,,artists ,,and ,,arabs2    ,,or        
,sketching in ,sunshine    ,by ,henry   
,blackburn1    ,author ,of ',normandy   
,picturesque1' ',the ,pyrenees1'        
',travelling ,in ,spain1'  ,etc4        
,second ,edition4    ,with ,numerous    
,illustrations4    ,london3    ,sampson 
,low1 ,son1 ,and ,marston1    #ahgj4    
,,argument4    ,the advantage of winter 
studios abroad1 and the value of        
sketching in  the open air2 especially  
in ,algeria4    ',the best thing the    
author of a book can do1 is to tell the 
reader1 on a  piece of paper an inch    
square1 what he means by                
it4'--,athenaeum4    ,illustration3     
#jjai    ,,artists ,,and ,,arabs4       
,,chapter ,i4 ,,on ,,the ,,wing4        
,illustration3 #ijai    ,y the middle of
 the month of ,july1 the ,art season in 
,london was on the  wane1 and by the end
 of ,august the great body of ,english  
artists had  dispersed1 some1 the       
soundest workers perhaps1 to the        
neighbourhood of  ,welsh mountains and  

,english homesteads1 to--',the silence  
of thatched  cottages and the voices of 
blossoming fields4'    ,from the ,tweed 
to the ,shetland ,isles1 they were thick
 upon the hills2  in every nook and     
corner of ,england1 amongst the         
cornfields and upon the  lakes2 in the  
valleys and torrent beds of ,wales1 the 
cry was still 'they  come4'    ,on the  
continent1 both artists and amateurs    
were everywhere4 ,smith  toiling across 
the ,campagna with the thermometer at   
#ie 7his reward  a quiet pipe at the    
'caf ,greco' when the sun goes down7 is 
but a  counterpart of a hundred other   
,smiths scattered abroad4 ,in the       
galleries of ,florence and ,rome no more
 easels could be admitted1 and  in      
,switzerland and ,savoy the little white
 tents and 'sun-umbrellas'  glistened on
 the mountain side4 ,brown might be seen
 rattling down an  arrte from the       
,flegre1 with his matriel swung across  
his back1 like  a carpenter's basket1   
after a hard day's work sketching the   

,aiguilles  that tower above the valley 
of ,chamounix2 and ,jones1 with his     
little  wife beside him1 sitting under  
the deep shade of the beech-trees in the
  valley of ,sixt4    ,we were a        
sketching party1 consisting of two1     
three or four1 according  to convenience
 or accident1 wandering about and       
pitching our tent in  various places    
away from the track of tourists2 we had 
been spending  most of the summer days  
in the beautiful ,val d',aosta 7that    
school for  realistic work that a great 
teacher once selected for his pupil1    
giving  him three months to study its   
chesnut groves1 'to brace his mind to a 
comprehension of facts'72 we had        
prolonged the summer far into autumn on 
the north shore of the ,lago ,maggiore1 
where from the heights above the  old   
towns of ,intra and ,pallanza we had    
watched its banks turn from green  to   
golden and from gold to russet brown4   
,the mountains were no longer  en       
toilette1 as the ,french express it1 and

 the vineyards were stripped  of their  
purple bloom2 the wind had come down    
from the ,simplon in sudden  and        
determined gusts1 and ,monte ,rosa no   
longer stood alone in her robe  of      
white2 the last visitor had left the    
,htel de l',univers at ,pallanza1  and  
our host was glad to entertain us at the
 rate of four francs a day  'tout       
compris'--when the question came to us1 
as it does to so many  other wanderers  
in ,europe towards the end of ,october1 
where to go for  winter quarters1 where 
to steal yet a further term of summer   
days4    ,should we go again to ,spain  
to study ,velasquez and ,murillo1 should
 we go  as usual to ,rome2 or should we 
strike out a new path altogether and go 
to ,trebizond1 ,cairo1 ,tunis1 or       
,algeria8    ,there was no agreeing on  
the matter1 diversity of opinion was    
very  great and discussion ran high 7the
 majority we must own1 having leanings  
towards ,rome and chic2 and also        
'because there would be more fun'72  so1

 like true ,bohemians1 we tossed for    
places and the lot fell upon  ,algeria4 
,the next morning we are on the way4    
,trusting ourselves and our baggage  to 
one of those frail-looking little boats 
with white awnings1 that form  a feature
 in every picture of ,italian lake      
scenery1 and which1 in their  peculiar  
motion and method of propulsion 7the    
rower standing at the  stern and facing 
his work71 bear just sufficient         
resemblance to the  ,venetian gondola to
 make us chafe a little at the slow     
progress we  make through the smooth    
water1 we sit and watch the receding    
towers of  ,pallanza1 as it seems1 for  
the livelong day4 ,there is nothing to  
relieve  the monotony of motion1 and    
scarcely a sound to break the stillness1
  until we approach the southern shore1 
and it becomes a question of  anxiety as
 to whether we shall really reach ,arona
 before sundown4 ,but  the old boatman  
is not to be moved by any expostulation 
or entreaty1  nor is he at all affected 

by the information that we run great    
risk of  losing the last train from     
,arona2 and so we are spooned across the
 great  deep lake at the rate of two or 
three miles an hour1 and glide into the 
harbour with six inches of water on the 
flat-bottom of the boat amongst  our    
portmanteaus4    ,from ,arona to ,genoa 
by railway1 and from ,genoa to ,nice by 
the ,cornice  road--that most beautiful 
of all drives1 where every variety of   
grandeur  and loveliness of view1 both  
by sea and land1 seems combined1 and    
from  the heights of which1 if we look  
seaward and scan the southern horizon1  
we can sometimes trace an irregular dark
 line1 which is ,corsica--past  ,mentone
 and ,nice1 where the 'winter swallows' 
are arriving fast2 making  a wonderful  
flutter in their nests1 all eagerness to
 obtain the most  comfortable quarters1 
99 and all anxiety to have none but     
'desirable'  swallows for neighbours4   
,this last is a serious matter1 this    
settling  down for the winter at ,nice1 

for it is here that the swallows  choose
 their mates1 pairing off wonderfully in
 the springtime1 like  grouse-shooting  
,m4,p4s in ,august4         99          
,necessary enough1 to be protected from 
the cold blasts       that sweep down   
the valleys1 as many invalids know to   
their       cost1 who have taken houses 
or lodgings hastily at ,nice4    ,a few 
hours' journey by railway and we are at 
,marseilles1 where  7especially at the  
',grand ,hotel'7 it is an understood and
 settled thing  that every ,englishman  
is on his way1 to or from ,italy or     
,india1 and it  requires considerable   
perseverance to impress upon the        
attendants that  the steamer which sails
 at noon for ,algiers is the one on     
which our  baggage is to be placed1 and 
it is almost impossible to persuade the 
driver of a fiacre that we do not want  
to go by the boat just starting  for    
,civita ,vecchia or ,leghorn4    ,on    
stepping on board it almost seems as if 
there were some mistake1 for  we appear 

to be the only passengers on the after  
deck1 and to be looked  upon with some  
curiosity by the swarthy half-naked     
crew1 who talk  together in an unknown  
tongue2 notwithstanding that at the     
packet  office in the town we were      
informed that we could not secure berths
 for  certain4    ,we have several hours
 to wait and to look about us1 for the  
mail is  not brought on board until     
three in the afternoon1 and it is       
half-past1  before the officials have   
kissed each other on both cheeks and we 
are  really moving off--threading our   
way with difficulty through the mass of 
shipping which hems us in on all sides4 
,the foredeck of the ,akhbar is one mass
 of confusion and crowding1 but  the eye
 soon detects the first blush of        
oriental colour and costume1 and  on    
nearer inspection it is easy to         
distinguish a few white bournouses      
moving through the crowd4 ,there are    
plenty of ,zouaves in undress  uniforms1
 chiefly young men1 with a superfluity  

of medals and the  peculiar swagger     
which seems inseparable from this       
costume2 others old  and bronzed1 who   
have been to ,europe on leave and are   
returning to join  their regiments4     
,some parting scenes we witness between 
families of the  peasant order1 of whom 
there appear to be a number on board1   
and their  friends who leave in the last
 boat for the shore4 ,these1 one and    
all1  take leave of each other with a   
significant 'au revoir1' which is the   
key-note to the whole business1 and     
tells us 7who are not studying  politics
 and have no wish or intention1 to      
trouble the reader with  the history or 
prospects of the colony7 the secret of  
its ill-success1  viz43--that these     
colonists intend to come back1 and that 
they are  much too near home in         
,algeria4    ,looking down upon the     
fore-deck1 as we leave the harbour of   
,marseilles1  there seems scarcely an   
available inch of space that is not     
encumbered  with bales and goods of all 

kinds2 with heaps of rope and chain1    
military stores1 piles of arms1         
cavalry-horses1 sheep1 pigs1 and a      
prodigious number of live fowls4    ,on 
the after-deck there are but six        
passengers1 there is a ,moorish ,jew    
talking fluently with a ,french         
commercial traveller1 a sad and silent  
officer of ,chasseurs with his young    
wife1 and two lieutenants who  chatter  
away with the captain2 the latter1 in   
consideration of his rank  as an officer
 in the ,imperial ,marine1 leaving the  
mate to take charge  of the vessel      
during the entire voyage4 ,this         
gentleman seems to the  uninitiated to  
be a curious encumbrance1 and to pass   
his time in  conversation1 in sleep1 and
 in the consumption of bad cigars4 ,he  
is #f  a disappointed man' of course1 as
 all officers are1 of whatever nation1  
age1 or degree4    ,the voyage averages 
forty-eight hours1 but is often         
accomplished in less  time on the       
southward journey4 ,it is an            

uncomfortable period even in  fine      
weather1 just too long for a pleasure   
trip1 and just too short to  settle down
 and make up one's mind to it1 as in    
crossing the ,atlantic4  ,our boat is an
 old ,scotch screw1 which has been lent 
to the ,company of  the ,messageries    
,impriales for winter duty--the shaft   
hammering and  vibrating through the    
saloon and after-cabins incessantly for 
the first  twenty-four hours1 whilst she
 labours against a cross sea in the     
,gulf of  ,lyons1 indisposes' the       
majority of the company1 and the captain
 dines  by himself2 but about noon on   
the next day it becomes calm1 and the   
,akhbar steams quietly between the      
,balearic ,islands1 close enough for  us
 to distinguish one or two churches and 
white houses1 and a square  erection    
that a fellow-traveller informs us is   
the work of the ',majorca  ,land1       
,compagnie ,anglaise4'    ,in the       
following little sketch we have         
indicated the appearance in  outline of 

the two islands of ,majorca and ,minorca
 as we approach them  going southward1  
passing at about equal distances between
 the islands4    ,illustration3 #jjbi   
,the sea is calm and the sky is bright  
as we leave the islands behind us1  and 
the ,akhbar seems to skim more easily   
through the deep blue water1  leaving a 
wake of at least a mile1 and another    
wake in the sky of sea  gulls1 who      
follow us for the rest of the voyage in 
a graceful undulating  line1 sleeping on
 the rigging at night unmolested by the 
crew1 who  believe in their good omen4  
,on the second morning on coming on deck
 we find ourselves in the  tropics1 the 
sky is a deep azure1 the heat is        
intense1 and the  brightness of         
everything is wonderful4 ,the sun's rays
 pour down on the  vessel1 and their    
effect on the occupants of the fore-deck
 is curious to  witness4 ,the odd heaps 
of clothing that had lain almost        
unnoticed during  the voyage suddenly   
come to life1 and here and there a dark 

visage peeps  from under a tarpaulin1   
from the inside of a coil of rope1 or   
from a box  of chain1 and soon the whole
 vessel1 both the fore and after-deck1  
is teeming with life1 and we find at    
least double the number of human  beings
 on board that we had had any idea of at
 starting4    ,but the interest of every
 one is now centred on a low dark line  
of  coast1 with a background of         
mountains1 which every minute becomes   
more  defined2 and we watch it until we 
can discern one or two of the highest   
peaks1 tipped with snow4 ,soon we can   
make out a bright green1 or rather  as  
it seems in the sunlight1 a golden      
shore1 set with a single gem that       
sparkles in the water4 ,again it changes
 into the aspect of a little  white     
pyramid or triangle of chalk on a green 
shore shelving to the sea1  next into an
 irregular mass of houses with flat     
roofs1 and mosques  with ornamented     
towers and cupolas1 surrounded and      
surmounted by grim  fortifications1     

which are not ,moorish2 and in a little 
while we can  distinguish the ,french   
houses and hotels1 a ,place1 a modern   
harbour and  lighthouse1 docks1 and     
,french shipping1 and one               
piratical-looking craft  that passes    
close under our bows1 manned by dark    
sailors with bright red  sashes and     
large earrings1 dressed like the        
fishermen in the opera of  ,mas-aniello4
 ,and whilst we are watching and taking 
it all in1 we have  glided to our       
moorings1 close under the walls of the  
great ,mosque  7part of which we have   
sketched from this very point of view72 
and are  surrounded by a swarm of       
half-naked1 half-wild and frantic       
figures1 who  rush into the water       
vociferating and imploring us in        
languages difficult  to understand1 to  
be permitted to carry the ,franks'      
baggage to the  shore4    ,taking the   
first that comes1 we are soon at the    
landing steps and beset  by a crowd of  
beggars1 touters1 idlers and            

