Part 39 (1/2)
In the darkness of that night Bacri crept to the side of Mariano, and whispered hastily--
”I may not get another opportunity to speak to thee. Just before I came hither Angela and her sister were taken from my care by force. They are now in the palace, under the care of Zara. Omar intends to keep them.”
Mariano turned to reply, but the Jew had retired noiselessly as he came.
Early in the morning after the fight the prison-door opened, and a band of Turkish soldiers entered. The garish light of day, as it streamed over the dungeon floor, revealed the fact that the shattered frame of the Italian slave had found rest at last.
The soldiers looked f.a.gged and dishevelled. Many of them wore bandages about their heads and limbs. They did not speak, but drew up in a line, while their leader advanced with a negro, who proceeded to file the fetters from off the British consul and his countrymen. In a few minutes he led them out between the soldiers, and conducted them towards the palace.
Although the Turkish officer could not, or would not, converse with Colonel Langley, the latter had little difficulty in making a pretty good guess as to how matters stood, for on his way to the palace, short though it was, he saw devastation enough to convince him that the British had gained the day. Arrived at the palace, the party were locked up in an anteroom.
Meanwhile, in the audience-hall, which was considerably damaged by the artillery of the fleet, Omar Dey held a divan. The building in which this court had been held in former times was now a ruin, and many of the councillors who had been wont to a.s.semble in it had gone to their last account.
Omar was very pale, and moved with difficulty, having been wounded slightly in various places. Indeed, all the statesmen who surrounded him bore marks, more or less severe, of having played a part in the late action. In the midst of an eager discussion, an attendant entered, and announced the arrival of a British officer with a flag of truce.
”Admit him,” said the Dey, who, although boiling over with rage and despair, had sense enough to make up his mind to bow to the power which he could not overcome.
Immediately Lieutenant Burgess was ushered into the court, accompanied by Rais Ali in the capacity of translator, and two of his boat's crew, one of whom was, by special permission, Ted Flaggan.
Without wasting time in useless ceremony, the lieutenant ordered Rais to read aloud the paper which he had been commissioned by Lord Exmouth to deliver to the Dey.
Poor Rais Ali appeared to have expended all his bravery on the ramparts, for he trembled and grew paler as he took the paper in his hand.
”Cheer up, owld boy,” whispered Flaggan, as Ali turned to advance towards the Dey; ”ye've got more pluck than I guv 'ee credit for. Never say die.”
Whether it was the result of these encouraging words, or desperation, we know not, but Rais immediately advanced and read the paper with considerable fluency. It ran as follows:--
”To His Highness the Dey of Algiers.
”Sir,--For your atrocities at Bona on defenceless Christians, and your unbecoming disregard of the demands I made yesterday, in the name of the Prince Regent of England, the fleet under my orders has given you a signal chastis.e.m.e.nt, by the total destruction of your navy storehouses and a.r.s.enal, with half your batteries. As England does not make war for the destruction of cities, I am unwilling to visit your personal cruelties upon the inoffensive inhabitants of the country, and I therefore offer you the same terms of peace which I conveyed to you yesterday in my Sovereign's name. Without the acceptance of these terms you can have no peace with England.
”If you receive this offer as you ought, you will fire three guns; and I shall consider your not making this signal as a refusal, and shall renew my operations at my own convenience.
”I offer you the above terms provided neither the British consul, nor the officers and men so wickedly seized by you from the boats of a British s.h.i.+p of war, have met with any cruel treatment, or any of the Christian slaves in your power; and I repeat my demand that the consul and officers and men may be sent off to me, conformable to ancient treaties.--I have, etcetera, Exmouth.”
The terms of peace referred to ran thus:--
I. The abolition for ever of Christian slavery.
II. The delivery to my flag of all slaves in the dominions of the Dey, to whatever nation they may belong, at noon to-morrow.
III. To deliver also to my flag all money received by the Dey for the redemption of slaves since the commencement of this year, at noon to-morrow.
IV. Reparation shall be made to the British consul for all losses he may have sustained in consequence of his confinement.
V. The Dey shall make a public apology in presence of his ministers and officers, and beg pardon of the consul in terms dictated by the captain of the _Queen Charlotte_.
The proud pirate chief did not move a muscle of his pale face, or bend his head while these terms were read to him; nevertheless, he agreed to them all. The consul and others were called into the hall and delivered up; the three guns were fired, and thereafter Lord Exmouth directed that, on the Sunday following, ”a public thanksgiving should be offered up to Almighty G.o.d for the signal interposition of his Providence during the conflict which took place on the 27th between his Majesty's fleet and the ferocious enemies of mankind.” In accordance with these terms of peace, all the Christian slaves were collected next day and delivered up.
Sixteen hundred and forty-two were freed on this occasion, and sent on board the fleet. Counting those freed but a short time before, through Lord Exmouth's influence along the Barbary coasts, the total number delivered amounted to above 3000.
The a.s.sembling on the decks of the s.h.i.+ps of war of these victims of barbaric cruelty, ignorance, and superst.i.tion, was a sight that raised powerful and conflicting feelings in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of those who witnessed it. The varied feelings of the slaves were, to some extent, expressed by their actions and in their faces. Old and young were there, of almost every nation; gentle and simple, robust and feeble; men, women, and children. Some, on coming on board, cheered with joy, but these were few, and consisted chiefly of men who had not been long enslaved, and had not suffered much. Others wept with delight, fell on their knees and kissed the decks, or returned thanks to G.o.d for deliverance.