The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-10-21 00:00:00

Vnnn. &c.,

N. B.

P.S. The Bombard was twelve nines oat when taken, at least ao
it aiplTMl to its. (if taken she actually I,e, for not certain.) and
we hail to escape in= another vessel That stood right in between us
and the pat.

)(LISTA FHA ALI.

Mustapha Ali, the youth whose portrait is given in the
froutispiecr, in illustration of his national costume, was
brought to England by Colonel Stanhope, on his return
fiom Greece. His life, though short, has been eventful,
and hint character is strongly illustrative, even at the early
age of ten years, of that semi-barbarous state of morals
and society which characteriz-s the half Europeanized
Asiatics, who have for so many ages oppressed the south-
eastern extremity of the most civilized portion of the
globe.
The father of Musts/the was a Turk, who commanded
a small district in the neighbourhood of Argos previously
to the Greek rovolution ; at an early period of which,
he, together with his wife and the whole of his family.
with the exception of this boy, fell victims to the fury of
the enfranchised Greeks. 21Iustapha Ali alone escaped this
dreadful scene of retributive vengeance, to encounter a
course of life than which death itself is almost more de-
sirable. Like a flog he pro -sled about naked fur subsist-
ence, anti was kicked or fondled as caprice dictated, and
constantly halfettarced and destitute of a home. From
Argos he followed in the suite of a traveller to Salona,
where he again led a similar life to that which he had pre-
viously been subjected to. In the summer he laid up and
down in the streets, and found refuge fur the nights, during
the winter, in an oven, which became his favourite dor-
mitory. The menial slave of servantsje performed for
them the dirty work which they loathed to undertake; and.
though still naked and craving with hunger, the little Turk
contrived to make himself agreeable to the Greeks by his
good humour and his fun.
At this time Captain Humphries, happening to pass by
Salons, saw Ali, and took a liking to him. Ile clothed
the little orphan. and took him into his suite, of which he
quickly became the life and spirit. Released from the state
of destitution in which he had been plunged, the gaiety of
the boy becalme grater than ever. Sometimes he rode on
a mule at the op of the trunks, sometimes he walked for
seven or eight hours together over the mountains; but
whatever mode of travelling he clmve to adopt, he was al-
ways at the head of the cavalcade, singing, dancing,
and laughing at every thing and at every body.
When Colonel Stanhope was recalled by the British
government, be oflimal to take charge of Ali, to which
Captain Humphries consented with much reluctance.
During his stay in the quarantine house at 'lank. Ali
became very 'medal to the little Turkish gill wh:nn Lord
Byron had adopted as a companion to his beloved Ada.
ths her restoration to her father, Ali was very sorrowful
and disconsolate, and wept for her absence for many days.
The same grief was felt on the depatture of his former
master for Argos; and, days after ha was gone, Ali would
burst into teats whenever he saw any thing that put him
in mind of his protector: on one occasion in particular,
when on board slap, he was seen in a retired piece weep-
ing bitterly over an embroidered handkerchief which had
been given to him by Captain Humphries.
(In his arrival in England Ali was dreadfully alarmed
lest he should be !slaughtered as soon as he hall landed,
and was most anxious to have been allowed to remain on
hoary. This request could not he complied with, and
when, on his coining on shore, he was ordered to mount
the stage coach, a kind of conveyance which he hail never
previously seen, with a precaution indispensable in the
country he bad so recently vitted, lie seated himself on
the top of one of his master's trunks and put his legs upon
the other, nor could he be induced to quit his post, lest
the property should be stolen. 11 is notions of property are
indeed far from precise, and he may well be pardoned for
suspecting others of that propensity to plunder which
formed so marked a feature in the character of those among
whom his catliest years haul been pawed.
Ali now attends the Lancasterian :Mimi in the Borough
Road, where he acquits himself so well as to bring home
daily a card of merit. lie was at first very desirous to
have been admitted into the girls' school, but the directors
refused, of course, to allow the young Turk to associate
with their female pupils. Ile
c
will not, however, allow
that his parents were Turks: it is, indeed, an unparthm-
able offeror: to him to be called a Tutic, or even to apply
to him his penmen of Mustapha. Ile hates the Turks:
he hates also to have his turban touched; and a gmitle-
man having one day made an effort to tie it off, the
little barbarian drew his pistol, sad raved on account of
its not being hustled. His general habits and attachments
arc military, and he is conversant with the use of arms.