nondescripts of nearly every  nation and
 creed under heaven4    ,illustration3  
#jjcc    ,illustration3 #jjce           
,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,algiers4      ',ah    
oui1 c'est qu'elle est belle avec ces   
chteaux forts1    ,couchs dans les prs  
verts1 comme les gants morts6    ,c'est 
qu'elle est noble1 ,alger la fille du   
corsaire6    ,un rseau de murs blancs la
 protge et l'enserre4'    ,illustration3
 #ijce    ,,he first view of the town of
 ,algiers1 with its pretty clusters of  
white  houses set in bright green hills1
 or as the ,french express it1 'like  a 
diamond set in emeralds1' the range of  
the lesser ,atlas forming a  background 
of purple waves rising one above the    
other until they are  lost in cloud--was
 perhaps the most beautiful sight we had
 witnessed1  and it is as well to record
 it at once1 lest the experience of the 
next  few hours might banish it from    
memory4    ,it was a good beginning to  
have a stately barefooted ,arab to      
shoulder  our baggage from the port1 and

 wonderful to see the load he carried   
unassisted4 99 ,as he winds his way     
through the narrow and steep slippery   
streets 7whilst we who are shod by a    
,hoby and otherwise encumbered by       
broadcloth1 have enough to do to keep   
pace with him1 and indeed to keep  our  
footing71 it is good to see how nobly   
our ,arab bears his load1 how           
beautifully balanced is his lithe       
figure1 and with what grace and ease  he
 stalks along4 ,as he slightly bows1    
when taking our three francs  7his      
'tariff' as he calls it71 there is a    
dignity in his manner1 and  a composure 
about him that is almost embarrassing4  
,how he came1 in the  course of         
circumstances1 to be carrying our       
luggage instead of wandering  with his  
tribe1 perhaps civilization--,french    
civilization--can answer4         99    
,it is generally admitted1 we believe1  
that  a vegetable       diet will not   
produce heroes1' and there is certainly 
a       prejudice in ,england about the 

value of beef for navvies and           
others who put muscular power into their
 work4 ,it is an       interesting fact 
to note1 and one which we think speaks  
volumes for the climate of ,algeria1    
that this gentleman       lives almost  
entirely on fruit1 rice1 and ,indian    
corn4    ,the first hurried glance 7as  
we followed our cicerone up the landing 
steps to the ',htel de la ,rgence1'     
which faces the sea7 at the  dazzlingly 
white flat-roofed houses without        
windows1 at the mosques with  their     
gaily painted towers1 at the palm-trees 
and orange-trees1 and  at the crowd of  
miscellaneous costumes in which colour  
preponderated  everywhere1 gave the     
impression of a thorough ,mahommedan    
city2 and now  as we walk down to the   
,place and look about us at leisure1 we 
find  to our astonishment and delight   
that the ,oriental element is still most
  prominent4    ,the most striking and  
bewildering thing is undoubtedly the    
medley  that meets the eye everywhere3  

the conflict of races1 the contrast of  
colours1 the extraordinary brightness of
 everything1 the glare1 the  strange    
sounds and scenes that cannot be easily 
taken in at a first  visit2 the variety 
of languages heard at the same time1 and
 above  all the striking beauty of some 
faces1 and the luxurious richness of    
costume4    ,first in splendour come the
 ,moors 7traders looking like princes71 
promenading or lounging about under the 
trees1 looking as important and  as     
richly attired as was ever ,caliph      
,haroun ,alraschid4    ,they are        
generally fair and slight of figure1    
with false effeminate  faces1           
closely-shaven heads covered with fez   
and turban1 loose baggy  trousers1      
jacket and vest of blue or crimson      
cloth1 embroidered with  gold2 round    
their waists are rich silken sashes1 and
 their fingers are  covered with a      
profusion of rings4 ,their legs are     
often bare and their  feet are enclosed 
in the usual ,turkish slipper4    ,this 

is the prominent town type of ,moor or  
,jew1 the latter to be  distinguished by
 wearing dark trousers1 clean white     
stockings1 ,french  shoes1 and a round  
cloth cap of ,european pattern4 ,there  
are various  grades1 both of the ,moors 
and ,jews1 some of course shabby and    
dirty  enough2 but the most dignified   
and picturesque figures are the tall    
dark ,arabs and the ,kabyles1 with their
 flowing white bournouses1 their        
turbans of camel's hair1 and their      
independent noble bearing4 ,here we  see
 them walking side by side with their   
conquerors in full military  uniform and
 their conquerors' wives in the uniform 
of ,le ,follet1  whilst white-robed     
female figures flit about closely       
veiled1 and  ,marabouts 7the            
,mahom-medan priests7 also promenade in 
their flowing  robes4 ,arab women and   
children lounge about selling fruit or  
begging  furtively1 and others hurry to 
and fro carrying burdens2 and everywhere
  and ever present in this motley       

throng1 the black frock-coat and        
chimney-pot hat assert themselves1 to   
remind us of what we might  otherwise   
soon be forgetting1--that we are but    
four days' journey from  ,england4      
,there is noise enough altogether on the
 ,place to bewilder any  stranger2 for  
besides the talking and singing1 and the
 cries of vendors  of fruit and wares1  
there is considerable traffic4 ,close to
 us as we sit  under the trees1 7so     
close as almost to upset the little     
tables in front  of the cafs71 without  
any warning1 a huge diligence will come 
lunging  on to the ,place groaning under
 a pile of merchandise1 with a bevy  of 
,arabs on the roof1 and a party of      
,moorish women in the 'rotonde'2        
presently there passes a company of     
,zouaves at quick step1 looking hot  and
 dusty enough1 marching to their        
terrible tattoo2 and next1 by way  of   
contrast again1 come two ,arab women    
with their children1 mounted on  camels1
 the beasts looking overworked and      

sulky2 they edge their way  through the 
crowd with the greatest nonchalance1 and
 with an impatient  croaking sound go   
shambling past4    ,the ',place ,royale'
 faces the north1 and is enclosed on    
three sides with  modern ,french houses 
with arcades and shops1 and when we have
 time to  examine their contents1 we    
shall find them also principally        
,french4 ,next  door to a bonnet-shop   
there is certainly the name of ,mustapha
 over the  door1 and in the window are  
pipes1 coral1 and filagree work exposed 
for sale2 but most of the goods come    
from ,france4 ,next door again is  a    
,french caf1 where ,arabs1 who can      
afford it1 delight in being waited  upon
 by their conquerors with white aprons  
and neck-ties4    ,the background of all
 this is superb3 a calm sunlit sea1     
white sails  glittering and flashing1   
and far to the eastward a noble bay1    
with the  ,kabyle mountains stretching  
out their arms towards the north4    ,at
 four o'clock the band plays on the     

,place1 and as we sit and watch  the    
groups of ,arabs and ,moors listening   
attentively to the overture to          
',william ,tell1' or admiringly         
examining the gay uniforms and medals of
  the ,chasseurs d',afrique--as we see  
the children of both nations at high    
romps together--as the sweet sea-breeze 
that fans us so gently1 bears  into the 
newly constructed harbour together1 a   
corvette of the ,imperial  ,marine and a
 suspicious-looking raking craft with   
latteen sails--as  ,marochetti's        
equestrian statue of the ,duke of       
,orleans1 and a mosque1  stand side by  
side before us--we have ,algiers        
presented to us in  the easiest way     
imaginable1 and 7without going through  
the ordeal of  studying its history or  
statistics7 obtain some idea of the     
general  aspect of the place and of the 
people1 and of the relative position of 
conquerors and conquered4    ,as our    
business is principally with the        
,moorish1 or picturesque side of        

things1 let us first look at the great  
,mosque which we glanced at as we       
entered the harbour1 and part of which  
we have sketched for the reader4        
,illustration3 #jjdc    ,built close to 
the water's edge1 so close that the     
,mediterranean waves  are sapping its   
foundations--with plain white shining   
walls1 nearly  destitute of exterior    
ornament1 it is perhaps 'the most       
perfect example  of strength and beauty1
 and of fitness and grace of line1 that 
we shall  see in any building of this   
type4 99 ,it is thoroughly ,moorish in  
style1  although built by a ,christian1 
if we may believe the story1 of which   
there are several versions2 how the     
,moors in old days took captive a       
,christian architect1 and promised him  
his liberty on condition of his         
building them a mosque2 how he1 true to 
his own creed1 dexterously  introduced  
into the ground plan the form of a      
cross2 and how the ,moors1  true also to
 their promise1 gave him his liberty    

indeed1 but at the  cannon's mouth      
through a window1 seaward4         99   
,this beautiful architectural feature of
 the town has not       escaped the     
civilizing hand of the ,frank2 the last 
time we       visited ,algiers we found 
the oval window in the tower gone1      
and in its place an illuminated ,french 
clock6    ,the general outline of these 
mosques is familiar to most readers1    
the square white walls pierced at       
intervals with quaint-shaped little     
windows1 the flat cupola or dome1 and   
the square tower often standing  apart  
from the rest of the structure as in the
 little vignette on our  title-page1    
like an ,italian campanile4 ,some of    
these towers are richly  decorated with 
arabesque ornamentation1' and glitter in
 the sun with  colour and gilding1 but  
the majority of the mosques are as plain
 and  simple in design as shown in our  
large sketch4    ,here1 if we take off  
our shoes1 we may enter and hear the    
,koran read1  and we may kneel down to  

pray with ,arabs and ,moors2 religious  
tolerance  is equally exercised by both 
creeds4 ,altogether the ,mahommedan     
places  of worship seem by far the most 
prominent1 and although there is a      
,roman  ,catholic church and buildings  
held by other denominations of          
,christians1  there is none of that     
predominant proselytizing aspect which  
we might  have expected after thirty    
years' occupation by the ,french6 ,at   
,tetuan1  for instance1 where the       
proportion of ,christians to            
,mahommedans is  certainly smaller1 the 
',catholic church' rears its head much  
more  conspicuously4    ,in ,algiers the
 priestly element is undoubtedly active1
 and ,soeurs de  ,charit are to be seen 
everywhere1 but the buildings that first
 strike  the eye are not churches but   
mosques2 the sounds that become more    
familiar to the ear than peals of bells1
 are the ,muezzin's morning and  evening
 salutation from the tower of a mosque1 
calling upon all true  believers to--   

',come to prayers1 come to prayers1     
,it is better to pray than to sleep4'   
,the principal streets in ,algiers lead 
east and west from the ,place to  the   
principal gates1 the ,bab-,azoun and the
 ,bab-el-,oued4 ,they are for the  most 
part ,french1 with arcades like the ,rue
 de ,rivoli in ,paris2 many of  the     
houses are lofty and built in the style 
perhaps best known as  the ',haussman4' 
,nearly all the upper town is still     
,moorish1 and is  approached by narrow  
streets or lanes1--steep1 slippery1 and 
tortuous1 99  which we shall examine    
by-and-bye4         99 ,it may be       
interesting to artists to learn that in 
this       present year #ahfh1 most of  
the quaint old ,moorish streets         
and buildings are intact--neither       
disturbed by earthquakes       nor      
'improved' out of sight4    ,the names  
of some of the streets are curious1 and 
suggestive of change4  ,thus we see the 
',rue ,royale1' the ',rue ,impriale     
there is1 or was until  lately1 a       

',place ,nationale1' and one street is  
still boldly proclaimed  to be the ',rue
 d la ,rvolution'6    ,in passing       
through the ,french quarter1 through the
 new wide streets1  squares and         
inevitable boulevards1 the number of    
shops for fancy goods  and ,parisian    
wares1 especially those of hairdressers 
and modistes1 seems  rather             
extraordinary2 remembering that the     
entire ,european population  of         
,algeria1 agricultural as well as urban1
 is not much more than that  of         
,brighton4 ,in a few shops there are    
tickets displayed in different          
languages1 but linguists are rare1 and  
where there are announcements of  the   
labels have generally a perplexing1     
composite character1 like the           
inscription on a statue at the ,paris   
,exhibition of #ahfg1 which ran thus    
',miss ,ofelia dans ,amlet4'    ,before 
we proceed further1 let us glance at the
 general mode of living  in ,algiers1   
speaking first of the traveller who goes

 to the hotels4    ,the ordinary visitor
 of a month or two will drop down       
pleasantly enough  into the system of   
hotel life in ,algiers2 and even if     
staying for the  winter he will probably
 find it more convenient and amusing to 
take his  meals in ,french fashion at   
the hotels1 ringing the changes between 
three  or four of the best1 and one or  
two well-known cafs1 ,there is generally
  no table-d'hte1 but strangers can walk
 in and have breakfast or dine  very    
comfortably at little tables 'a part1'  
at a fixed hour and at a  moderate      
price4 ,the rooms are pleasant1 cool1   
and airy1 with large  windows open to   
the sea4    ,everything is neatly and   
quietly served1 the menu is varied      
enough1 with  good ,french dishes and   
game in abundance2 the hosts being      
especially  liberal in providing those  
delicious little birds that might be    
larks or  quails1--which in ,algiers we 
see so often on the table and so seldom 
on  the wing4    ,,inglis    ,,spoken4  

