pose of in the commercial towns. Being active, hardy, acute and enterprising, the young men often come down to the cities to seek their fortunes, where the pride and indolence of the Moors secure them employment. In this pursuit Rais Hammida came to Algiers when quite a boy, and either choice or accident threw him on board an Algerine cruiser, in which he made his first essay on the element whose dangers and hardships seem to give a hardihood and fearlessness to the human mind, that is not generated in any other sphere of life. The particulars of his early career, and the gradual development of his character and talents, are not known to us, for in Algiers they have neither newspapers nor chronicles to acquaint the people with passing events, and preserve the memory of gallant actions. The fashionable doctrine of the east, is that those who can read will find the elements of all human knowledge in the Koran, and the khalif Omar gave a practical illustration of this great precept, when he set on fire the Alexandrian library. Another fashionable axiom is, that the people ought to know nothing of the administration of the government, except through the medium of the single sense of feeling, by which they are from time to time reminded that they have a master. Of this master they are exceedingly fond, and it is inconceivable with what contempt they treat people who have no bashaw, or bey, to tickle them now and then with the bowstring, or fine them for being rich, when they have no business to be so. They resemble those horses, who are said to be proud of their riders, and value themselves, not on their own strength, beauty or swiftness, but solely on account of the dignity they carry on their backs. Men indeed must have something to be proud of, and the sources of that gratification are so various and whimsical, that we sometimes see nations valuing themselves on the glory of a tyrant, whose reputation is acquired at the price of their own blood, and pointing the attention of the stranger to the splendours of a court, the luxuries of which are bought with their daily bread, and daily toils. Two poor slaves were once disputing about

the dignity of their masters, and the preference was at last accorded to the master who whipped the most often, and was of course the greatest man.

The Arabian boy, Rais Hammida, was perhaps about seventeen when he made his first cruise, and soon became distinguished among the lazy Algerines, for his talents and enterprising spirit. By rapid steps he attained to the command of a frigate, and in the year 1801 took a Portuguese frigate of equal or superior force to his own, which had been fitted out expressly to cruise against the Algerines. The Portuguese was boarded and carried without the loss of a single man on the part of the infidels, while that of the Portuguese was upwards of seventy killed and wounded. People easily find excuses for being beaten, as we know by late experience, and the Portuguese alleged that they were taken by surprise, though the affair happened about noonday. It is certain that the Portuguese had been the day before in company with an American frigate bound to Tripoli, and supposing the Algerine to be the same, made no preparation for defence until it was too late. Whether taken by surprise or not, is, however, of little consequence in lessening the glory of Rais Hammida, or the disgrace of his enemies. To be taken by surprise, at such a time and in such a situation, is almost as disgraceful as to be guilty of cowardice, and the boldness of the attempt is not diminished on the part of Rais by these circumstances; because he could not have anticipated the negligence of his enemy. The capture of this vessel affords no ground of triumph to a brave man, however we may consider it; for both the Spanish and Portuguese naval establishments have, for a long time, been on the worst possible footing. Their outfits are altogether deficient, their officers generally without experience, as happened to be the case in the instance we have just mentioned, where the captain of the frigate, as we have been assured by a Portuguese gentleman, was then for the second time in his life at sea, and the men for the most part entirely destitute of a knowledge of even the rudiments of the profes

sion. The impressments of these two nations are not like those of England, confined to seamen, but extend to every vagabond of the streets, who is hurried on board and carried to sea, utterly destitute of every habit and qualification of a sailor. It is a fact well known at Cadiz, and supported by the testimony of half the city, that at the battle of Trafalgar, a great portion of the Spanish sailors, as they are called, were sea-sick. It is evident, therefore, that victories over such enemies are no ground for extraordinary exultation; and we should not have thought of giving Rais Hammida credit for this affair, if greater, than he had not assumed such triumphs as a foundation for the most arrogant presumption. Among the Lilliputians Gulliver was a giant; among the natives of Brobdignag, he was a dwarf. Such is the way of the world: the same man may be a giant among dwarfs, and a dwarf among giants, and be relatively great or small according to the size of his rivals or his associates.

