DEPART UNDER FALSE PASSPORTS. 41 



We pursued our way to the French Consul's, M. 

 Dubois Thainville. He was at his country house. Es- 

 corted by the janissary of the consulate, we went off 

 towards this country house, one of the ancient residences 

 of the Dey, situated not far from the gate of Bab-azoum. 

 The consul and his family received us with great amity, 

 and offered us hospitality. 



Suddenly transported to a new continent, I looked for- 

 ward anxiously to the rising of the sun to enjoy all that 

 Africa might offer of interest to a European, when all at 

 once I believed myself to be engaged in a serious adven- 

 ture. By the faint light of the dawn, I saw an animal 

 moving at the foot of my bed. I gave a kick with my foot : 

 all movement ceased. After some time, I felt the same 

 movement made under my legs. A sharp jerk made 

 this cease quickly. I then heard the fits of laughter of 

 the janissary, who lay on the couch in the same room as 

 I did ; and I soon saw that he had simply placed on my 

 bed a large hedgehog to amuse himself by my uneasi- 

 ness. 



The consul occupied himself the next day in procuring 

 a passage for us on board a vessel of the Regency which 

 was going to Marseilles. M. Ferrier, the Chancellor of 

 the French Consulate, was at the same time Consul for 

 Austria. He procured for us two false passports, which 

 transformed us M. Berthemie and me into two stroll- 

 ing merchants, the one from Schwekat, in Hungary, the 

 other from Leoben. 



The moment of departure had arrived ; the 13th of 

 August, 1808, we were on board, but our ship's company 

 was not complete. The captain, whose title was Rai 

 Braham Ouled Mustapha Goja, having perceived that 

 the Dey was on his terrace, and fearing punishment if he 