,half the people that are dining at the 
',htel d',orient' to-day are  residents 
or habitus2 they come in and take their 
accustomed places as  cosily1 and are   
almost as particular and fastidious1 as 
if they were at  their club4    ,there  
is the colonel of a cavalry regiment    
dining alone1 and within  joking        
distance1 five young officers1 whose    
various grades of rank are  almost as   
evident from their manner as from the   
number of stripes on  their bright red  
kepis ranged on the wall of the salon4  
,a ,french  doctor and his wife dine    
vis--vis1 at one table1 a lady solitaire
 at  another2 some gentlemen1 whose     
minds are tuned to commerce1 chatter in 
a  corner by themselves2 whilst a group 
of newly-arrived ,english people in  the
 middle of the room1 are busily engaged 
in putting down the various  questions  
with which they intend to bore the      
viceconsul on the morrow1  as if he were
 some good-natured house-agent1         
valet-de-place1 and  interpreter in one1

 placed here by ,providence for their   
especial behoof4  ,but it is all very   
orderly1 sociable1 and comfortable1 and 
by no means  an unpleasant method of    
living for a time4    ,there is the     
cercle1 the club1 at which we may dine  
sometimes2 there  are those pretty      
little villas amongst the orange-trees  
at ,mustapha  ,suprieure1 where we may  
spend the most delightful evenings of   
all2 and  there are also the ,governor's
 weekly balls1 soires at the consulate1 
and other pleasant devices for turning  
night into day1 in ,algiers as          
everywhere else--which we shall be wise 
if we join in but sparingly4  ,and there
 are public amusements1 concerts1 balls1
 and the theatre--the  latter with a    
company of operatic singers with weak   
lungs1 but voices  as sweet as any heard
 in ,italy2 and there are the moonlight 
walks by the  sea1 to many the greatest 
delight of all4    ,the ordinary daily  
occupations are decidedly social and    
domestic2 and  it may be truly said that

 for a stranger1 until he becomes       
accustomed to  the place1 there is very 
little going on4    ,you must not bathe1
 for instance1 on this beautiful        
shelving shore4  ',nobody bathes1 it    
gives fever1' was the invariable answer 
to enquiries  on this subject1 and      
though it is not absolutely forbidden by
 the  faculty1 there are so many        
restrictions imposed upon bathers that  
few  attempt it2 moreover1 an           
,englishman is not likely to have       
brought an  acrobatic suit with him1 nor
 will he easily find a 'costume de bain'
 in  ,algiers4    ,there is very little 
to do besides wander about the town1 or 
make  excursions in the environs or into
 the interior 7in which latter case it  
is as well to take a fowling-piece1 as  
there is plenty of game to be met       
with72 and altogether we may answer a   
question often asked about ,algiers  as 
to its attractions for visitors1 that it
 has not many 7so called71  for the mere
 holiday lounger4    ,but for those who 

have resources of their own1 for those  
who have work  to do which they wish to 
do quietly1 and who breathe more freely 
under a  bright blue sky1 ,algiers seems
 to us to be the place to come to4      
,the 'bird of passage1' who has         
unfortunately missed an earthquake1     
often  reports that ,algiers is a little
 dull2 but even he should not find it   
so1 for beyond the 'distractions' we    
have hinted at1 there is plenty to      
amuse him if he care little for what is 
picturesque4 ,there are 7or were  when  
we were there71 a troop of performing   
,arabs of the tribe of ',beni           
,zouzoug1' who performed nightly the    
most hideous atrocities in the name  of 
religious rites3 wounding their wretched
 limbs with knives1 eating  glass1      
holding burning coals in their mouths1  
standing on hot iron  until the feet    
frizzled and gave forth sickening       
odours1 and doing other  things in an   
ecstacy of religious frenzy which we    
could not print1 and  which would       

scarcely be believed in if we did4 99   
99 ,since writing the above1 we observe 
that these ,arabs 7or a       band of   
mountebanks in their name71 have been   
permitted to       perform their        
horrible orgies in ,paris and ,london1  
and that       young ladies go in       
evening dress to the 'stalls' to witness
       them4    ,there are various      
,moorish ceremonies to be witnessed4    
,there are the  sacrifices at the time  
of the ,ramadhan1 when the negro        
priestesses go  down to the water side  
and offer up beasts and birds2 the      
victims1 after  prolonged agonies which 
crowds assemble to witness1 being       
finally handed  over to a ,french chef  
de cuisine4    ,there are the mosques to
 be entered barefoot1 and the native    
courts of  law to be seen4 ,then if     
possible1 a ,moor should be visited at  
home1 and  a glimpse obtained of his    
domestic economy1 including a dinner    
without  knives or forks4    ,an        
entertainment consisting entirely of    

,moorish dances and music is  easily got
 up1 and is one of the characteristic   
sights of ,algiers4 ,the  young trained 
dancing girls1 urged on to frenzy by the
 beating of the  tom-tom1 and falling   
exhausted at last into the arms of their
 masters2  7dancing with that monotonous
 motion peculiar to the ,east1 the body 
swaying to and fro without moving the   
feet72 the uncouth wild airs they  sing1
 their shrieks dying away into a sigh or
 moan1 will not soon be  forgotten1 and 
many other scenes of a like nature1 on  
which we must not  dwell--for are they  
not written in twenty books on ,algeria 
already8    ,but there are two sights   
which are seldom mentioned by other     
writers1  which we must just allude to  
in passing4    ,the ,arab races1 which  
take place in the autumn on the ,french 
racecourse  near the town1 are very     
curious1 and well worth seeing4 ,their  
peculiarity consists in about thirty    
,arabs starting off pell-mell1  knocking
 each other over in their first great   

rush1 their bournouses  mingling        
together and flying in the wind1 but    
arriving at the goal  generally singly1 
and at a slow trot1 in anything but     
racing fashion4    ,another event is the
 annual gathering of the tribes1 when   
representatives from the various        
provinces camp on the hills of the      
,sahel1 and the ,european can wander    
from one tent to another and spend  his 
day enjoying ,arab hospitality1 in      
sipping coffee and smoking  everywhere  
the pipe of peace4    ,these things we  
only hint at as resources for visitors1 
if they are  fortunate enough to be in  
,algiers at the right time2 but there   
are one  or two other things that they  
are not likely to miss1 whether they    
wish  to do so or not4    ,they will    
probably meet one day1 in the ',street  
of the ,eastern ,gate1'  the ,sirocco   
wind1 and they will have to take shelter
 from a sudden  fearful darkness and    
heat1 a blinding choking dust1 drying up
 as it were  the very breath of life2   

penetrating every cavity1 and into rooms
 closed  as far as possible from the    
outer air4 ,man and beast lie down      
before  it1 and there is a sudden       
silence in the streets1 as if they had  
been  overwhelmed by the sea4 ,for two  
or three hours this mysterious blight   
pours over the city1 and its inhabitants
 hide their heads4    ,another rather   
startling sensation for the first time  
is the 'morning  gun4' ,in the          
consulate1 which is in an old ,moorish  
house in the upper  town1 the newly     
arrived visitor may have been shown     
imbedded in the wall  a large round     
shot1 which he is informed was a        
messenger from one of  ,lord ,exmouth's 
three-deckers in the days before the    
,french occupation2  and not many yards 
from it1 in another street1 he may have 
had pointed  out to him certain fissures
 or chasms in the walls of the houses1  
as the  havoc made by earthquakes2 he   
may also have experienced in his travels
  the sudden and severe effect of a     

tropical thunderstorm4    ,let him      
retire to rest with a dreamy            
recollection of such events in his      
mind1 and let him have his windows open 
towards the port just before            
sunrise1--when the earthquake1 and the  
thunder1 and the bombardment1  will     
present themselves so suddenly and      
fearfully to his sleepy senses1  that he
 will bear malice and hatred against the
 military governor for  evermore4       
,but it has roused him to see some of   
the sights of ,algiers4 ,let him go  out
 at once to the almost deserted ,place1 
where a few tall figures  wrapped in    
military cloaks are to be seen quietly  
sidling out of a door  in the corner of 
a square under the arcades1--coming from
 the club where  the gas is not quite   
extinguished1 and where the little green
 baize  tables are not yet put away for 
the night2 99 and then let him hurry out
  by the ,bab-el-,oued and mount the    
fortifications1 and he will see a       
number of poor ,arabs shivering in their

 white bournouses1 perched on the       
highest points of the rocks like eagles1
 watching with eager eyes and  strained 
aspect for the rising of the sun1 for   
the coming of the second  ,mahomet4 ,let
 him look in the same direction1        
eastward1 over the town  and over the   
bay to the mountains far beyond4 ,the   
sparks from the  chariot-wheels of fire 
just fringe the outline of the ,kabyle  
,hills1 and  in another minute1 before  
all the ,arabs have clambered up and    
reached  their vantage ground1 the whole
 bay is in a flood of light4 ,the ,arabs
  prostrate themselves before the sun1  
and ',allah il ,allah' 7,god is  great7 
is the burden of their psalm of praise4 
99 ,how often have we seen in the       
,tuileries gardens1 the       bronzed   
heroes of ,algerian wars1 and perhaps   
have pitied       them for their worn   
appearance2 but we shall begin to think 
that something more than the ,african   
sun and long marches       have given   
them a prematurely aged appearance1 and 

that       absinthe and late hours in a 
temperature of #ij ,fahrenheit       may
 have something to do with it4    ,but  
,mahomet's coming is not yet1 and so    
they return down the hill1 and  crowd   
together to a very different scene4 ,the
 officers whom we saw  just now leaving 
the ,place1 have arrived at the ,champ  
de ,mars1 the  drill-ground immediately 
below us1 and here1 in the cool morning 
air1  they are exercising and           
manoeuvring troops4 ,there are several  
companies  going through their drill1   
and the bugle and the drum drown the    
,muezzins' voices1 who1 from almost     
every mosque and turret in the city1    
repeat their cry to the faithful to     
',come to prayers4'    ,illustration3   
#jjfa    ,illustration3 #jjfc           
,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,moorish        
,,quarter--,,our ,,studio4              
,illustration3 #ijfc    ,e said1 in the 
last chapter1 that in ,algiers there was
 very little going  on for the visitor  
or idler2 but if the traveller have     

anything of the  artist in him1 he will 
be delighted with the old town4 ,if he  
is wise he  will spend the first week in
 wandering about1 and losing himself in 
the  winding streets1 going here1 there1
 and everywhere on a picturesque tour   
of inspection4 ,his artistic tendencies 
will probably lead him to spend  much   
time in the ,moorish cafs1 where he may 
sit down unmolested 7if  unwelcomed7 for
 hours on a mat1 and drink his little   
saucer of thick1  sweet coffee1 for     
which he pays one sou1 and smoke in the 
midst of a  group of silent ,moors1 who 
may perchance acknowledge his presence  
by a  slight gesture1 and offer him     
their pipes1 but who will more          
frequently  affect not to see him1 and  
sit still doing absolutely nothing1 with
 that  dignified solemnity peculiar to  
the ,east4    ,he will pass through     
narrow streets and between              
mysterious-looking old  houses that meet
 over head and shut out the sky2 he will
 jostle often  in these narrow ways1    

soft plump objects in white gauze1 whose
 eyes  and ankles give the only visible 
signs of humanity2 he may turn back to  
watch the wonderful dexterity with which
 a young ,arab girl balances a  load of 
fruit upon her head down to the market  
place2 and he will1 if  he is not       
careful1 be finally carried down himself
 by an avalanche  of donkeys1 driven by 
a negro gamin who sits on the tail of   
the last1  threading their way          
noiselessly and swiftly1 and carrying   
everything  before them2 99 and he will 
probably take refuge under the ruined   
arch  of some old mosque1 whose graceful
 lines and rich decoration are still    
visible here and there1 and he will in a
 few hours be enchanted with the  place1
 and the more so for the reason that we 
have already hinted at1  viz43--that in 
,algiers he is let alone1 that he is    
free to wander and  'moon' about at     
will1 without custodian or              
commissionaire1 or any of the  tribe of 
'valets de place4'         99 ,how      

