Of Course, Such Conversion Was Not A Sincere One—“There Was Yet
Swines-Flesh In His Teeth.” He Boasts Of
Saying his prayers in a state of
impurity, hates his fellow religionists, was truly pleased to hear
Mahomet called sabbatero,
I.e., shoemaker, reads his bible, talks of
the horrid evil of apostacy, calls the Prophet a “bloody imposter,” eats
heartily in private of hog, and is very much concerned for one of his
countrymen who went home to his own country, but came again to Algier,
and voluntarily, without the least force used towards him, became a
Mahometan. His first letter from his father reached him some days after
he had been compelled by his patroon’s barbarity to abjure his faith. One
sentence appears particularly to have afflicted him: it was this, “to
have a care and keep close to God, and to be sure never, by any methods
of cruelty that could be used towards me, be prevailed to deny my
blessed Saviour, and that he (the father) would rather hear of my death
than of my being a Mahometan.” Indeed, throughout the work, it appears
that his repentance was sincere.
“God be merciful to me a
Sinner!”
is the deprecation that precedes the account of his “turning Turk,” and the
book concludes with,
“To him, therefore, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Three
[p.360] Persons and one God, be all Honour, Glory, and Praise, world
without end. Amen.”
Having received from his patroon, whom he acknowledges to have been a
second parent to him, a letter of freedom at Meccah and having entered
into pay, still living with his master, Pitts began to think of escape.
The Grand Turk had sent to Algier for ships, and the renegade was
allowed to embark on board one of them provided with a diplomatic
letter[FN#2] from Mr. Baker, Consul of Algier, to Mr. Raye, Consul at
Smyrna.
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