[figure description] Page 117.[end figure description]

I cannot give &longs;o particular
a de&longs;cription of this city, as I could wi&longs;h,
or my readers may de&longs;ire. Perhaps no
town contains &longs;o many places impervious
to &longs;trangers. The interiour of the Dey's
palace, and the female apartment of every
hou&longs;e are &longs;ecluded even from the natives.
No one approaches them but their respective
ma&longs;ters, while no &longs;tranger is permitted
to in&longs;pect the fortifications; and the
mo&longs;ques, or churches, are &longs;crupulou&longs;ly
guarded from the polluted &longs;teps of the unbeliever.
A poor &longs;lave, branded as an

[figure description] Page 118.[end figure description]

infidel, would obtain only general information
from a re&longs;idence in the mid&longs;t of them.

Algiers is &longs;ituated in the bay of that
name, and built upon the &longs;ea &longs;hore, an
eminence, which ri&longs;es above it, and which
naturally gave the di&longs;tinction of the upper
and lower city. Towards the &longs;ea, it
is &longs;trengthened with va&longs;t fortifications,
which are continued upon the mole,
which &longs;ecures the port from &longs;torms and
a&longs;&longs;aults. I never perambulated it, but
&longs;hould judge that, a line drawn from the
we&longs;t arm of the mole, and extended by
land, until it terminated on the ea&longs;t, comprehending
the buildings, would mea&longs;ure
about two miles. It contains one hundred
and twenty mo&longs;ques, two hundred
and twenty public baths, and innumerable
coffee hou&longs;es. The mo&longs;ques are
large &longs;tone buildings, not lofty in proportion
to their extent on the ground, and
have u&longs;ually erected, upon their corners,
&longs;mall &longs;quare towers or minarets, whence

[figure description] Page 119.[end figure description]

the inferiour prie&longs;ts call the people to
prayers. The baths are convenient
buildings, lighted on the top, provided
with cold and warm waters, which you
mingle at your plea&longs;ure, in &longs;mall marble
ci&longs;terns, by the a&longs;&longs;i&longs;tance of bra&longs;s cocks.
Every bather pays two rials at his entrance,
for which he is accommodated
with a dre&longs;&longs;ing room, contiguous to the
bathing ci&longs;tern, towels, fle&longs;h bru&longs;hes, and
other conveniences, a gla&longs;s of &longs;herbet, and
an a&longs;&longs;i&longs;tant, if he choo&longs;es. The coffee
hou&longs;es or rooms are generally piazzas, with
an awning over them, projecting from
the front of the hou&longs;es into the &longs;treets.
Here the inhabitants delight to loll, to
drink &longs;herbet, &longs;ip coffee, and chew opium,
or &longs;moak tobacco, &longs;teeped in a decoction
of this exhilarating drug.

I have already &longs;ketched a de&longs;cription of
the hou&longs;es, and &longs;hall only add, that the
roofs are nearly flat with a &longs;mall declivity
to ca&longs;t the rain water into &longs;pouts.

[figure description] Page 120.[end figure description]

Algiers is tolerably well &longs;upplied with &longs;pring
water, conveyed in pipes from the back
country; but the Algerines, who are immoderately
attached to bathing, prefer
rain water, as be&longs;t adapted to that u&longs;e,
con&longs;idering it a luxury in compari&longs;on with
that, obtained from the &longs;prings or &longs;ea.

The inhabitants &longs;ay, Algiers contains
twenty thou&longs;and hou&longs;es, one hundred
and forty thou&longs;and believers, twenty
two thou&longs;and Jews, and &longs;ix thou&longs;and
chri&longs;tian &longs;laves. I &longs;u&longs;pect, Algerine vanity
has exaggerated the truth; but I cannot
contradict it. Immediately before
the cen&longs;us of the inhabitants of the United
States, I am told, per&longs;ons, who possessed
much better means of calculation, misrated
the population of the principal
towns mo&longs;t egregiou&longs;ly.