way, as to render it necessary for him to be pushed in and shot out like a sack of coals. The body being completed, and springs being out of the question, it was mounted on two strong poles, which did duty as shafts; and to these were fixed two wheels from one of the field-pieces, so that the carriage stood at about three feet from the ground. The Sultan never for a moment quitted the place where Belford was at work, and was all delight at the progress which he made. Numbers of people came to see it, and many asked if that was the kind of vehicle in which our King and his wives used to ride. I was frequently puzzled how to answer; for to say the truth, though Belford,- considering his want of materials, had done wonders, it very much resembled one of those little market carts which are dragged about London by donkies. It soon, however, lost that appearancé, by being covered with a splendid hood of scarlet cloth, and having a bed laid inside of it. The shafts, body, and wheels were painted green, though not very durably. The Sultan had some verdigris, which he had brought from Tripoli; part of this was mixed with olive oil, which, not drying, was scraped off, but the rest being prepared with vinegar, formed a wash which answered his fondest expectations. The carriage was now as gaudy as the Sultan could wish, and he was the sole and happy possessor of i t ; but a serious inconvenience soon presented itself : the coach was not large enough to allow of a place for a driver, and his horses were too spirited to be trusted alone with such a small state-carriage. After devising many plans to remedy the defect, we found we had but one expedient left, which was to convert the vehicle into a gig. Accordingly, a jack of all trades, who was a very ingenious fellow, made, by my directions, a set of harness tolerably well, except that the little pad on the horse’s back weighed above fifty pounds. This, however, was soon reduced; but when the animal was put into the shafts, we discovered that the carriage was so low as to form an angle of at least twenty-five degrees with the ground. The Sultan s head would consequently be about a foot lower than his fe e t; but as he intended at any rate sitting with his face to the horse, he thought nothing of this inconvenience. His Majesty indulged himself with many rides in the space near the Castle, and in one instance through the town, the coach being drawn by slaves. He, however, at last determined to venture a ride into the country with the horse to draw him. The animal being put into the vehicle, and led slowly through one little gate to where Mukni stood, made an attempt to run through another to his stable; the man who led him being frightened, suffered him to set off at full speed. The gate brought him up, one of the wheels knocking down the gate-post and part of the wall, but the carriage itself remained undamaged. This proof of its great strength quite charmed every one, and it was at last decided that a large saddle should be put on the horse, and that Baba Ismael, the Turkish cannoneer, should ride him, and direct the whole machine. Mukni, by way of showing his approbation of Belford’s talents, gave him seven dollars, which he brought home to us in triumph, and which really saved us when on the very brink of starvation. This piece of good luck was soon followed by another, for within a day or two afterwards I managed to sell a saddle for eight dollars to a Tibboo. Mr. Ritchie again got a little better by the middle of the month, but continued so very silent and low spirited, that we feared he would soon relapse. Some Kaffles of the Tibboo now came in with slaves, and our horses having got a little more into condition, owing to the great cheapness of the dates at harvest time, we made many attempts to sell them. From my having sent a bill to the Consul, we soon expected money, and Mr. Ritchie empowered me, in the meantime, to dispose of one of our-horses. Accordingly, after a goqd deal
27f 50
To see the actual publication please follow the link above