different from what we read of in othen4
 ,the cry is       not1 ',get out of the
 way1 ,o old man6 ,o virgin6--the       
,englishman1 he comes1 he comes6' ,if we
 were to push an old       man out of   
the way1 or1 ever so little1 to forget  
our duty       to a fair pedestrian1 we 
should be brought up before the         
,cadi1 and fined and scorned1 by a jury 
of unbelievers6    ,he may go into the  
,grand ,divan2 or into the streets where
 the  embroiderers are at work1 sitting 
in front of their open shops1 amongst   
heaps of silks1 rich stuffs and every   
variety of material2 or where the  old  
merchant traders1 whose occupation is   
nearly gone1 sit smoking out  their lazy
 uncommercial lives4    ,he may go to   
the old ,moorish bath1 in a building of 
curious pattern1  which is as well worth
 seeing as anything in ,algiers2 and1 if
 an ,arabic  scholar1 he may pick up an 
acquaintance or two amongst the ,moors1 
and visit their homes when their wives  
are away for the day1 on some  mourning 

expedition to a suburban cemetery4 ,he  
may explore innumerable  crooked1       
irregular streets1 with low doorways and
 carved lattices1 some  painted1 some   
gilt2 the little narrow windows and the 
grilles1 being as  perfectly after the  
old type as when the ,moors held        
undivided possession  of the city4      
,one old street1 now pulled down1 we    
remember well2 it was the one always    
chosen for an evening stroll because it 
faced the western sea1 and  caught and  
reflected from its pavement and from its
 white walls1 the  last rosy tints of   
sunset1 long after the cobblers and the 
tinkers in  the lower town had lighted  
their little lanterns1 and the cafs were
  flaring in the ,french quarter4 ,it   
was steep and narrow1 so steep1 in      
fact1 that steps were made in the       
pavement to climb it1 and at the upper  
end there was the dome of a mosque      
shining in the sun4 ,it was like the    
child's picture of ',jacob's ladder1'   
brighter and more resplendent at  each  

step1 and ending in a blaze of gold4    
,we are often reminded of ,spain in     
these old streets2 there are massive    
wooden doors studded with iron bosses or
 huge nails as we see them at  ,toledo1 
and there is sometimes to be seen over  
them1 the emblem of the  human hand     
pointing upwards1 which recalls the     
,gate of ,justice at the  entrance to   
the ,alhambra at ,granada4    ,the      
,moors cling to their old traditions1   
and the belief that they will  some day 
reconquer ,spain is still an article of 
faith4 ,but if ever the  ,moors are to  
regain their imaginary lost possessions 
in ,spain1 they must  surely be made of 
sterner stuff than the present race1    
who1 judging from  appearances1 are     
little likely to do anything great4     
,there are little shops and dark niches 
where the ,moors sit cross-legged1  with
 great gourds and festoons of dried     
fruits hanging above and around  them2  
the piles of red morocco slippers1 the  
oddshaped earthenware  vessels1 and the 

wonderful medley of form and colour1    
resembling in  variety the bazaars at   
,constantinople1 or carrying us in      
imagination  still further ,east4       
,other sights and sounds we might       
mention1 some not quite so pleasant but 
peculiarly ,eastern2 and we should not  
forget to note the peculiar  scent of   
herbs and stuffs1 which1 mingled with   
the aroma of coffee  and tobacco1 was   
sometimes almost overpowering in the    
little ,covered  streets2 and one odour 
that went up regularly on ,sunday       
mornings in the  ,moorish quarter that  
was not incense1 and which it took us a 
long  time to discover the origin of--an
 ,arab branding his donkeys with his    
monogram6    ,everything we purchase is 
odd and quaint1 irregular or curious in 
some  way4 ,every piece of embroidery1  
every remnant of old carpet1 differs    
from another in pattern as the leaves on
 the trees4 ,there is no  repetition1   
and herein lies its charm and true value
 to us4 ,every fabric  differs either in

 pattern or combination of colours--it  
is something1 as  we said1 unique1      
something to treasure1 something that   
will not remind  us of the mill4 99     
99 ,the little pattern at the head of   
this chapter was traced       from a    
piece of embroidered silk1 worked by the
 ,moors4    ,if we explore still further
 we shall come to the ,arab quarter1    
where we  also find characteristic      
things4 ,here we may purchase for about 
thirty  francs a ,kabyle match-lock     
rifle1 or an old sabre with beautifully 
ornamented hilt2 we may1 if we please1  
ransack piles of primitive and  rusty   
implements of all kinds1 and pick up    
curious women's ornaments1  beads1      
coral1 and anklets of filagree work2    
and1 if we are fortunate1  meet with a  
complete set or suit of harness and     
trappings1 once the  property of some   
insolvent ,arab chief1 and of a pattern 
made familiar to  us in the illustrated 
history of the ,cid4    ,in the midst of
 the ,moorish quarter1 up a little      

narrow street 7reached  in five or six  
minutes from the centre of the town7    
passing under an  archway and between   
white walls that nearly meet overhead1  
we come to a  low dark door1 with a     
heavy handle and latch which opens and  
shuts with  a crashing sound2 and if we 
enter the courtyard and ascend a narrow 
staircase in one corner1 we come        
suddenly upon the interior view of the  
first or principal floor1 of our        
,moorish home4    ,the house1 as may be 
seen from the illustration1 has two     
stories1 and  there is also an upper    
terrace from which we overlook the town4
 ,the  arrangement of the rooms round   
the courtyard1 all opening inwards1 is  
excellent2 they are cool in summer1 and 
warm even on the coldest nights1  and   
although we are in a noisy and thickly  
populated part of the town1  we are     
ignorant of what goes on outside1 the   
massive walls keeping out  nearly all   
sound4 ,the floors and walls are tiled1 
so that they can be  cleansed and cooled

 by water being thrown over them2 the   
carpets and  cushions spread about      
invite one to the most luxurious repose1
 tables  and chairs are unknown1 there  
is nothing to offend the eye in shape or
  form1 nothing to offend the ear--not  
even a door to slam4    ,above1 there is
 an open terrace1 where we sit in the   
mornings and  evenings1 and can realise 
the system of life on the housetops of  
the  ,east4 ,here we can cultivate the  
vine1 grow roses and other flowers1     
build for ourselves extempore arbours1  
and live literally in the open  air4    
,from this terrace we overlook the flat 
roofs of the houses of the  ,moorish    
part of the city1 and if we peep over1  
down into the streets  immediately below
 us1 a curious hum of sounds comes up4  
,our neighbours  are certainly          
industrious2 they embroider1 they make  
slippers1 they  hammer at metal work1   
they break earthenware and mend it1 and 
appear to  quarrel all day long1 within 
a few feet of us2 but as we sit in the  

room  from which our sketch is taken1   
the sounds become mingled and subdued   
into a pleasant tinkle which is almost  
musical1 and which we can1 if we        
please1 shut out entirely by dropping a 
curtain across the doorway4    ,our     
attendants are ,moorish1 and consist of 
one old woman1 whom we see  by accident 
7closely veiled7 about once a month1 and
 a bare-legged1  bare-footed ,arab boy  
who waits upon us4 ,there are pigeons on
 the roof1  a ,french poodle that       
frequents the lower regions1 and a      
guardian of our  doorstep who haunts it 
day and night1 whose portrait is given  
at ,chapter  ,v4    ,here we work with  
the greatest freedom and comfort1       
without interruption  or any drawbacks  
that we can think of4 ,the climate is so
 equal1 warm1  and pleasant--even in    
,december and ,january--that by         
preference we  generally sit on the     
upper terrace1 where we have the        
perfection of  light1 and are at the    
same time sufficiently protected from   

sun and  wind4    ,at night we sleep    
almost in the open air1 and need        
scarcely drop the  curtains at the      
arched doorways of our rooms2 there are 
no mosquitoes to  trouble us1 and there 
is certainly no fear of intrusion4      
,there is also  perfect stillness1 for  
our neighbours are at rest soon after   
sundown4    ,such is a general sketch of
 our dwelling in ,algiers2 let us for a 
moment1 by way of contrast1 return in   
imagination to ,london1 and picture  to 
ourselves our friends as they are       
working at home4    ,it is considered   
very desirable1 if not essential1 to an 
artist1  that his immediate surroundings
 should be in some sort graceful and    
harmonious1 and it is a lesson worth    
learning1 to see what may be done1  with
 ingenuity and taste1 towards converting
 a single room1 in a dingy  street1 into
 a fitting abode of the arts4    ,we    
know a certain painter well1 one whose  
studio it is always a delight  to enter1
 and whose devotion to ,art 7both music 

and painting7 for its  own sake has     
always stood in the way of his          
advancement and pecuniary  success4 ,he 
has converted a room in the             
neighbourhood of ,gower ,street  into a 
charming nook where colour1 form1 and   
texture are all considered  in the      
simplest details of decoration1 where   
there is nothing  inharmonious to eye or
 ear1 but where perhaps the sound of the
 guitar  may be heard a little too      
often4 ,the walls of his studio are     
draped1  the light falls softly from    
above1 the doorway is arched1 the seats 
are  couches or carpets on a raised das1
 a ,florentine lamp hangs from the      
ceiling1 a medley of vases1 costumes1   
old armour1 c1 are grouped about  in    
picturesque confusion1 and our friend1  
in an easy undress of the last  century1
 works away in the midst4    ,not to    
particularize further1 let the reader   
consider for a moment what  one step    
beyond his own door brings about1 on an 
average winter's day4  ,a straight1     

ungraceful1 colourless costume of the   
latter half of the  nineteenth century  
which he must assume1 a hat of the      
period1 an  umbrella raised to keep off 
sleet and rain1 and for landscape a     
damp1  dreary1 muddy1 blackened street1 
with a vista of areas and lamp-posts1   
and1 if perchance he be going to the    
,academy1 a walk through the parish  of 
,st4 ,giles6    ,perhaps the most       
depressing prospect in the world1 is    
that from a ,gower  ,street doorstep on 
a ,november morning about nine o'clock2 
but of  this enough4 ,we think of our   
friend as we sit out here on our        
terrasse--sheltering ourselves on the   
same day1 at the same hour1 from  the   
sun's rays--we think of him painting    
,italian scenes by the light of  his gas
 'sun-burner1' and wish he would come   
out to ,algiers4 ',surely1'  we would   
say to him1 'it is something gained1 if 
we can1 ever so little1  harmonize the  
realities of life with our ideal        
world--if we can1 without  remark1 dress

 ourselves more as we dress our models1 
and so live1 that  one step from the    
studio to the street shall not be the   
abomination of  desolation4' 99         
99 ,it would be obviously in bad taste  
for ,europeans to walk       in the     
streets of ,algiers1 en costume ,maure2 
but we may       make considerable      
modifications in our attire in an       
oriental       city1 to our great       
comfort and peace of mind4    ,let us   
turn again to ,nature and to ,light1 and
 transport the reader to a  little white
 house1 overlooking a beautiful city1 on
 the ,north ,african  shore1 where      
summer is perpetual and indoor life the 
exception2 and draw  a picture for him  
which should be fascinating and which   
certainly is  true4    ,algiers1        
,sunrise1 ,december #aj4    ,the        
mysterious1 indefinable charm of the    
first break of day1 is an old  and      
favourite theme in all countries and    
climates1 and one on which  perhaps     
little that is new can be said4 ,in the 

,east it is always  striking1 but in    
,algiers it seems to us peculiarly so2  
for sleeping1 or  more often lying      
awake1 with the clear crisp night air   
upon our faces1  it comes to our couch  
in the dreamiest way imaginable--instead
 of being  clothed 7as poets express it7
 with the veil of night1 a mantle seems 
rather to be spread over us in the      
morning2 there is perfect quiet at  this
 hour1 and we seem to be almost under a 
spell not to disturb the  stillness--the
 dawn whispers to us so softly and      
soothingly that we are  powerless to do 
ought but watch or sleep4    ,the break 
of day is perhaps first announced to us 
by a faint stream of  light across the  
courtyard1 or the dim shadow of a marble
 pillar on the  wall4 ,in a few minutes1
 we hear the distant barking of a dog1 a
 slight  rustle in the pigeon-house     
above1 or a solitary cry from a minaret 
which  tells us that the city is        
awaking4 ,we rouse ourselves and steal  
out  quietly on to the upper terrace to 

see a sight of sights--one of those     
things that books tell us1 rightly or   
wrongly1 is alone worth coming  from    
,england to see4    ,the canopy of      
stars1 that had encompassed us so       
closely during the  night1 as if to shut
 in the courtyard overhead1 seems lifted
 again1 and  the stars themselves are   
disappearing fast in the grey expanse of
 sky2  and as we endeavour to trace     
them1 looking intently seaward1 towards 
the  ,north and ,east1 we can just      
discern an horizon line and faint       
shadows  of the 'sleeping giants1' that 
we know to be not far off4 ,soon--in    
about  the same time that it takes to   
write these lines--they begin to take   
form and outline one by one1 a tinge of 
delicate pearly pink is seen at         
intervals through their shadows1 and    
before any nearer objects have  come    
into view1 the whole coast line and the 
mountains of ,kabylia1  stretching-far  
to the eastward1 are flushed with rosy  
light1 opposed to  a veil of twilight   

