Connecticut western news., 1872-03-29
A King for an Hour.

e1ght O'CLOCK In the morning, the Dey of Algiers was distributing pay to his sol diers in the courtyard of his palace. The Grand Treasurer was with him, be- sides his secretaries and usual divan {: and the number of soldiers was about three hundred. It was understood that these were all unarmed, as it was there custom to be on such occasions (though there was no suspicion of any dissatisfac- tion among them and when one of them, after receiving his pay, and kissing the Dey's hand, suddenly drew dagger, it produced great sensation in the court. When, instead of repenting him of this indiscretion, and putting it back again into his girdle, he proceeded to sheath it in the Dey's breast, and then to shoot him with pistol, the ex- citement redoubled. Yet, seriously enough, nobody stirred, except the Dey He rose, and "walked few yards"-I we'll recollect the bald description of the writer in that gazetteer" calling out his attendants Among so many of you, can y@n not destroy such villain as this ? and then dropped" If his High ness could not do more, 1t is scarcely inn aginable to conceive how he could have done less but his assassin was prompt in action as the other was slow; he no sooner had his victim on the ground, than he snatched off the Dey's turban, clapped it on his own head, and seated himself on the throne. In the meantime, friend of this audacious character had lodged pistol-ball in the High Treas urer's collar-bone, given him two sabre cuts over the head, and cut his right Nff o%r,. for there were only six in all-were "hard at work with their pistols and sa- bres among the company generally. In recent American description of a free fight, we read that "crowbars and other sedatives" were used and that pistols and sabres seemed in this case also to have had nacotic influence, for the company actually listened with pa tience, during all those anarchial pro- ceediugs, to a speech from the throne, sort of programme issued by the new Dey, respecting the system of govern ment that would be pursued in the flu. ture for the man on the throne had ar idea that the virtue of sovereignty lies in what it sits on, and really imagined that he was firmly seated in that supreme power which he had himself shown to be so precarious even in legitimate pos sessor of it). He told them that he wa. henceforth about to govern the country on good principles, and especially that ht would declare war against a good many people who fancied that no danger Wal hanging over their heads. "The coun try is at peace," said he, "with goot deal too many;" and he especially bad' them to take notice that he was 8 sover eign "who would do justice to alI," a which observation he brandished hi sword about his head in what was, doubt less, felt to be significant manner.
 Then he ordered the drums to beat and the cannon to be fired, to give no tice to the city of changed dynasty While this was being done, one of th' chiauses, or messengers, of the palac, took heart of grace, and suddenly snatch ing up carbine, shot the usurper dead at which action everybody seemed to re cover from their stupor, and the work o cutting his five accomplices to pieces, af ter the Eastern manner, at once com menced. Even An Bashaw, the nev Dey, acknowledged that if this audaciou rebel had kept his seat but few min utes longer, and until the cannon wa | Arou, buo SOVeFumeuG WOulu nave Ueel subverted. Never was treason on sucl humble scale so near 8 success. Thes, six men were the sole conspirators, bu the inaction of the surrounding soldier, (to whom they themselves belonged) i explained by their ignorance of the ex tent of the plot, and their fear of bein! supposed to be mixed up in it. As was, the chief rebel was the shortest De, on record-a king for an hour.-Cham' bers' Journal.