In the year 1810, we find Rais Hammida admiral of Algiers; but how he got to be so, history does not tell. In this situation, however, he again signalized his boldness in the presence of his old enemy the Portuguese. In the summer of that year he went into the Atlantic with three frigates, and cruised for some time off the rock of Lisbon, where he took several valuable prizes. The Portuguese, who always kept a force in the bay of Gibraltar,* determined to intercept him on his return through the straits, and on his approach put to sea with a ship of the line and three heavy frigates. The Algerines passed the bay of Gibraltar under easy sail, and when they saw the Portuguese ships coming out, hove to off Europa

*The Arabians call Gibraltar (says Mr. Jackson) Jibbel-traf, that is to say the mountain of the part of El-Garb. The explanation of the name is this: El-Garb signifies the west, and is the westernmost province of the empire of Morocco. There is a tradition among the Arabs, that the rock of Gibraltar and cape Trafalgar, which they call Traf-al-Garb, were formerly parts of and united to the province of El-Garb, which extended across, thus shutting up the Mediterranean, whose waters flowed into the Atlantic through a subterranean passage

Point with a view to offer them battle. One of the Portuguese ships, commanded by an Englishman of the name of Thompson, bore down on the Algerines, and gave them a broadside, but was immediately called off by signal from the 'admiral. The two squadrons lay some time looking at each other, and the Portuguese finally returned to Gibraltar, while the Algerines quietly passed up the Mediterranean, where they cruis ed some time without molestation, before they returned to Algiers. When the engagement between the two squadrons was supposed to be about to take place, the inhabitants and garrison of Gibraltar, flocked to Europa Point in expectation of the event, and while they admired the boldness of Rais Hammida, in offering battle to a force so greatly superior, expressed their disgust at the conduct of the Portuguese admiral. He was afterwards tried at. Lisbon, and it is understood was acquitted with high compliments to his exemplary gallantry in looking at a superior enemy.

In the war between Algiers and Tunis, which still continues, Rais Hammida distinguished himself as usual by his boldness and activity. He scoured the coasts of the enemy, blockaded his ports, and occasionally made descents and attacked his smaller towns, by which means he became the terror of the Tunisians. In 1811 he fell in with and captured the Tunisian admiral in a frigate of thirty-two guns, after a sharp action. Rais Hammida, however, did not claim any credit for this victory; because the Tunisian fleet deserted its admiral on the approach of the Algerines; and although Rais forbade the other vessels of his squadron to come near while he engaged alone, yet, as his ship was superior to her opponent, and he considered the presence of the other ships as calculated to discourage resistance, he never plumed himself on this affair. We cannot help wishing that other nations would take example from this mountain Arab, and refrain from the disingenuous artifice of ascribing victories to a single ship, that were gained by a squadron.

But the character which Rais Hammida had established by long service, and so many bold and successful enterprises, could never raise him to a level with the most insignificant Turk in the estimation of this legitimate government. His talents forced him into the confidence of the dey, and caused him to be selected for the conduct of every naval enterprise; but he was frequently subjected to the most mortifying insults and indignities, even from the lowest of the Turkish soldiers. "One instance of this," says the gentleman who furnished us with the greater part of this article, "came to my knowledge. The country-seat, or garden as it is called in Algiers, of Rais Hammida, joined that which I occupied. "The ground between our houses was much broken and over"run with brushwood. Some carbiles (labourers) in the em"ployment of Rais Hammida, came one day on that part of "the ground which belonged to my garden, and cut some of "the brushwood, to burn a lime-kiln for him. They were seen "by my janizary, or Turkish soldier, who had the care of the "garden, who obliged them to bring all the brush they had "cut into my enclosure, and then dismissed each with a severe "bastinado. This was in the winter season when I resided in town; but my janizary soon informed me of what he had done, " for which I reprimanded him severely, as the ground was "useless, and what they had taken was useless to me. He "justified himself on the plea of their not having first obtained "permission to cut the wood. A few days after I met Rais "Hammida, who complained very bitterly to me of the con"duct of my janizary. I told him I disapproved of the act, "and had reprimanded him very severely for what he had "done. But, said I, Rais Hammida, why do you not take "Sidi Alli to task for this act? You have my full permission to "do so as far as it depends on me. Ah! senior consul, re"plied he, don't you know Sidi Alli, although a poor soldier, "and far inferior to me in every other respect, is a Turk, and "that here on shore I dare not reprimand him, though I feel "myself, and am known to be so much his superior. "not born in the dominions of the grand signior."

I was