634 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



city of Tripoli contiiins 14,000 

 inliat)itants, and the city of Tunis 

 30,000. 



Our house, the lust of the 

 Christian houses that remained 

 in part oj)en, on the 14th of tliis 

 month commenced a complete 

 quarantine. The hall on enter- 

 ing- the house is parted into three 

 divisions, and tlie door leading 

 to the street is never unlocked 

 but in the presence of the master 

 of the house, who keeps the key 

 in his own possession. It is 

 opened but once in the day, when 

 he goes himself as far as tlic first 

 hall, and sends a servant to un- 

 lock and unbolt tlie door. The 

 servant returr.s, and the person 

 in the street waiti? till he is de- 

 sired to enter with the provisions 

 lie has been commissioned to buy. 

 He finds ready placed for him a 

 vessel with vinegar and water to 

 receive the meat, and another 

 with water for the vegetables 



Among the very few articles 

 which may be brought in with- 

 out this precaution is cold hread, 

 salt in bars, straw ropes, straw 

 baskets, oil ponred out of the jar 

 to pievont cnntagioii from the 

 hemp with which it is covered, 

 sugarwilhout paperorbox. ^Vl^en 

 this person lias brought in all the 

 articles he has, b.e leaves by tliem 

 the account, ar.d the change out 

 of the money given him, and re- 

 tiring shuts tlie dooi'. Straw pre- 

 viously placed in the ha'l is liglited 

 at a considerable distance, by 

 means of a ligbt at the end of a 

 slid';, and no person suSercd to 

 enter tlie hall till it is thought 

 suMlcicntly purified by fire ; after 

 which a servant with a long stick 

 ]iicks up th.e account and smokes 

 it thoroughly o\ er the siraw still 

 burning, and locking the d&or 



returns the key to his master, 

 who has been present duiing tlje 

 whole of these proceedings, lest 

 any jiart of them should be neg- 

 lected, as on tlte observance of 

 them it may safely be said the life 

 of every individual in the house 

 depends. 



Eight ])eople in the last seven 

 days, who v>ere employed as pro- 

 viders for the house, have taken 

 the plague and died. He who 

 was too ill to return with what 

 he had brought, consigned the 

 articles to his next neighbour, 

 who faithfully finishing his com- 

 mission, as has always been done, 

 of course succeeded his unfortu- 

 nate friend in the same employ- 

 ment, if he wished it, or recom- 

 mended another : it has happened 

 that Moors, quite above such em- 

 ployment, have with an earnest 

 charity delivered the provisions to 

 the Christians who had sent for 

 them. The floors perform acts 

 of kindness at present, which if 

 attended by such dreadful cir- 

 cumstances, would be very rarely 

 met with in most parts of Chris- 

 tendom. An instance very lately 

 occurred of their philantiuopy. 

 A Christian lay an object of mi- 

 sery, neglected and forsaken 

 self-preservation having taught 

 every friend to fly from her pesti- 

 lential bed, even her mother I 

 But she found in the barbarian a 

 paternal hand : passing by he 

 heard her moans, and concluded 

 she was the last of her family ; 

 and finding that not the case, he 

 beheld her with sentiments of 

 compassion mixed with honor. 

 He sought for assistance, and till 

 the plague had completed its la- 

 vages and put an end to her suf- 

 ferings he did not lose sight of 

 her, disdaining her Christian 



friends, 



