FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



311 



PlQEO[J DE|=A^7|VIEplT. 



MOORE'S WORK ON PIGEONS. 



(Continued from page 295.) 

 of the Fancy who had the honor of his acquaintance. He 

 was a very complete judge of a pigeon, and would spare 

 neither cost nor trouble to procure the best. He had one 

 pouting cock which he valued at five pound, and a very 

 choice collection of many other kinds. The same methods 

 have been taken in most other countries as well as England, 

 to gain this experimental knowledge, as in Holland, Prance, 

 Spain, Germany, Turkey, Persia, and Morocco. In the 

 three last of which places, the monarchs themselves have 

 officers, called keepers of the pigeons. Having thus men- 

 tioned the King of Morocco, give me leave to entertain you 

 with the following story out of the Sieur. Mouette in his 

 travels through that kingdom. 



"There was among the other captives in Morocco, one 

 Bernard Bausset, a youth about twenty-five years of age, 

 and one of the family of the Baussets, ancient consuls of 

 Marseilles, and born in the town of Aubaigne in Provence. 

 He had the keeping of the king's pages' clothes and arms, 

 and of the stores laid up at the first gate of the seraglio; 

 besides which, he taught two of the king's children to speak 

 Spanish. That prince having taken a liking to, and desir- 

 ing to raise him higher than the Christian religion would 

 allow of, he tried all possible means to oblige him to become 

 a Mohammedan, and perceiving he could not prevail by fair 

 means, very often had recourse to severity and ill usage. 

 Being one day highly provoked at his constancy, and laying 

 hold of the pretence of two or three bits 'of straw he saw 

 lying before him, and of Bausset's neglecting to cause the 

 way between the two gates of the seraglio to be swept, he 

 caused him to be stripped stark naked, and two blacks, with 

 each of them a handful of leather straps to give him above 

 five hundred stripes, so that his body was all over as black 

 as a shoe. In this condition, he sent him with two heavy 

 chains to be cured in our prison, and several days after called 

 for, and asked him, ' why he stayed in the Bitte,' so they call 

 the slaves' prison, ' whilst his meal was stolen?' It seems that 

 day a sack had been taken out of one of the magazines that 

 are near the gate of the seraglio. 'Sir, ' said Bausset, ' I stayed 

 there ever since you sent me, and durst not come away with- 

 out your orders.' Hereupon the king struck at him with a 

 spear, and hurt him under the right eye, and then ordered 

 his guards to cast him into the Lion's Walk : that walk is 

 like a court between four high walls, joining to the castle, 

 and was parted from our Bitte or prison by a wall but three 

 hands in thickness, which the lions once undermined, and 

 had like to have got in to us. 



"The youth hearing that sentence pronounced, ran to the 

 ladder that went up to the place, intending to throw himself 

 in, before any other came to do it. The king dismounted 

 from his horse, and went up after, bidding him change his 



religion, or he should be immediately devoured by the lions. 

 Bausset resolutely answered, ' he was not at all concerned at 

 it, since that was the way to make him happy, for they could 

 take but one life from him, which would end gloriously, 

 and he had rather the lions should devour his body, than 

 that his soul should become a prey to devils.' Hereupon the 

 king drew near the edge of the wall, to cast him down bead- 

 long, but Bausset, who observed him narrowly, perceiving 

 his design, leaped himself amidst four lions, of a monstrous 

 size, who had not been fed in three days. 



" Those creatures beholding their prey, rose up, and roar- 

 ing put themselves in a posture to fall on him, whilst he 

 offered up his prayers to heaven. But they, as if withheld 

 by some secret power, presently lay down again. Yet some 

 of them soon after got up and made towards him, and being 

 near passed by without touching him, among the rest, one 

 that was most ravenous came up to him seven times, and 

 passed by as often. Thus the captive, like another Daniel, 

 praised God amidst those fierce creatures, which had not the 

 power to hurt him. 



" The king, who withdrew as soon as he fell in, sent twice 

 to see whether he was devoured, and in case he was not, to offer 

 to take, him out, if he would turn Mohammedan ; but he re- 

 turned them the same answer he had given to the king him- 

 self. We were all at our prayers to implore the divine as- 

 sistance upon him, and having made some holes through the 

 wall, that parted us from lions to see, we encouraged him to 

 be resolute and die, rather than renounce his religion, which 

 he zealously promised us. 



"In the meanwhile, a Spanish woman captive went to 

 petition the king for Bausset's deliverance. She was called 

 Mary of the Conception, born at St. Lucar de Barrameda in 

 Andalusia; came to Mamora, to carry home her husband, 

 who was banished, and they were both taken returning into 

 Spain. Having abundance of wit, without the least immod- 

 esty, she had gained the king's affections, who granted her 

 whatsoever favor she asked either for Moors or Christians. 

 She was called the common mother of all persons in distress, 

 for she never thought much to sue for them. Her husband, 

 whose name was John de Cormona, and she, had had the 

 charge of the king's pigeons, and fed the lions. The king, 

 having a kindness for Bausset, was pleased she should inter- 

 cede, and gave orders immediately to have him taken out. 

 No sooner had he spoke the word, than all the pages ran, 

 striving who should be foremost, and left the king alone, at 

 the first entrance into the seraglio, which so highly offended 

 him, that he called them back, and laid eight of them on the 

 floor, all bloody and wounded with his scimitar. 



" However, when his wrath was appeased, the captive 

 woman redoubled her entreaties- so earnestly, that he could 

 not refuse her, but ordered that she. should go with her hus- 

 band and one Prieur, a surgeon of Poitiers, to take Bausset 

 from among the lions, which was accordingly done, when 

 he had been there five hours, for he leaped in at four, and 

 came out at nine. Some days after, the lions showed not 

 the same respect to three fakirs or doctors of the law of 

 Mohammed, who took upon them to reprove the king for 

 his cruelty, and were therefore cast into the same place, and 

 immediately torn in pieces by the lions." 



This story was well attested, brought to Paris, and put 



into the hands of the reverend fathers, the mercenarians of 



Paris, to satisfy such as may call the truth of it in question. 



However, I had not made use of this story, only as it shows 



( To be continued.) 