grey which still hangs over the city4   
,another minute or two1 and our shadows 
are thrown sharply on a glowing  wall1  
towers and domes come distinctly into   
view1 housetops innumerable  range      
themselves in close array at our feet1  
and we1 who but a few  minutes ago1     
seemed to be standing as it were alone  
upon the top of  a high mountain1 are   
suddenly and closely beleaguered4 ,a    
city of flat  white roofs1 towers1 and  
cupolas1 relieved here and there by     
coloured  awnings1 green shutters1 and  
dark doorways1 and by little courtyards 
blooming with orange and citron         
trees--intersected with innumerable     
winding ways 7which look like streams   
forcing their way through a chalk       
cliff7--has all grown up before our     
eyes2 and beyond it1 seaward--a         
harbour1 and a fleet of little vessels  
with their white sails1 are seen        
shining in the sun4    ,then come the   
hundred sounds of a waking city1        
mingling and increasing  every moment2  

and the flat roofs 7some so close that  
we can step upon  them7 are soon alive  
with those quaint white figures we meet 
in the  streets1 passing to and fro1    
from roof to roof1 apparently without   
restraint or fear4 ,there are numbers of
 children peeping out from odd  corners 
and loopholes1 and women with them1 some
 dressed much less  scrupulously than we
 see them in the market place1 and some1
 to tell the  truth1 entirely without   
the white robes aforesaid4 ,a few1 a    
very few1  are already winding their way
 through the streets to the nearest     
mosque1  but the majority are collected 
in groups in conversation1 enjoying the 
sweet sea breeze1 which comes laden with
 the perfume of orange-trees1  and a    
peculiar delicious scent as of violets4 
,the pigeons on the roof-tops now plume 
their gilded wings and soar--not  upward
 but downward1 far away into space2 they
 scarcely break the  silence in the air1
 or spread their wings as they speed    
along4    ,oh1 what a flight above the  

azure sea6    ',quis dabat mihi pennas  
sicut columb2    the very action of     
flying seems repose to them4    ,it is  
still barely sunrise on this soft       
,december morning1 the day's  labour has
 scarcely begun1 the calm is so perfect 
that existence alone  seems a delight1  
and the ,eastern aroma 7if we may so    
express it7 that  pervades the air might
 almost lull us to sleep again1 but     
,allah wills it  otherwise4             
,suddenly---with terrible impulse and   
shrill accent impossible to  describe--a
 hurricane of women's voices succeeds   
the calm4 ,is it  treachery8 ,is it     
scandal8 ,has ,hassan proved faithless1 
or has ,fatima  fled8 ,oh1 the          
screeching and yelling that succeeded to
 the quiet beauty  of the morning6 ,oh1 
the rushing about of veiled 7now all    
closely  veiled7 figures on house-tops6 
,oh1 the weeping and wailing1 and       
literal1  terrible1 gnashing of teeth6  
',tell it not upon the house-tops'1     
7shall  we ever forget it being told on 

the housetops8 7 'let not a whole city  
know thy misdeeds1' is written in the   
,koran1 'it is better for the  faithful 
to come to prayers6' ,merciful powers1  
how the tempest raged  until the sun was
 up and the city was alive again1 and   
its sounds helped  to drown the clamour4
    ,let us come down1 for our ,arab boy
 now claps his hands in sign1 that 7on  
a little low table or tray1 six inches  
from the ground7 coffee and  pipes are  
provided for the unbelievers2 and like  
the ,calendar in ,eastern  ,story1 he   
proceeds to tell us the cause of the    
tumult--a trinket taken  from one wife  
and given to another6    ,oh1 ,islam6   
that a lost bracelet or a jealous wife1 
should make the earth  tremble so6      
,illustration3 #jjhc    ,illustration3  
#jjhe          ,,chapter ,,iv4          
',,models4'    ,illustration3 #ijhe     
,,rom the roof-tops of our own and the  
neighbouring houses we have  altogether 
many opportunities of sketching1 and    
making studies from  life4 99 ,by       

degrees1 by fits and starts1 and by most
 uncertain means  7such as attracting   
curiosity1 making little presents1 c47  
we manage  to scrape up a distant       
talking acquaintance with some of the   
mysterious  wayward creatures we have   
spoken of1 and in short1 to become      
almost  'neighbourly4'         99  ,in  
the ,exhibition of the ,royal ,academy  
of #ahfg1 there was       a picture by  
,alfred ,elmore1 ,r4,a41 taken almost   
from this       spot4    ,but we never  
get much nearer than talking distance1  
conversing from one  roof to another    
with a narrow street like a river       
flowing between us2  and only once or   
twice during our winter sojourn1 did we 
succeed in  enticing a veiled houri to  
venture on our terrace and shake hands  
with  the ',frank4' ,if we could manage 
to hold a young lady in conversation1   
and exhibit sufficient admiration of her
 to induce her1 ever so  slightly1 to   
unveil whilst we made a hasty sketch1 it
 was about all that  we could fairly    

succeed in accomplishing1 and 'the game 
was hardly worth  the candle3' it took1 
perhaps1 an hour to ensnare our bird1   
and in ten  minutes or less1 she would  
be again on the wing4 ,veiled beauties  
are  interesting 7sometimes much more   
interesting for being veiled72 but it   
does not serve our artistic purposes    
much to see two splendid black eyes  and
 a few white robes4    ,however models  
we must have1 although the profession is
 almost unknown  in ,algiers4 ,at       
,naples we have only to go down to the  
seashore1 at ,rome  to the steps of ,st4
 ,peter's1 and we find 'subjects'       
enough1 who will  come for the asking2  
but here1 where there is so much        
distinctive  costume and variety of     
race1 ,french artists seem to make      
little use of  their opportunities4     
,it takes some days before we can hear  
of any one who will be willing to  sit1 
for double the usual remuneration4 ,but 
they come at last1 and when  it gets    
abroad that the ,franks have money and  

'mean business1' we have  a number of   
applicants1 some of whom are not very   
desirable1 and none  particularly       
attractive4    ,we select ',fatima'     
first1 because she is the youngest and  
has the  best costume1 and also because 
she comes with her father and appears   
tractable4 ,she is engaged at two francs
 an hour1 which she considers  poor pay4
    ,how shall we give the reader an    
idea of this little creature1 when she  
comes next morning and coils herself up 
amongst the cushions in the  corner of  
our room1 like a young panther in the   
,jardin des ,plantes8 ,her  costume1    
when she throws off her hak 7and with it
 a tradition of the  ,mahommedan faith1 
that forbids her to show her face to an 
unbeliever7 is  a rich loose crimson1   
jacket embroidered with gold1 a thin    
white bodice1  loose silk trowsers      
reaching to the knee and fastened round 
the waist by  a magnificent sash of     
various colours2 red morroco slippers1 a
 profusion  of rings on her little      

fingers1 and bracelets and anklets of   
gold  filagree work4 ,through her waving
 black hair are twined strings of coins 
and the folds of a silk handkerchief1   
the hair falling at the back in  plaits 
below the waist4    ,she is not         
beautiful1 she is scarcely interesting  
in expression1 and  she is decidedly    
unsteady4 ,she seems to have no more    
power of keeping  herself in one        
position or of remaining in one part of 
the room1 or even  of being quiet1 than 
a humming top4 ,the whole thing is an   
unutterable  bore to her1 for she does  
not even reap the reward--her father or 
husband1 or male attendant1 always      
taking the money4    ,she is petite1    
constitutionally phlegmatic1 and as fat 
as her parents  can manage to make her2 
she has small hands and feet1 large     
rolling  eyes--the latter made to appear
 artificially large by the application  
of  henna or antimony black2 her        
attitudes are not ungraceful1 but there 
is a want of character about her1 and an

 utter abandonment to the  situation1   
peculiar to all her race4 ,in short her 
movements are more  suggestive of a     
little caged animal that had better be  
petted and  caressed1 or kept at a safe 
distance1 according to her humour4 ,she 
does  one thing1 she smokes incessantly 
and makes us cigarettes with a skill    
and rapidity which are wonderful4       
,her age is thirteen1 and she has been  
married six months2 99 her ideas  appear
 to be limited to three or four2 and her
 pleasures1 poor creature1  are equally 
circumscribed4 ,she had scarcely ever   
left her father's  house1 and had never 
spoken to a man until her marriage4 ,no 
wonder we1  in spite of a little ,arabic
 on which we prided ourselves1 could not
 make  much way2 no wonder that we came 
very rapidly to the conclusion that the 
houris of the ,arabian ,nights1 must    
have been dull creatures1 and their     
',entertainments' rather a failure1 if  
there were no diviner fire than  this4  
,no wonder that the ,moors advocate a   

plurality of wives1 for if one          
represents an emotion1 a harem would    
scarcely suffice6         99  ,we hear  
much of the perils of living too fast1  
and of the       preternaturally aged1  
worn appearance1 of ,english girls      
after two or three ,london seasons4     
,what would a ,british       matron say 
to a daughter--a woman at twelve1       
married at       thirteen1 blase        
directly1 and old at twenty8    ,we get 
on but indifferently with our studies   
with this young lady1  and1 to tell the 
truth1 not too well in ,fatima's good   
graces4 ,our  opportunities are not     
great1 our command of ,arabic is        
limited1 and  indeed1 we do not feel    
particularly inspired4    ,we cannot    
tell her many love stories1 or sing     
songs set to a  'tom-tom2' we can1      
indeed1 offer 'backshish' in the shape  
of tobacco  and sweetmeats1 or some     
trifling ,european ornament or trinket2 
but it  is clear that she would prefer a
 greater amount of familiarity1 and more

  demonstrative tokens of esteem4       
,however1 she came several times1 and   
we succeeded in obtaining some valuable 
studies of colour1 and  'bits1'         
memoranda only2 but very useful1 from   
being taken down almost  unconsciously1 
in such a luminous key1 and with a      
variety of reflected  light and pure    
shadow tone1 that we find unapproachable
 in after work4    ,as for sketches of  
character1 we obtained very few of      
,mauresques2 our  subjects were1 as a   
rule1 much too restless1 and we had one 
or two  'scenes' before we parted4 ,on  
one unfortunate occasion our model      
insisted upon examining our work before 
leaving1 and the scorn and  contempt    
with which it was regarded was anything 
but flattering4    ,it nearly caused a  
breach between us1 for1 as she observed1
 it was not  only contrary to her creed 
to have her likeness taken1 but it would
 be  perdition to be thus represented   
amongst the ,franks4 99 ,we promised to 
be as careful of this portrait as if it 

were the original1 and1 in fact1  said  
anything to be polite and soothing4     
99 ,for fear of the 'evil eye4' ,there  
is a strong belief       amongst        
,mahommedans that portraits are part of 
their       identity2 and that the      
original will suffer if the portrait    
receive any indignity4    ,on another   
occasion1 we had been working on rather 
more quietly than  usual for            
half-an-hour1 and were really getting a 
satisfactory study of  a new position1  
when1 without apparent cause or warning 
of any kind1 the  strange1 pale1        
passionless face1 which stared like a   
wooden marionette1  suddenly suffused   
with crimson1 the great eyes filled with
 tears1 the  whole frame throbbed       
convulsively1 and the little creature   
fell into  such a passion of crying that
 we were fain to put by our work and    
question ourselves whether we had been  
cruel or unkind4 ,but it was  nothing3  
the cup of boredom had been filled to   
the brim1 all other  artifices had      

failed her to obtain relief from        
restraint1 and so this  apparently      
lethargic little being1 who had it      
seemed1 both passion and  grief at      
command1 opened the flood-gates upon us1
 and of course gained  her end4 ,there  
was no more work that day1 and she got  
off with a double  allowance of bonbons1
 and something like a reconciliation4   
,she gave us  her little white hand at  
parting--the fingers and thumbs crowded 
with  rings1 and the nails stained black
 with henna--but the action meant       
nothing2 we dare not press it1 it was   
too soft and frail1 and the rings  would
 have cut her fingers1 we could only    
hand it tenderly back again1  and bid   
our 'model' farewell4    ,we got on     
better afterwards with a ,moorish       
,jewess who1 for a  'consideration1'    
unearthed her property1 99 including a  
tiara of gold and  jewels1 and a bodice 
of silver embroidery worked on crimson  
velvet2  we purposely reverse the       
position and speak of the embroidery    

first1  because the velvet was almost   
hidden4 ,she came slouching in one      
morning1  closely wrapped in a dirty    
shawl1 her black hair all dishevelled   
and half covering her handsome face1 her
 feet bare and her general  appearance  
so much more suggestive of one of the   
'finest pisantry in the  world1' that we
 began to feel doubtful1 and to think   
with ,beau ,brummel  that this must be  
'one of our failures4' ,but when her    
mother had  arranged the tiara in her   
hair1 when the curtain was drawn aside  
and  the full splendour of the ,jewish  
costume was displayed--when1 in short1  
the dignity and grace of a queen were   
before us1 we felt amply rewarded4      
99 ,many of the poorest ,jewesses       
possess gold ornaments as               
heirlooms1 burying them in the ground   
for security1 when not       in use4    
,the ,jewish dress differs from the     
,mauresque entirely2 it is ,european in 
shape1 with high waist and flowing robes
 without sleeves1 a square cut  bodice1 

