The Alexandria herald. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826, 1822-11-22
4 Novel and .htroeions Character.

During the awful prevalence OF the
plague on tho north east OF Spain, in
the autumn of 1921 "a foreigner, who was
variously said to be Jew, Turk, an,
Armenian and renegade, but whose ac-
knowledged vocation was that OF mer-
chant, in which capacity he had amass-
ed large property, visited the devos-
ed city Of Barcelona. A letter from
thence gives the following account OF this
singularly atrocious character -" This
man, who, from his long white beard,
might have been taken for a patriarch,
had been an eye witness Of oil the plaques
that had desolated, of late years the
Turkish empire. As soon as he heard
that pestilence had broken out in any
city, he Immediately hastened to it. He
used to account for these extraordinary
journeys, by the advantage he!found In
such desolated countries, IN purchasing
his goods at lower rate than usual but
still it seemed inexp,icable how lust Of
gold could so far overcome the love OF
life, and how the old man, who was alrea.
dy SO rich, should continually expose
himself to almost inevitable Death
Questions put to this traveller were never
answered clearly. When he arrived at
such theatre Of death, he wrapped HIM
self from head to foot in tarred linen, CO.
vered bis hands with black leather gloves,
his face with a glass mask, and thus
guarded against Infection, and provided
with stick which had an iron hook at
the end, he entered the infected houses I;
there he possessed himself OF whatever
he found, seized on hidden treasures. and
the most valuable utensils, and tore there
Jewels from the bodies OF the dead
Moro than once he is said to have has
tened the effects of the pestilence, and
to have given the death blow to the VIC
Tins whose cries would have interrupted
him in perpetrating his robberies. Ii
| chance led him into house which was
sti free from contagion, he announced
himselfas physician, and woe to those
who confided in his skill. Loaded with
treasures he always returned to Venice,
where, admired by every body. on ac-
count of the success of his enterprise,
he waited for the signal for fresh booty,
4 like the carton vulturc.
"rhe news of the distress Of Barcelo.
ma became glad tidings for this wretch,
| and he had already carried on his hor-
rid trade among US a fortnight, when he
was detected in the very act of stabbing a
patient who was quite delirous. This
patient was a young French merchant,
who was greatly beloved at Barcelona on
| account OF his integrity. He had just
| lost his wife and two sons, and was him
| self struggling against the distemper,
( which had hitherto spared this coura-
geous young man, who most tenderly de-
voted himself to his family. He was
murdered almost in the arms of his
countryman, capt. Il. who was near his
friend in an adjoining room. Hearing
the door opened, he fastened back to
I tho patient--sees the villain stab his
friend to the heart, rushes ON him, scizcs
| him, and throws him on the ground after
hard struggle, in which the old wretch
have been expected. "Sir," cried the
wretch, finding himself overpowered,
"surely you will notkill me-" "Yillain,
what hast thou done :" "But he was so
i'll - "And those things which you
had already stolen % 81 thought every
body was dead give me my life:
Will make you rich man." "fou dare
TO offer me your blood-s,ained gold ~
.'Sir, be without fear, possess several
remedies against the plague; will give
you as many sequins as you can carry"
"And were you 10 offer me two arrobos :"
"You shall have ten" said the murderer,
and received the captains sw ord through
| his heart.
"rhe magistrates seized the body of
the pretended israelite, and had it hung
at the corner Of Regomin street. They
also sent officers to the house in which
he had lived, and ordered all they found
there 10 be sold for the benefit of the
poor.' Lon. fa.
SLAVERY.
A pamphlet is announced in theCharles
ton papers as abouttobe published in that
city, exhibiting din condensed form, the
history of the origin and progress of sia-
| very in the southern and western states /;
| to describe the true condition of the slave
! class Of our population, and to present,
| from scarce tracts and other valuable
sources Of information, a brief sketch ol
the difficulties we have met and sur
| mounted in relation to this class, from the
earliest settlement OF the country TO the
| present time"
We understand that persons who are
compelled to travel along the road over
the new bridge, are continually robbed by
the gang Of armed runaway negroes, who
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