ALGERINE PIRATES.

_Containing accounts of the cruelties and atrocities of the Barbary
Corsairs, with narratives of the expeditions sent against them, and the
final capture of Algiers by the French in_ 1830.

That former den of pirates, the city of Algiers is situated on the
shores of a pretty deep bay, by which the northern coast of Africa, is
here indented, and may be said to form an irregular triangular figure,
the base line of which abuts on the sea, while the apex is formed by the
Cassaubah, or citadel, which answered the double purpose of a fort to
defend and awe the city, and a palace for the habitation of the Dey and
his court. The hill on which the city is built, slopes rather rapidly
upwards, so that every house is visible from the sea, in consequence of
which it was always sure to suffer severely from a bombardment. The top
of the hill has an elevation of nearly five hundred feet, and exactly at
this point is built the citadel; the whole town lying between it and the
sea. The houses of Algiers have no roofs, but are all terminated by
terraces, which are constantly whitewashed; and as the exterior walls,
the fort, the batteries and the walls are similarly beautified, the
whole city, from a distance, looks not unlike a vast chalk quarry opened
on the side of a hill.

The fortifications towards the sea are of amasing strength, and with the
additions made since Lord Exmouth's attack, may be considered as almost
impregnable. They occupy the entire of a small island, which lies a
short distance in front of the city, to which it is connected at one
end by a magnificent mole of solid masonry, while the other which
commands the entrance of the port, is crowned with a battery, bristling
with cannon of immense calibre, which would instantly sink any vessel
which should now attempt to occupy the station taken by the Queen
Charlotte on that memorable occasion.

On the land side, the defences are by no means of equal strength, as
they were always considered rather as a shelter against an
insurrectionary movement of the natives, than as intended to repulse the
regular attacks of a disciplined army. In fact defences on this side
would be of little use as the city is completely commanded by different
hills, particularly that on which the Emperor's fort is built, and was
obliged instantly to capitulate, as soon as this latter had fallen into
the hands of the French, in 1830.

There are four gates; one opening on the mol