made me very melancholy; and having passed a restless night, I found
myself attacked, in the morning, by a smart fever. I had wrapped myself
close up in my cloak, with a view to induce perspiration, and was asleep
when a party of Moors entered the hut, and with their usual rudeness
pulled the cloak from me. I made signs to them that I was sick, and
wished much to sleep; but I solicited in vain; my distress was matter of
sport to them, and they endeavoured to heighten it by every means in
their power. This studied and degrading insolence, to which I was
constantly exposed, was one of the bitterest ingredients in the cup of
captivity; and often made life itself a burthen to me. In those
distressing moments I have frequently envied the situation of the slave,
who, amidst all his calamities, could still possess the enjoyment of his
own thoughts; a happiness to which I had, for some time, been a stranger.
Wearied out with such continual insults, and perhaps a little peevish
from the fever, I trembled lest my passion might unawares overleap the
bounds of prudence, and spur me to some sudden act of resentment, when
death must be the inevitable consequence. In this perplexity, I left my
hut, and walked to some shady trees at a little distance from the camp,
where I lay down. But even here persecution followed me; and solitude was
thought too great an indulgence for a distressed Christian. Ali's son,
with a number of horsemen, came galloping to the place, and ordered me to
rise and follow them. I begged they would allow me to remain where I was,
if it was only for a few hours; but they paid little attention to what I
said; and after a few threatening words, one of them pulled out a pistol
from a leather bag, that was fastened to the pummel of his saddle, and
presenting it towards me, snapped it twice. He did this with so much
indifference, that I really doubted whether the pistol was loaded; he
cocked it a third time, and was striking the flint with a piece of steel,
when I begged them to desist, and returned with them to the camp. When we
entered Ali's tent, we found him much out of humour. He called for the