New-York tribune., 1881-11-20
STUDIES IN INAUTOBIOGRAPHY'
nY cnnARLEs 7. coNGDoN.
GAIIDENTIO DI LUCIA.

tion il invited ia entitled, The AdVeh u'o' Va IT7
nor Gaudento Di Lucca, Being the SuoS'auoo
Examination before the Fathers OF 'uo tntbor
., poIog,a in italy. By Bishop Berkeley, Au'nol
"' h"ios'" .,,.a philosonher. etc Dublin. For John
C,,a,;,, ~ Lower OrmOnd-Quay. lSZl'1 - ms
:: :iao,tiy an Irish piracy. No memoir OF nlShoP
pa,kelev npon which have been apie 10 lay i,S
hond makes any mention of the DooK' Whlcn III i''
xvov ia almost as unique and interesting as MUM
cor CrusoeD Lake that, | suppose II 10 DC "oIA
of pure fiction, but it is so curious ana 50 ihuol
more entertaining than many autoOlosr"phles Vi
men who really lived, that l do not heshaIe "
odmit IL into this series If any OF my readers
tpow ANYTHING more of the book than have
stated I should esteem it kindness if they would
impart their information to me. An address 10
the Reader undertakes TO account for the eNlSV-
onca of the Memoirs He is told that the Ms. was
conf nv the secretary of the Inquision at Bologna
40 the learned SignOr Rhedi. Keeper OF the Library
of St Mark at Venice, his intimate iIlehu anu cor
respondent with the whole account OF no" .uo
ontbor was taken up and secured IN INC lhqui''-
tion.n The publisher states that the Nc. was
shown TO an English traveller by Slghor hhoui'
after n present to him of gold repeating "a'c"'
with some other English curlositles' Lucca' Ho
told the Engshman. then In the lnqulsiuoh
at Bologna After some persuasion. he perinitte' d
oony of tine Ms to be made. An Introduction gives
on accoupt of the seizure of Gaudento ana OF MS
examination by the Inquisitors but we VIII pass
immediately to the Memoirs, which the author lS
supposed to write for the information oil Ihe rev
erend fathers promising that they are accompanied
Inv the apnOtatons OF Signor Rhedi, when are ooIn
learned and diverting.
The narrator states that he was born IN Ragusa'
and he gives long and particular account Oh h'S
ancestors His father took pains with MS euuc''o"'
ond no mcntions particularly that he was taught
q the Iingua Franca so necessary III Eastern cum
trias and which is made up of Italian, turkish
persion and Arabian or rather jargOn OF all Ian
,nogcs mixed together" His father dying poor ne
went with his brother upon voyage o1 adventure
in 1858. The ship, sailing for Cyprus ana AieNah-
dria. was attacked by two Agcnne roNers; tue
brother was killed and Di Lucca captured ana car
ried on board the cOTsair ship where he Wouu nave
been instantly killed but for the nerpoStloh iu MS
behalf of a beautiful woman. 1t is quite the aiair
of Pocahontas and Captain john smith over again.
The lady promised to marry the pirate captain Il ne
would swear upon the Holy AcOrar not 10 harlh INC
youns man. THIS he did; and the prisoner was
carried 70 Grand Cairo where he sold as a slave
for forty onnces of gold and three silk carpets TO
merchant belonging to an unknown country III
Africa the inhabitants of which were called MeZo-
raniaps To his great astonishment his raster say ;
TO him that by no just law IN the universe can Il
free-born man become a slave to one OF DIS own
species" If you will voluntarily 90 along Win
MS he added you shall enjoy as much freedom as
I do myself you shall be exempt from ali the
barbarous laws of those nhuman countries whose
brutal customs are a shame to the dignity oi ra-
tional creature" The invitation was accepted and
.he caravan began its journey to the mysterious
land. They went up the Nile leaving 1t on the
left hand all the way steering a course directly lor
the Upper Egypt. After several days they entered
the Desert of Barca. Here upon the hrSt opportu-
nifty they performed religious ceremony TO theH
deceased ancestors which Is thus described; nc
pophar neader) and the rest of them fell down on
their faces and kissed the earth; then, Win a
burning glass they kindled some odorierous WOODS,
nut the Goals in the thurbe with the incense anu
ipcensed an idol statue; that done, they pouieo
wine ON the altar set bread side and fruits on
tbe other having lighted two little pyramids Of
most delicious perfumes at each end OF the great
nvramid which was conveyed by art under the
nvramid and ssu d out IN the middle of the amphl-
theatre There they refreshed themselves, and
gathered the fruits which hung round us IN the
grove eating of them very heartily and inviting me
to do the same" DI Lueca had some scruples about
partaking fearing 1t might be part OF some sacrHce
but was assured that the ceremonies were out Ol
resnect only to a great ancestor who was buried
in a neighborng py ramid." And so they mounted
their dromedanes, and went on. Soon they iound
Inv their shadows gong southwark that they we're
mast the Tropic of Cancer The sands grew so hot
that they we're forced to lay things under their feet
To preserve hem from burning soon occurred one
of those romantic discoveries which are made most
sreouentIy it must be admitted, in novels. ID
Iucca observes about the meek OF a young man a
bright gold medal. with the figure OF tae sun ell
grayed on If. and finds that it was the same in all
appearance which his deceased mother always wore
about her neck. and which since her death he had
IA IA i'm fnrh sal
ing of that medal since he had one about him OF
the very same make. Explanations followed, and 1t
turns ont the mother was lsphcna the sister OF the
nonhar who goes into history of the .NlczorananS
very long and very learned, further mention OF
which must here for want of space be omitted.
Soon the pilgrims arrived in their own mysterious
country They reached the town OF Phor, that Is
the Glory or Noon, which signifies the Home OF the
SIM 1t was built circular in imitation of the sun
and its rays The description by Berkeley OF this
solar CITY has all the minuteness and versimiltude
of Dean Swift "The people are the most ingenious
and Industrious" we are told in the world: the
governors aiming at nothing but the grandeur and
good of the public, having all the atiuence the
h.art of man can desire, place where there mas
been no war for near three thousand years; there
being indeed no enemies but the inhospitable sands
around them, and they all consider themselves
brothers of the same stock, and living under one
common father so that it is not so much to be won
dered at if they are arrived at that grandeur and
magnfcence as persons in our world can scarcely
conceive" Di Lucca says that when he first came
into the company of this people. they all embraced
him men and women, with the most endearine ten
derness: the young aud beautiful women did the
same calling him brother, and catching him in their
arms in such an innocent assurance as if he had
been their real brother lost and found again Some
of them he admits seemed TO have fondress Tor
him of another sort which gave him great deal of
trouble but he imputed it to the nature of the sex.
awbo are unaccountably more fond of strangers,