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The next day, an order came
from the Mufti to my ma&longs;ter, who received
the order, touched his forehead with
the tefta re&longs;pectfully, and directed me to
be in&longs;tantly delivered to the Mollah. I
was carried to the college, a large gloomy
building, on the out&longs;ide; but, within the
walls, it was an earthly paradi&longs;e. The

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&longs;tately rooms, refre&longs;hing baths, cooling
fountains, luxuriant gardens, ample larders,
rich carpets, downy &longs;ofas, and
&longs;ilken mattre&longs;&longs;es, offered with profu&longs;ion
all tho&longs;e &longs;oft excitements to indolent
plea&longs;ure, which the mo&longs;t refined voluptuary
could de&longs;ire. I have often observed
that, in all countries, except
New England, tho&longs;e, who&longs;e profe&longs;&longs;ion
it is to decry the luxuries and vanities
of this world, &longs;ome how or other, contrive
to po&longs;&longs;e&longs;s the greate&longs;t portion of
them.

Immediately upon my entering the&longs;e sacred
walls, I was carried to a warm bath,
into which I was immediately plunged;
while my attendants, as if emulous to
clean&longs;e me from all the filth of errour, rubbed
me &longs;o hard with their hands and fle&longs;h
bru&longs;hes, that I verily thought they would
have flayed me. While I was relaxed
with the tepid, I was &longs;uddenly plunged
into a contiguous cold bath. I confe&longs;s I

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apprehended dangerous con&longs;equences,
from &longs;o &longs;udden a check of &longs;uch violent
per&longs;piration; but I aro&longs;e from the cold
bath highly invigorated.[1] I was then anointed
in all parts, which had been exposed
to the &longs;un with a preparation of a
gum, called the balm of Mecca. This application
excited a very unea&longs;y &longs;en&longs;ation,
&longs;imilar to the &longs;troke of the water pepper,

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to which “the liberal &longs;hepherds give a
gro&longs;&longs;er name.” In twenty four hours, the
&longs;un browned cuticle peeled off, and left my
face, hands, legs, and neck as fair as a child's
of &longs;ix months old. This balm the Algerine
ladies procure at a great expen&longs;e, and u&longs;e
it as a co&longs;metic to heighten their beauty.

After I had been clothed in the drawers,
&longs;lippers, loo&longs;e coat, and &longs;hirt of the country,
if &longs;hirt it could be called, which neck had
none; with a decoction of the herb henna,
my hands and feet were tinged yellow:
which colour, they &longs;aid, denoted
purity of intention. I was lodged and
fed well, and &longs;uffered to amu&longs;e my&longs;elf,
and recover my &longs;anity of body and mind.
On the eleventh day, as I was reclining
on the margin of a retired fountain, reflecting
on my dear native country, I was
joined by the Mollah. He was a man
of about thirty years of age, of the mo&longs;t
plea&longs;ing countenance and engaging

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deportment. He was born at Antioch, and
educated a chri&longs;tian of the Greek church.
He was de&longs;igned by his parents for a preferment
in that church, when he was captured
by the Algerines, and almo&longs;t immediately,
conformed to the mu&longs;&longs;ulman
faith; and was in high e&longs;teem in the sacred
college of the prie&longs;ts. As he &longs;poke
latin and &longs;ome modern languages fluently,
was well ver&longs;ed in the bible and christian
doctrines, he was often employed in
pro&longs;elyting the European &longs;laves, and
prided him&longs;elf in his frequent success.

He acco&longs;ted me with the &longs;weete&longs;t modulation
of voice; kindly inquired after
my welfare; begged to know if my lodging,
dre&longs;s, and fare, were agreeable; assuring
me that, if I wi&longs;hed to alter either,
in &longs;uch a manner as to bring them nearer
to the fare and modes of my native country,
and would give my directions, they &longs;hould
be obeyed. He reque&longs;ted me to appoint

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a time, when we might conver&longs;e upon the
great &longs;ubject of religion. He ob&longs;erved
that he wi&longs;hed me free from bodily indisposition,
and that the powers of my mind
would recover their activity. He &longs;aid,
the holy faith, he offered to my embraces,
di&longs;dained the u&longs;e of other powers than rational
argument; that he left to the church
of Rome, and its mercile&longs;s inqui&longs;itors, all
the honour and profit of conver&longs;ion by
faggots, dungeons, and racks. He made
&longs;ome further inquiry, as to my u&longs;age in
the college, and retired. I had been &longs;o
long accu&longs;tomed to the in&longs;olence of domestic
tyranny; &longs;o often groaned under
the whip and burthen; &longs;o often been
buffetted, &longs;purned and &longs;pit upon, that I
had &longs;teeled my mind again&longs;t the force and
terrour, I anticipated from the Mollah;
but was totally unprepared for &longs;uch apparent
candour and gentlene&longs;s. Though I
viewed his conduct as in&longs;idious, yet he
no &longs;ooner retired than, overcome by his

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&longs;uavity of manners, for the fir&longs;t time I
trembled for my faith, and bur&longs;t into
tears.

eaf407v2.n1

[1] The Indian of North America &longs;urpri&longs;ed the
European phy&longs;ician, by a proce&longs;s founded on similar
principles. The patient, in the mo&longs;t violent
fever, was confined in a low hut, built of turf and
flat &longs;tones, which had been previou&longs;ly heated by
fire. When the profu&longs;e&longs;t per&longs;piration was thus
excited, the patient was carried, and often, with
Indian fortitude, ran to the next &longs;tream, and
plunged frequently through the ice into the coldest
water. This proce&longs;s, which Bœrhaave and
Sydenham would have pronounced deletery,
ever produced pri&longs;tine health and vigour, when
pre&longs;cribed by the Indian phy&longs;ician or Powwow.