often of the same material as the robe  
itself1 and a profusion  of gold        
ornaments1 armlets1 necklaces1 and      
rings4 ,a pair of tiny velvet  slippers 
7also embroidered7 on tiny feet1        
complete the costume1 which  varies in  
colour1 but is generally of crimson or  
dark velvet4    ,as a 'model1' although 
almost her first appearance in that     
character1  this ,jewish woman was very 
valuable1 and we had little trouble     
after the  first interview1 in making   
her understand our wishes4 ,but we had  
to  pay more than in ,england2 there    
were many drawbacks1 and of course much 
waste of time4 ,on some holydays and on 
all ,jewish festivals1 she did not  make
 her appearance1 and seemed to think    
nothing of it when some feast  that     
lasted a week1 left us stranded with    
half-done work4    ,without being       
learned in costumes des dames1 we       
believe1 we may say1  that the shape and
 cut of some of these dresses1 and the  
patterns of the  embroidery 7old as they

 are7 might be copied with advantage by 
,parisian  modistes2 the more we study  
these old patterns1 the more we cannot  
cease  to regret that the ,deae ex      
machina1 the arbiters of fashion in the 
city where ,fashion is ,queen1 have not 
managed to infuse into the  costume of  
the time more character and purity of   
design--conditions not  inconsistent    
with splendour1 and affording scope1 if 
need be1 for any  amount of             
extravagance4    ,we are led            
irresistibly into this digression1 if it
 be a digression1  because the          
statuesque figure before us displays so 
many lines of grace  and beauty that    
have the additional charm of novelty4   
,we know1 for  instance1 that the       
pattern of this embroidery is unique1   
that the  artificer of that curiously   
twined chain of gold has been dead      
perhaps  for ages1 that the rings on her
 fingers and the coins suspended from   
her  hair are many of them real art     
treasures4 99         99 ,the 'jewels   

turned out to be paste on close         
inspection1       but the gold filagree 
work1 and the other ornaments1 were     
old1 and some very valuable and rare4   
,the result of our studies1 as far as   
regards ,moorish women1 we must  admit  
to have been after all1 rather limited  
and unsatisfactory4 ,we  never once     
lighted upon a ,moorish face that moved 
us much by its beauty1  for the simple  
reason that it nearly always lacked     
expression2 anything  like emotion      
seemed inharmonious and out of place1   
and to disturb the  uniformity of its   
lines4 ,even those dark lustrous eyes1  
when lighted by  passion1 had more of   
the tiger in them1 than the tragedy     
queen4    ,the perfection of beauty1    
according to the ,moorish ideal1 seems  
to  depend principally upon symmetry of 
feature1 and is nothing without         
roundness of limb and a certain         
flabbiness of texture4 ,it is an ideal  
of  repose1 not to say of dulness and   
insipidity2 a heavy type of beauty  of  

which we obtain some idea in the        
illustration before us1 of a young      
girl1 about thirteen years old1 of one  
of the tribes from the interior4  ,the  
drawing is by a ,frenchman1 and pretends
 to no particular artistic  excellence1 
but it attempts to render 7and we think 
succeeds in  rendering7 the style of a  
,mahommedan beauty in bridal array2 one 
who is  about to fulfil her destiny1 and
 who appears to have as little animation
  or intelligence as the ,prophet       
ordained for her1 being perfectly fitted
  7according to the ,koran7 to fill her 
place in this world or in the  next4 99 
99 ,it detracts a little from the       
romance of these things to       learn  
from ,mrs4 ,evans 7who witnessed1 what  
only ladies1 of       course1 could     
witness1 the robing and decorating of   
the       bride before marriage7 the    
manner in which the face of a           
,moorish lady is prepared on the day of 
marriage3         ',an old woman having 
carefully washed the bride's face with  

water1 proceeded to whiten it all over  
with a milky-looking       preparation1 
and after touching up the cheeks with   
rouge       7and1 her eyes with antimony
 black71 bound an amulet round       the
 head2 then with a fine camel-hair      
pencil1 she passed a       line of      
liquid glue over the eyebrows1 and      
taking from a       folded paper a strip
 of gold-leaf fixed it across them both1
       forming one long gilt bar1 and   
then proceeded to give a few            
finishing touches to the poor lay figure
 before her1 by       fastening two or  
three tiny gold spangles on the         
forehead6'         ,we cannot help      
thinking that this might have been an   
exceptional case1 especially in the     
matter of gilding1 but       we have    
seen both patches and paint on ,moorish 
features--as       indeed we have seen  
them in ,england4    ,illustration3     
#jjih    ,thus decked with her brightest
 jewels and adorned with a crown of     
gold1  she waits to meet her lord1 to be

 his 'light of the harem1' his 'sun  and
 moon4' ,what if we1 with our refined   
aesthetic tastes1 what if  disinterested
 spectators1 vote her altogether the    
dullest and most  uninteresting of      
beings8 what if she seem to us more like
 some young  animal1 magnificently      
harnessed1 waiting to be trotted out to 
the  highest bidder8 ,she shakes the    
coins and beads on her head sometimes1  
with a slight impatient gesture1 and    
takes chocolate from her little  sister1
 and is petted and pacified just as we  
should soothe and pacify  an impatient  
steed2 there is clearly no other way to 
treat her1 it is  the will of ,allah    
that she should be so debased6 99       
99 ,we have before spoken of the        
influence of beautiful forms       and  
harmony in colour1 in our homes and     
surroundings2 and we       feel acutely1
 that the picture of this ,moorish      
woman1       intellectually1 does not   
prove our case2 but ,mahomet decreed    
that women should endeavour to be       

beautiful rather than       understand1 
or enjoy it4    ,one day we had up a    
tinker1 an old brown grizzled ,maltese1 
who with his  implements of trade1 his  
patchwork garments and his dirt1 had a  
tone  about him1 like a figure from one 
of the old ,dutch masters4 ,he sat down 
in the corner of our courtyard against a
 marble pillar1 and made himself  quite 
at home2 he worked with his feet as well
 as his hands at his  grinding1 he      
chattered1 he sang1 and altogether made 
such a clatter that  we shall not be    
likely to forget him4    ,this          
gentleman1 and the old negro that lived 
upon our doorstep1 were  almost the only
 subjects that we succeeded in inducing 
to come  within doors2 our other life   
studies were made under less favourable 
circumstances4    ,from the roof of our 
own house1 it is true1 we obtained a    
variety of  sketches1 not 7as might be  
supposed from the illustrations and     
pictures  with which we are all         
familiar7 of young ladies attired as    

scantily as  the nymphs at the ,thetre  
du ,chatelet1 standing in pensive       
attitudes  on their housetops1 but      
generally of groups of veiled           
women--old1  ugly1 haggard1 shrill of   
voice1 and sometimes rather fierce of   
aspect1  performing various household   
duties on the roof-tops1 including the  
beating of carpets and of children1 the 
carrying of water-pots and the  saying  
of prayers4    ,a chapter on ',models'  
would not be complete without some      
mention of the  camels1 of which there  
are numbers to be found in the ,arab    
quarter of  the town4 ,some of them are 
splendid creatures1 and as different    
from  any exotic specimens that we can  
see in this country as an acclimatised  
palm-tree from its wild growth4    ,some
 one tells us that these ,algerian      
'ships of the desert' have not the  same
 sailing qualities1 nor the same breadth
 of beam1 as those at ,cairo4  ,but 7if 
true7 we should have to go to ,cairo to 
study them1 so let us be  content4 ,we  

should like to see one or two of our    
popular artists1 who  persist in        
painting camels and desert scenes       
without ever having been  to the ,east1 
just sit down here quietly for one day  
and paint a camel's  head2 not flinching
 from the work1 but mastering the       
wonderful texture  and shagginess of his
 thick coat or mane1 its massive beauty1
 and its  infinite gradations of colour4
 ,such a sitter no portrait painter ever
  had in ,england4 ,feed him up first1  
get a boy to keep the flies from him1   
and he will sit almost immoveably       
through the day4 ,he will put on a  sad 
expression in the morning1 which will   
not change2 he will give no  trouble    
whatever1 he will but sit still and     
croak4    ,illustration3 #jaje    ,do we
 seem to exaggerate the value of such   
studies8 ,we cannot  exaggerate1 if we  
take into full account1 the vigorous    
quality which  we impart into our work4 
,and we cannot1 perhaps1 better         
illustrate  our argument in favour of   

drawing from1 what we should call1      
natural  models1 than by comparing the  
merits of two of the most popular       
pictures  of our time1 viz43--,frith's  
',derby ,day1' and ,rosa ,bonheur's     
',horse  ,fair8' ,the former pleasing   
the eye by its cleverness and           
prettiness2  the latter impressing the  
spectator by its power1 and its truthful
  rendering of animal life4    ,the     
difference between the two painters is  
probably1 one1 more of  education than  
of natural gifts4 ,but whilst the style 
of the former is  grafted on a fashion1 
the latter is founded on a rock--the    
result of a  close study of nature1     
chastened by classic feeling1 and a     
remembrance  it may be1 of the friezes  
of the ,parthenon4    ,illustration3    
#jaji    ,illustration3 #jaaa           
,,chapter ,v4 ,,our ',,life ,,school'   
,illustration3 #iaaa    ,f the various  
studies to be made in ,algiers1 there   
are none at the same  time so quaint and
 characteristic1 as the ,moors in their 

own homes1  seated at their own doors or
 benches at work1 or at the numerous    
cafs  and bazaars2 and nothing seems to 
harmonize so well in these ,moorish     
streets as the groups of natives 7both  
,moors and negroes7 with their  bright  
costumes1 and 'wares for sale4 ,colour  
and contrast of colour1  seem to be     
considered1 or felt1 everywhere4 ,thus  
for instance1 no two  ,orientals will   
walk down a street side by side1 unless 
the colours  of their costume harmonize 
or blend together 7they seem to know it 
instinctively71 and then there is always
 grey or some quiet contrasting  tone   
for a background1 and a sky of deep1    
deep blue4 ,a negress will  generally be
 found selling oranges or citrons2 an   
,arab boy with a red  fez and white     
turban1 carrying purple fruit in a      
basket of leaves2 and  so on4 ,the      
reader will think this fanciful1 but it 
is truer than he  imagines2 let him come
 and see4    ,it was not at all times   
easy to sketch in the open street on    

account of  the curiosity it excited2 a 
crowd sometimes collecting until it     
became  almost impossible to breathe4   
,the plan was to go as often as possible
 to  the cafs and divans1 and by degrees
 to make friends with the ,moors4       
,there was one caf1 in a street that we 
have been to so often1 that it  is as   
familiar to us as any in the western    
world2 and where by dint of a  little   
tact and a small outlay of tobacco1 we  
managed to make ourselves  quite at     
home1 and were permitted to work away   
all day1 comparatively  unmolested4 ,it 
was a narrow and steep overhanging      
street1 crowded at all  times with      
,moors on one side embroidering1 or     
pretending to sell goods  of various    
kinds2 and on the opposite side there   
was a caf1 not four  feet distant1 where
 a row of about eighteen others sat and 
smoked1  and contemplated their brethren
 at work4 ,the street was always full of
  traffic1 being an important           
thoroughfare from the upper to the lower

  town1 and there were perpetually      
passing up and down1 droves of laden    
donkeys2 men with burdens carried on    
poles between them2 vendors  of fruit1  
bread1 and live fowls1 and crowds of    
people of every  denomination4    ,in a 
little corner out of sight1 where we    
were certainly rather closely  packed1  
we used to install ourselves continually
 and sketch the people  passing to and  
fro4 ,the ,moors in the caf used to sit 
beside us all day  and watch1 and wait2 
they gave us a grave silent salutation  
when we  took our places1 and another   
when we left1 but we never got much     
further  with our unknown neighbours4   
,if we can imagine a coterie in a small 
political club1 where the open          
discussion of politics is1 with  one    
consent1 tabooed for fear of a          
disturbance1 and where the most         
frolicsome of its members play at chess 
for relaxation1 we shall get  some      
notion of the state of absolute decorum 
which existed in our little  caf maure4 

