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Article LETTERS FROM T. DUNCKERLEY, ESQ. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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Letters From T. Dunckerley, Esq.
Leghorn . In- the despair of being overtaken they exerted their utmost strength ; the old man , who till now had been indulged in sitting still , took an oar , but upon the first effort broke his back ; here their distresses were redoubled , and in this crisis we have them represented . The prince came up wiih them , and after a bloody resistance on their sidesunequal as they were in forcetook and
, , carried them into Leghorn . Nothing , was heard but shouts of joy at their approach , the Duke himself , attended by all his court , came to receive and welcome his victorious son . The youth , impatient to embrace his father , leaps on the shore , and in that leap to death . As soon as it was known that he had been on the Barbarian coast the whole assembly was . struck with grief ; a law then being in force
by which who . oever should on any pretence offer to set foot on the shore after having been on the coast , of Barbary , without first receiving product or performing quarantine , was to forfeit his life . Justice , then , doomed this unhappy prince to death in the midst of his triumph . The wretched father , overwhelmed with grief , was obliged to pronounce his son ' s sentence ; andin " order to make some
, retaliation for the cruelty of his fate , sacrificed the . four slaves on his tomb , and afterwards caused this statue to be erected in commemoration of the fact . The Grand Duke ' s state-galle } ' ( better known by the name of the Courtezanes , from the money arising from the liceuces granted these
women to follow their . miserable occupation , being appropriated to . the maintenance and repairs of it ) is a vessel the most magnificent that can be imagined ; it is very long , with a sharp prow , much after the manner of the vessels we see delineated on antient medals ; it is most beautifully carved and g ilt to the water ' s edge ; at the entrance into the great cabin there are two figures , as large as the life , of angelswho hold a very beautiful , canopy over the dooron which are
, , painted the arms of the Duke and Dutchess , the present Emperor and Empress ( Jucen of Hungary , on each of which are their heads in profile ; the whole richly gilt and painted . This vessel lies in the mole , and is free to any person that has an inclination to visit it . There are fifty benches of oars on a side , each bench has three or four miserable tenants chained by the legs together , but having their
hands at liberty they are continually employed in some business , so that on entering you think yourself in a fair ; some are knitting gloves , stockings , & c . others making fine basket-work , hats , & c . in short , every one of these poor wretches are employed in something to procure them a small pittance from those whom charity or curiosity excite on board . Butsurelynever were creatures more dextrous
, , at filching , for if your eye or hand is an instant off your pockets , they find a way to lighten them of their contents ; and they will often rise eight or ten at a time , and make such a horrid rattling with their chains as surprise a stranger , and leave him wholly open and unguarded to their mercy . Near to the head of the vessel they open up one of the planks of the deck , and shew you a great Cou ' chce
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Letters From T. Dunckerley, Esq.
Leghorn . In- the despair of being overtaken they exerted their utmost strength ; the old man , who till now had been indulged in sitting still , took an oar , but upon the first effort broke his back ; here their distresses were redoubled , and in this crisis we have them represented . The prince came up wiih them , and after a bloody resistance on their sidesunequal as they were in forcetook and
, , carried them into Leghorn . Nothing , was heard but shouts of joy at their approach , the Duke himself , attended by all his court , came to receive and welcome his victorious son . The youth , impatient to embrace his father , leaps on the shore , and in that leap to death . As soon as it was known that he had been on the Barbarian coast the whole assembly was . struck with grief ; a law then being in force
by which who . oever should on any pretence offer to set foot on the shore after having been on the coast , of Barbary , without first receiving product or performing quarantine , was to forfeit his life . Justice , then , doomed this unhappy prince to death in the midst of his triumph . The wretched father , overwhelmed with grief , was obliged to pronounce his son ' s sentence ; andin " order to make some
, retaliation for the cruelty of his fate , sacrificed the . four slaves on his tomb , and afterwards caused this statue to be erected in commemoration of the fact . The Grand Duke ' s state-galle } ' ( better known by the name of the Courtezanes , from the money arising from the liceuces granted these
women to follow their . miserable occupation , being appropriated to . the maintenance and repairs of it ) is a vessel the most magnificent that can be imagined ; it is very long , with a sharp prow , much after the manner of the vessels we see delineated on antient medals ; it is most beautifully carved and g ilt to the water ' s edge ; at the entrance into the great cabin there are two figures , as large as the life , of angelswho hold a very beautiful , canopy over the dooron which are
, , painted the arms of the Duke and Dutchess , the present Emperor and Empress ( Jucen of Hungary , on each of which are their heads in profile ; the whole richly gilt and painted . This vessel lies in the mole , and is free to any person that has an inclination to visit it . There are fifty benches of oars on a side , each bench has three or four miserable tenants chained by the legs together , but having their
hands at liberty they are continually employed in some business , so that on entering you think yourself in a fair ; some are knitting gloves , stockings , & c . others making fine basket-work , hats , & c . in short , every one of these poor wretches are employed in something to procure them a small pittance from those whom charity or curiosity excite on board . Butsurelynever were creatures more dextrous
, , at filching , for if your eye or hand is an instant off your pockets , they find a way to lighten them of their contents ; and they will often rise eight or ten at a time , and make such a horrid rattling with their chains as surprise a stranger , and leave him wholly open and unguarded to their mercy . Near to the head of the vessel they open up one of the planks of the deck , and shew you a great Cou ' chce