we all thought they could not recover. There also we saw some young Sicilian girls, and some women. One poor woman burst into tears, told us that she was the mother of eight children and desired us to look at six of them who had been slaves with her for thirteen years. We left these scenes of horror, and, on going into the country, I met the slaves returning from their labor. The clang of the chains of those who were heavily ironed, called my attention to their extreme fatigue and dejection; they were attended by infidels with large whips.
“During my stay at Algiers, I employed every moment in gaining information as to the practicability of any attack upon that place; and, having taken the opportunity of examining all the forts, batteries, and every possible means of defence, both internally and externally, I will mention some particulars on this head.
“The state of Algiers is divided into four governments; viz. Constantine, a town and its environs, about forty miles inland from Algiers; Tittery,