,it was very quaint4 ,the memory of the 
grave quiet faces of these most  polite 
,moorish gentlemen1 looking so smooth   
and clean in their white  bournouses1   
seated solemnly doing nothing1 haunts us
 to this day4 ,years  elapsed between   
our first and last visit to our         
favourite street1 yet  there they were  
when we came again1 still doing nothing 
in a row2 and  opposite to them1 the    
merchants who do no trade1 also sitting 
in their 99  accustomed places1         
surrounded with the same old wares4     
,there was the same old negro in a dark 
corner making coffee1 and handing  it to
 the same customers1 sitting in the same
 places1 in the same dream4             
,illustration3 #jaae    ,there is       
certainly both art and mystery in doing 
nothing well which  these men achieve in
 their peculiar lives2 here they sit for
 years  together1 silently waiting1     
without a trace of boredom on their     
faces1  and without exhibiting a gesture
 of impatience4 ,they--the 'gentlemen'  

in the caf on the right hand--have saved
 up money enough to keep  life together1
 they have for ever renounced work1 and 
can look on with  complacency at their  
poorer brethren4 ,they have their       
traditions1 their  faith1 their romance 
of life1 and the curious belief before  
alluded to1  that if they fear ,god and 
,mahomet1 and sit here long enough1 they
 will  one day be sent for to ,spain1 to
 repeople the houses where their fathers
  dwelt4    ,this corner is the one par 
excellence1 where the ,moors sit and    
wait4  ,there is the 'wall of wailing'  
at ,jerusalem2 there is the 'street of  
waiting' in ,algiers1 where the ,moors  
sit clothed in white1 dreaming  of      
heaven--with an aspect of more than     
content1 in a state of  dreamy delight  
achieved1 apparently1 more by habit of  
mind than any  opiates--the realisation 
of ',keyf'4    ,not far from this       
street1 but still in the ,moorish       
quarter1 we may  witness a much more    
animated scene1 and obtain in some      

respects a still  better study of       
character and costume--at a clothes     
auction in the  neighbourhood of the    
principal bazaar4 ,if we go in the      
afternoon1 we  shall probably find a    
crowd collected in a courtyard1 round a 
number of  ,jews who are selling        
clothes1 silks1 and stuffs1 and so      
intent are they  all on the business    
that is going forward1 that we are able 
to take up a  good position to watch the
 proceedings4    ,we arrived one day at 
this spot1 just as a terrible scuffle or
 wrangle1  was going forward1 between   
ten or a dozen old men 7surrounded by at
  least a hundred spectators7 about the 
quality or ownership of some  garment4  
,the merits of the discussion were of   
little interest to us and  were probably
 of little importance to anybody1 but   
the result was in  its way as           
interesting a spectacle as ever greeted 
the eye and ear1  something that we     
could never have imagined1 and certainly
 could never  have seen1 in any other   

land4    ,this old garment had magical  
powers1 and was a treasure to us at     
least4 ,it attracted the old and young1 
the wise and foolish1 the excited       
combatant and the calm and dignified    
spectator2 it collected them all  in a  
large square courtyard with plain       
whitewashed walls and ,moorish  arcades4
 ,on one side a palm-tree drooped its   
gigantic leaves1 and cast  broad shadows
 on the ground1 which in some places1   
was almost of the  brightness of orange2
 on the other side1 half in sunlight1   
half in  shadow1 a heavy awning was     
spread over a raised das or stage1 and  
through its tatters and through the deep
 arcades1 the sky appeared in  patches  
of the deepest blue--blue of a depth and
 brilliancy that few  painters have ever
 succeeded in depicting4 ,it gave in a  
wider and truer  sense1 just that       
quality to our picture--if we may be    
excused a little  technicality and a    
familiar illustration--that a broad red 
sash thrown  across the bed of a        

sleeping child in ,millais' picture in  
the ,royal  ,academy ,exhibition of     
#ahfg1 gave to his composition1 as many 
readers may  remember4    ,but we cannot
 take our eyes from the principal group1
 or do much more  than watch the crowd  
in its changing phases4 ,to give any    
idea of the  uproar1 the 'row' we ought 
to call it1 would be to weary the reader
 with  a polyglot of words and          
sentences1 some not too choice1 and many
 too  shrill and fiercely accentuated2  
but to picture the general aspect in a  
few words is worth a trial1 although to 
do this we must join the throng  and    
fight our way to the front4    ,where   
have we seen the like8 ,we have seen    
such upturned faces in  pictures of the 
early days of the ,reformation by ,henry
 ,leys2 we have  seen such passion in   
,shy lock1 such despair in ,lear 2 such 
grave and  imposing-looking men with    
'reverend beards' in many pictures by   
the old  masters2 but seldom have we    
seen such concentration of emotion 7if  

we  may so express it71 and unity of    
purpose1 in one group4    ,do our       
figure-painters want a subject1 with    
variety of colour  and character in one 
canvas8 ,they need not go to the bazaars
 of  ,constantinople1 or to the markets 
of the ,east4 ,let them follow us here  
crushing close to the platform1 our     
faces nearly on a level with the        
boards4 ,look at the colours1 at the    
folds of their cloaks1 bournouses  and  
yachmahs--purple1 deep red1 and spotless
 white1 all crushed  together--with     
their rich transparent shadows1 as the  
sun streams across  them1 reflected on  
the walls4 ,the heavy awning throws a   
curious glow  over the figures1 and     
sometimes almost conceals their features
 with a  dazzle of reflected light4     
,look at the legs of these eager        
traders1 as  they struggle and fight and
 stand on tiptoe1 to catch a glimpse of 
some  new thing exposed for sale2 look  
at them well--the lean1 the shambling1  
the vigorous1 the bare bronze 7bronzed  

with sun and grime71 the dark  hose1 the
 purple silk1 and the white cotton1 the 
latter the special  affectation of the  
dandy ,jew4 ,what a medley1 but what    
character  here--the group from knee to 
ankle forms a picture alone4    ,and    
thus they crowd together for            
half-an-hour1 whilst all ordinary       
business seems suspended4 ,nothing could
 be done with such a clatter1  not to   
mention the heat4 ,oh1 how the ,arab    
gutturals1 the impossible  consonants   
7quite impossible to unpractised        
,european lips7 were  interjected and   
hurled1 so to speak1 to and fro6 ,how   
much was said to  no purpose1 how       
incoherent it all seemed1 and how we    
wished for a few  vowels to cool the    
air6    ,in half-an-hour a calm has set 
in and the steady business of the day is
  allowed to go forward2 we may now     
smoke our pipes in peace1 and from a    
quiet corner watch the proceedings      
almost unobserved1 asking ourselves  a  
question or two suggested by the        

foregoing scene4 ,is expression really  
worth anything8 ,is the exhibition of   
passion much more than acting8  ,shall  
grey beards and flowing robes carry     
dignity with them any more1 if  a haggle
 about old clothes can produce it in    
five minutes8    ,and so we sit and     
watch for hours1 wondering at the       
apparently endless  variety of the      
patterns1 and colours of the fabrics    
exposed for  sale2 and perhaps we doze1 
perhaps we dream4 ,is it the effect of  
the  hachshish8 ,is it the strong       
coffee8 ,are we1 indeed1 dreaming1 or is
 the  auction a sham8 ,surely that      
pretty bright handkerchief--now held up 
and eagerly scanned by bleared old      
eyes--now rumpled and drawn sharply     
between haggard fingers--is an old      
friend1 and has no business in a sale   
like this8 ,let us rub our eyes and try 
and remember where we have seen  it o   
before4 ,yes--there is no mistaking the 
pattern1 we have seen it in  ,spain4 ,it
 was bound turbanwise round the head of 

a woman who performed  in the bull ring 
at ,seville1 on the occasion of a       
particularly high and  rollicking       
festival of the ',catholic ,church2' it 
was handed out of a  diligence window   
one dark night on the ,sierra ,morena1  
when a mule had  broken its leg1 and the
 only method of getting it along was to 
tie the  injured limb to the girth1 and 
let the animal hop on three legs for the
  rest of the way4 ,it found its way    
into the ,tyrol1 worn as a sash2 it  was
 in the market-place at ,bastia in      
,corsica1 in the hands of a maiden      
selling fruit2 it flaunted at           
,marseilles1 drying in the wind on a    
ship's  spar2 and the last time we saw  
it 7if our memory serves us well7 it was
  carefully taken from a drawer in a    
little shop1 ',au ,dey d',alger' in  the
 ,rue de ,rivoli in ,paris1 and offered 
to us1 by that greatest of all  humbugs1
 ,mustapha1 as the latest ,algerian     
thing in neckties1 which he  asked      
fifteen francs for1 and would gladly    

part with for two4    ,it was a pattern 
we knew by heart1 that we meet with in  
all parts of the  world1 thanks to the  
universality of ,manchester cottons4    
,but the pattern  was simple and good1  
nothing but an arrangement of red and   
black stripes  on a maize ground1 and   
therein lay its success4 ,it had its    
origin in  the first principles of      
decoration1 it transgressed no law or   
canon of  taste1 it was easily and      
cheaply made 7as all the best patterns  
are71  and so it travelled round the    
world1 and the imitation work came to be
  sold in1 perhaps1 the very bazaar     
whence the pattern first came1 and its  
originators squabbled over the          
possession of it1 as of something       
unique4    ,but we can hardly regret the
 repetition of these ,moorish patterns1 
for  they are useful in such a variety  
of ways4 ,wind one of the handkerchiefs 
in and out amongst dark tresses1 and see
 what richness it gives2 make  a turban 
of it for a negress's head2 tie it      

nattily under the chin of a  little     
,parisienne and1 hey presto6 she is     
pretty2 make a sash of  it1 or throw it 
loosely on the ground1 and the effect is
 graceful and  charming to the eye4 ,in 
some ,japanese and ,chinese silks we may
 meet with  more brilliant achievements 
in positive colours2 but the ,moors seem
 to  excel all other nations in taste1  
and in their skilful juxta-position  of 
tints4 ,we have seen a ,moorish designer
 hard at work1 with a box of            
butterflies' wings for his school of    
design1 and we might1 perhaps1 take  the
 hint at home4    ,but we must leave the
 ,moors and their beautiful fabrics for 
a while1 and  glance at the ,arab       
quarter of the town4 ,we shall see the  
,arabs bye and  bye in the plains and in
 their tents1 in their traditionary     
aspect2 but  here we come in contact    
with a somewhat renegade and            
disreputable race1  who hang1 as it     
were1 on the outskirts of civilization4 
,many of them  have come from the       

neighbouring villages and from their    
camps across the  plains of the ,sahel2 
and have set up a market of their own1  
where they  are in full activity1       
trading with each other and with the    
,frank4 99 ,here  they may be seen by   
hundreds--some buying and selling1 some 
fighting  and not unfrequently1 cursing 
one another heartily2 others ranged     
close  together in rows upon the ground1
 like so many white loaves ready for    
baking4 ,calm they are1 and almost      
dignified in appearance1 when sitting   
smoking in conclave2 but only give them 
something to quarrel about1  touch them 
up ever so little on their irritable    
side1 and they will beat  ,geneva       
washerwomen for clatter4         99     
,this market-place is a sort of         
commercial neutral ground1       where  
both ,arabs and ,kabyles meet the       
,french in the       strictest amity1   
and cheat them if they can4    ,take    
them individually1 these trading men1   
who have had years of  intercourse with 

their ,french conquerors1 and they      
disappoint us  altogether4 ,they are no 
longer true followers of the ,prophet1  
although  they are a great obstruction  
to traffic1 by spreading carpets on the 
ground in the middle of the road1 and   
prostrating themselves towards  ,mahomet
 and the sun4 ,trade--paltry1 mean1 and 
cowardly as it so often  makes men--has 
done the ,arab irreparable harm3 it has 
taught him to  believe in counterfeits  
and little swindles as a legitimate mode
 of  life1 to pass bad money1 and to    
cringe to a conqueror because he could  
make money thereby4 ,he could not do    
these things in the old days1 with  his 
face to the sun4    ,the ,arab is       
generally pictured to us in his tent or 
with his tribe1  calm1 dignified and    
brave1 and perhaps we may meet with him 
thus on  the other side of the ,sahel1  
but here in ,algiers he is a            
metamorphosed  creature4 ,the camels    
that crouch upon the ground1 and scream 
and bite  at passers-by1 are more       

dignified and consistent in their       
ill-tempered  generation than these     
',sons of the ,prophet1' these ',lights 
of ,truth4'    ,and they have actually  
caught ,european tricks4 ,what shall we 
say when  two ,arabs meet in the street1
 and after a few words interchanged1    
pass  away from each other with a       
quickened1 jaunty step1 like two city   
men1  who have 'lost time1' and must    
make it up by a spurt6 ,shall we        
respect our noble ,arab any more when we
 see him walking abroad with a          
stereotyped1 plausible smile upon his   
face1 and every action indicating  an   
eye to the main chance8 99         99   
,it may seem a stretch of fancy1 but    
even the bournous       itself1 with its
 classic outline and flowing folds1     
loses       half its dignity and        
picturesqueness on these men4 ,it has   
been rather vulgarised of late years in 
,western ,europe2 and       when we see 
it carried on the arm of an ,arab 7as we
 do       sometimes71 there is a        

