Tyler, Royall, 1757-1826 [1797], The Algerine captive, or, The life and adventures of Doctor Updike Underhill, six years a prisoner among the Algerines, volume 2 (, Walpole, NH) [word count] [eaf407v2].
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CHAP. IX.
With a&longs;pect &longs;weet, as heavenly me&longs;&longs;enger
On deeds of mercy &longs;ent, a form appears.
Un&longs;ading chaplets bloom upon her brow,
Eternal &longs;miles play o'er her winning face,
And frequent promi&longs;e opes her flattering lips.
'Tis Hope, who from the dayle&longs;s dungeon
Points the de&longs;ponding wretch to &longs;cenes of bli&longs;s,
And ever and anon &longs;he draws the veil
Of blank futurity, and &longs;hews him where,
Far, far beyond the oppre&longs;&longs;or's cruel gra&longs;p,
His malice and his chains, he &longs;hares again
The kindred mirth and fea&longs;t under the roof
Paternal, or be&longs;ide his &longs;ocial fire
Pre&longs;&longs;es the lovely partner of his heart,
While the dear pledges of their mutual love
Gambol around in &longs;portive innocence.
Anon th' illu&longs;ive phantom mocks his &longs;ight,
And leaves the frantic wretch to die
In pri&longs;tine darkne&longs;s, fetters and de&longs;pair!!
Author's Manu&longs;cript Poems.
ARGUMENT.
The Author plans an E&longs;cape.
[figure description] Page 069.[end figure description]
I found many more &longs;laves
at work in the &longs;tone quarry, than when I
-- 070 --
[figure description] Page 070.[end figure description]
quitted it; and the labours and hard fare
&longs;eemed, if po&longs;&longs;ible, to be augmented. The
ea&longs;e and comfort, with which I lived for
&longs;ome weeks pa&longs;t, had vitiated my appetite,
&longs;oftened my hands, and relaxed my whole
frame, &longs;o that my coar&longs;e fare and rugged
labours &longs;eemed more in&longs;upportable. I
nau&longs;eated our homely food, and the &longs;kin
peeled from my hands and &longs;houlders.
I made what inquiries I could, as to the
interiour geography of the country, and
comforted my&longs;elf with theh ope of e&longs;cape;
conceiving it, under my de&longs;perate circumstances,
po&longs;&longs;ible to penetrate unob&longs;erved
the interiour country, by the ea&longs;tern
boundaries of the kingdom of Morocco,
and then pa&longs;s on &longs;outh we&longs;t, until I &longs;truck
the river Sanaga, and cour&longs;ing that to its
mouth I knew would bring me to &longs;ome
of the European &longs;ettlements near Goree or
Cape Verd. Preparatory to my intended
e&longs;cape I had procured an old goat's
&longs;kin, which to make into &longs;omething like a
-- 071 --
[figure description] Page 071.[end figure description]
knap&longs;ack, I deprived my&longs;elf of many
hours of nece&longs;&longs;ary &longs;leep; and of many a
&longs;canty meal to fill it with provi&longs;ions. By
the u&longs;e of my Lingua Franca and a little
Arabic, I hoped to obtain the assistance
of the &longs;laves and lower orders of the
people, through whom I might journey.
The only in&longs;urmountable difficulty in my
projects was to elude the vigilance of our
over&longs;eers. By a kind of roll call the &longs;laves
were numbered every night and morning,
and at meal times: but, very fortunately,
a probable opportunity of e&longs;caping
unnoticed &longs;oon offered. It was announced
to the &longs;laves that in three days time there
would be a day of re&longs;t, a holiday, when
they would be allowed to recreate themselves
in the fields. This intelligence
diffu&longs;ed general joy. I received it with
rapture. I doubled my diligence in my
preparations; and, in the afternoon previous
to this fortunate day, I contrived
to place my little &longs;tock of provi&longs;ions under
-- 072 --
[figure description] Page 072.[end figure description]
a rock at a &longs;mall di&longs;tance from the quarry.
At &longs;un&longs;et we were all admitted to bathe,
and I retired to my repo&longs;e with bright hopes
of freedom in my heart, which were succeeded
by the mo&longs;t plea&longs;ing dreams of my
native land. That Beneficent Being, who
brightens the &longs;lumbers of the wretched
with rays of bli&longs;s, can alone expre&longs;s my
raptures, when, in the vi&longs;ions of that night,
I &longs;tepped lightly over a father's threshhold;
was &longs;urrounded by congratulating
friends and faithful dome&longs;tics; was pressed
by the embraces of a father; and with
holy joy felt a mother's tears moi&longs;ten my
cheek.
Early in the dawn of the morning, I
was awakened by the congratulations of
my fellows, who immediately collected in
&longs;mall groups, planning out the intended
amu&longs;ements of the day. Scarce had
they portioned the little &longs;pace alloted to
ea&longs;e, according their various inclinations,
when an expre&longs;s order came from our
-- 073 --
[figure description] Page 073.[end figure description]
ma&longs;ter that we &longs;hould go under the immediate
direction of our over&longs;eers,
to a plain, about five miles di&longs;tance,
to be pre&longs;ent at a publick &longs;pectacle. This
was a grievous di&longs;appointment to them,
and more e&longs;pecially to me. I buoyed up
my &longs;pirits however with the hopes that, in
the hurry and crowd, I might find means
to e&longs;cape, which, although I knew I could
not return for my knap&longs;ack, I was re&longs;olved
to attempt, having a little millet and two
onions in my pocket.
-- 074 -- p407-297
Tyler, Royall, 1757-1826 [1797], The Algerine captive, or, The life and adventures of Doctor Updike Underhill, six years a prisoner among the Algerines, volume 2 (, Walpole, NH) [word count] [eaf407v2].
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