TRAVELS IN BARBARY. 
219 
passion, but did nothing in consequence ; and their 
tyrant, exasperated at this appeal, redoubled his 
fury, and " never gave over till he had sent above 
" twenty to their graves." They at one time had 
determined to kill him when he made his nightly 
survey ; but, " when it came to the point, no man 
" would strike first and he, suspecting somewhat 
of their intention, never again returned by him- 
self. They next attempted to poison him in brandy, 
which they were obliged to furnish ; but he obtain- 
ed a scent of their intention ; and these abortive 
efforts, by the exasperation which they produced, 
inevitably rendered their bondage more dreadful. 
Their only deliverance arose from the plague, 
which began to rage in Mequinez, and swept away 
a large proportion of the inhabitants. It first 
made an end of their tormentor ; and then, by the 
general disorganization which it produced, enabled 
them to obtain a greater portion of liberty. They 
began to manufacture brandy, which they sold to 
the Moors ; they even set up a table for cards, 
and another for dice ; and, from the profit of these 
institutions, established a fund for the relief of 
their sick. At length, in 1681, a body of Fathers, 
Mercenarians, arrived from France, and obtained 
their ransom. 
Some particulars are given of the modes in which 
the slaves attempted to escape. The regular mode 
was to bury them in a ditch, leaving only the head 
