1823 Jan¼y¼. 13 Tripoli. Hassuna to Q. Adams.

The Bashaw of Tripoli is in a state of entire independence with relation to the

Ottoman Porte though he still maintains /preserves/ this subordinate official

appellation this being the appellation to which by habit the people are disposed

to pay obedience The age of the present /reigning/ Bashaw is about 50 years. He

has four legitimate sons A á³á á³á B. á³á á³á C. á³á á³á D. á³á á³á. The eldest

á³á á³á may for shortness be characterized by the name of the monster: for his

equal in cruelty is scarcely to be found in any page of history. Driven out of

the country by the universal horror his barbarities have inspired he has for

some years led the life of an obscure fugitive in Egypt. In /It is with/ Tripoli

as in /with/ other Mahometan Governments there is unhappily no settled order of

succession to the throne. Of the Bashaws three other sons, the two eldest are

married to my two sisters. I have three Brothers all of them younger than

myself: Mohammed aged á³á á³á years B á³á á³á aged á³á á³á years C. á³á á³á aged

á³á á³á years The two married pairs live in a state of matrimonial felicity: the

monster of course excepted both families have always lived in a state of

uninterrupted harmony. In the Constitution change which I am proposing I am by

no means without expectation of /the/ concurrence from /of/ the Bashaw himself:

so urgent are the matters which I shall in person present in the first place to

his consideration: but it would be unkindness not only to both families but to

him /I could never justify to myself/ the resting upon that single chance the

preservation of both families as well as the whole nation from an unfathomable

abyss of misery.