suggestion of opera stalls1 and         
lingering last good nights on unromantic
 doorsteps1 that is       fatal to its  
patriarchal character4    ,a step lower1
 of which there are too many examples in
 the crowd1 and  there is a sadder      
metamorphose yet--the patriarch turned  
scamp--one who  has left his family and 
his tribe to seek his fortune4 ,look at 
him1 with  his ragged bournous1 his dirt
 and his cringing ways1 and contrast his
  life now1 with what he has voluntarily
 abandoned4 ,oh6 how civilization  has  
lowered him in his own eyes1 how his    
courage has turned to bravado1  and his 
tact to cunning2 how even natural       
affection has languished1 and  family   
ties are but threads of the lightest    
tissue4 ,he has failed in his  endeavour
 to trade1 he has disobeyed the ,koran1 
and is an outcast and  unclean--one of  
the waifs and strays of cities6    ,as  
we wend our way homeward 7as ,john      
,bunyan says71 'thinking of these       
things1' we see two tall white figures  

go down to the water side1 like  the    
monks in ,millais' picture of ',a ,dream
 of the ,past4' ,they stand on  the bank
 in the evening light1 their reflections
 repeated in the water4  ,it is the hour
 of prayer2 what are they doing8 ,they  
are fishing with  a modern rod and line1
 and their little floats are painted    
with the  tricolour6    ,illustration3  
#jaca    ,illustration3 #jacc           
,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,bouzareah--,a   
,,storm4    ,illustration3 #iacc    ,t  
would be passing over the most-enjoyable
 part of our life abroad1 if  we omitted
 all mention of those delightful days1  
spent on the hill-sides  of ,mustapha1  
on the heights of the ,bouzareah1 and   
indeed everywhere in  the neighbourhood 
of ,algiers1 sketching in winter time in
 the open air4    ,odours of            
orange-groves1 the aromatic scent of    
cedars1 the sweet breath  of wild       
flowers1 roses1 honeysuckles and        
violets1 should pervade this  page2     
something should be done1 which no words

 can accomplish1 to give  the true      
impression of the scene1 to picture the 
luxuriant wild  growth of the           
surrounding vegetation 7radiant in a    
sunshine which to a  northerner is      
unknown71 and to realise in any method  
of description1 the  sense of calm      
enjoyment of living this pure life in a 
climate neither  too hot nor too cold1  
neither too enervating nor too exciting2
 of  watching the serene days decline   
into sunsets that light up the ,kabyle  
,hills with crests of gold1 and end in  
sudden twilights that spread a  weird   
unearthly light across the silver sea4  
99         99 ,there are effects of     
light sometimes1 towards evening1       
especially over the sea1 such as we have
 never seen in any       other part of  
the world4 ,we know one or two landscape
       painters who have filled their   
note-books with memoranda of       these
 phases4    ,we take our knapsacks and  
walk off merrily enough on the bright4  
,december mornings1 often before the    

morning gun has fired or the city  is   
fully awake4 ,if we go out at the       
eastern gate and keep along near the    
sea shore in the direction of the       
,maison ,carre 7a ,french fort1 now     
used as a prison71 we obtain fine views 
of the bay1 and of the town of  ,algiers
 itself1 with its mole and harbour      
stretching out far into the  sea4       
,there is plenty to interest us here1 if
 it is only in sketching the  wild      
palmettos1 or in watching the half-wild 
,arabs who camp in the  neighbourhood1  
and build mud huts which they affect to 
call cafs1 and  where we can1 if we     
please1 obtain rest and shelter from the
 midday sun1  and a considerable amount 
of 'stuffiness1' for one sou4 ,but there
 is  no need to trouble them1 as there  
are plenty of shady valleys and         
cactus-hedges to keep off the sun's     
rays2 the only disturbers of our  peace 
are the dogs who guard the ,arab        
encampments1 and have to be  diligently 
kept off with stones4    ,perhaps the   

best spots for quiet work are the       
precincts of the  ,marabouts' tombs1    
where we can take refuge unobserved1    
behind some old  wall and return quietly
 to the same spot1 day after day4 ,and  
here1 as  one experience of sketching   
from ,nature1 let us allude to the      
theory  7laid down pretty confidently by
 those who have never reduced it to     
practice71 that one great advantage of  
this climate is1 that you may  work at  
the same sketch from day to day1 and    
continue it where you left  off6 ,you   
can do nothing of the kind4 99 ,if your 
drawing is worth  anything1 it will at  
least have recorded something of the    
varying phases  of light and shade1 that
 really alter every hour4    ,let us    
take an example4 ,about six feet from   
us1 at eight o'clock in the  morning1   
the sheer white wall of a ,moslem tomb  
is glowing with a white  heat1 and      
across it are cast the shadows of three 
palm-leaves1 which at  a little         
distance1 have the contrasted effect of 

the blackness of  night4 9999 ,approach 
a little nearer and examine the real    
colour of these  photographic           
leaf-lines1 shade off 7with the hand7 as
 much as possible  of the wall1 the sky1
 and the reflected light from           
surrounding leaves1  and these dark     
shadows become a delicate pearl grey1   
deepening into  mauve1 or partaking     
sometimes of the tints of the rich earth
 below them4  ,they will be deeper yet  
before noon1 and pale again1 and        
uncertain and  fantastic in shape1      
before sundown4 ,if we sketch these     
shadows only  each hour1 as they pass   
from left to right upon the wall 7laying
 down a  different wash for the ground  
each time7 and place them side by side  
in our note-book1 we shall have made    
some discoveries in light and           
transparent shadow tone1 which will be  
very valuable in after time4  ,no two   
days or two hours1 are under precisely  
the same atmospheric  conditions2 the   
gradations and changes are              

extraordinary1 and would  scarcely be   
believed in by anyone who had not       
watched them4         99 ,we are        
speaking1 of course1 of colour and      
effect1 not of       details that may be
 put in at any time4         9999 ,under
 some conditions of the atmosphere we   
have obtained       more perfect        
outlines of the leaves of the aloe1 with
 their       curiously indented edges   
and spear-points1 from their            
shadows1 rather than from the leaves    
themselves4    ,thus1 although we cannot
 continue a sketch once left off1 to any
  purpose1 we may obtain an infinite and
 overwhelming variety of work in  one   
day1 in the space of a few yards by the 
side of some old well or  ,marabout's   
tomb4    ,we seldom returned from a day 
in the country1 without putting up for  
an  hour or two at one of the numerous  
cafs1 or caravanserai1 built near  some 
celebrated spring1 with seats1 placed   
invitingly by the roadside1  under the  
shade of trees4 ,there were generally a 

number of ,arabs and  ,french soldiers  
collected in the middle of the day1     
drinking coffee1  playing at dominoes1  
or taking a siesta on the mats under the
 cool  arcades1 and often some ,arab    
musicians1 who hummed and droned        
monotonous  airs2 there were always     
plenty of beggars to improve the        
occasion1 and  perhaps1 a group of      
half-naked boys1 who would get up an    
imitation of  the ',beni ,zouzoug       
,arabs1' and go through hideous         
contortions1 inflicting  all kinds of   
torments on each other for a few sous4  
,illustration3 #haci    ,it is pleasant 
to put up at one of these cafs during   
the heat of the  day1 and to be able to 
walk in and take our places quietly     
amongst the  ,arabs and ,moors1 without 
any particular notice or remark2 and    
delightful  7oh6 how delightful7 to     
yield to the combined influences of the 
coffee1  the hachshish1 the tomtom and  
the heat1 and fall asleep and           
dream--dream  that the world is standing

 still1 that politics and ,fenianism are
 things  of the past1 and that all the  
people in a hurry are dead4 ,pleasant1  
and  not a little perplexing too1 when  
waking1 for the eye to rest on the      
delicate outline of a little window in  
the wall above1 which1 with its  spiral 
columns and graceful proportions1 seems 
the very counterpart in  miniature of   
some ,gothic cathedral screen4    ,if we
 examine it1 it is old and ,moorish     
7these buildings date back  several     
hundred years71 and yet so perfect is   
its similarity to later  work1 that our 
ideas on orders of architecture become  
confused and  vague4 ,we may not attempt
 to discover the cause of the           
similarity1 or  indeed to go deeply into
 questions of 'style1' but we may be    
tempted to  explore further1 and if we  
examine such cafs 7as1 for instance1    
those  at ,el ,biar1 or ,birkadem71 we  
shall find the walls ornamented with    
,arabesques1 sometimes half-concealed   
under whitewash1 and the arcades  and   

conical-domed roofs and doorways covered
 with curious patterns4    ,in this way 
we pass the day1 often lingering about  
one spot in most  vagrant fashion1 till 
nightfall1 when the last diligence comes
 crashing  in1 and stops to change its  
wretched horses4 ,we take our places    
quickly  in the intrieur1 and are wedged
 in between little soft white figures   
with black eyes and stained             
finger-nails1 who stare at us with a    
fixed  and stony stare1 all the way back
 to ,algiers4 ,another day we spend in  
the ,jardin d',essai1 7the garden of    
acclimatisation71 where we may  wander  
in ,december1 amidst groves of summer   
flowers1 and where every  variety of    
tree and shrub is brought together for  
study and comparison4  ,through the     
kindness of the director we are enabled 
to make studies of  some rare and       
curious tropical plants2 but there is a 
little too much  formality and an       
artificial atmosphere about the place1  
that spoils it  for sketching2 although 

nothing can control1 or render formal1  
the wild  strength of the gigantic      
aloes1 or make the palm-trees grow in   
line4    ,from the ',garden of          
,marengo1' just outside the western     
gates1 we  may obtain good subjects for 
sketching1 including both mosques and   
palm-trees1 such as we have indicated on
 our title-page2 and from the  heights  
behind the ,casbah1 some beautiful      
distant views across the  plain of the  
,mitidja4 ,of one of these an artistic  
traveller thus speaks3  ',standing on a 
ridge of the ,sahel1 far beneath lies   
the ,bay of ,algiers1  from this        
particular point thrown into a curve so 
exquisite and subtle  as to be well nigh
 inimitable by art1 the value of the    
curve being  enhanced by the long level 
line of the ,mitidja plain immediately  
behind1  furnishing the horizontal line 
of repose so indispensable to calm      
beauty  of landscape2 whilst in the     
background the faintly indicated        
serrated  summits of the ,atlas chain   

preserve the whole picture from         
monotony4  ,the curve of shore1 the     
horizontal bar of plain1 the scarcely   
more than  suggested angles of the      
mountains1 form a combination of        
contrasting yet  harmonising lines of   
infinite loveliness1 which ,nature would
 ever paint  anew for us in the fresh   
tints of the morning1 with a brush      
dipped in  golden sunshine and soft     
filmy mist1 and with a broad sweep of   
cool blue  shadow over the foreground4' 
,but our favourite rendezvous1 our      
principal ',champ de ,mars1' was a      
little ,arab cemetery1 about six miles  
from ,algiers2 on the heights  westward1
 in the direction of ,sidi ,ferruch1 and
 near to a little ,arab  village called 
the ',bouzareah4' ,this spot combined a 
wondrous view both  of sea and land1    
with a foreground of beauty not easy to 
depict4 ,it was  a half-deserted        
cemetery1 with tombs of ,marabout       
priests over which the  palm-trees      
waved1 and little gravestones here and  

there surmounted  with crescents4       
,sheltered from the sun's rays1 hidden  
from the sight of  passers-by1          
surrounded with a profusion of aloes1   
palms1 cacti2 and  an infinite variety  
of shrubs and flowers peeping out       
between the  palmettos1 that spread     
their leaves like fans upon the         
ground--it  combined everything that    
could be desired4    ,here we worked1   
sitting close to one of the tombs for   
its shade1 with  the hush of the breeze1
 the distant sighing sound of the sea1  
the voices  of bees1 and butterflies1   
the flutter of leaves1 and one other    
sound  that intermingled with strange   
monotony of effect close to our ears1   
which puzzled us sorely to account for  
at first4 ,it turned out to be a  snore2
 the custodian of one of the tombs was  
sleeping inside with his  fathers1      
little dreaming of our proximity4 ,we   
struck up an acquaintance  with him1    
after a few days of coyness on his part1
 and finally made him  a friend4 ,for a 

few sous a day he acted as outpost for  
us1 to keep off  ,arab boys and any     
other intruders2 and before we left1 was
 induced to  sit and be included in a   
sketch4 ,he winced a little at this1 and
 we  confess to an inward reproach for  
having thus degraded him4 ,he did not   
like it1 but he sat it out and had his  
portrait taken like any ,christian  dog2
 he took money for his sin1 and finally1
 by way of expiation let us  hope1 drank
 up our palette water at the end of the 
day6    ,if there is one spot in all    
,algeria most dear to a ,mussulman's    
heart1  most sacred1 to a ,marabout's   
memory1 it must surely be this peaceful 
garden of aloes and palms1 where flowers
 ever grow1 where the sun shines  from  
the moment of its rising until it sinks 
beneath the western sea2  where1 if     
anywhere on this earth1 the faithful    
will be the first to know  of the       
,prophet's coming1 and where they will  
always be ready to meet  him4    ,but if
 it be dear to a ,mussulman's heart1 it 

is also dear to a  ,christian's1 for it 
has taught us more in a few weeks than  
we can  unlearn in years4 ,we cannot sit
 here day by day without learning       
several  truths1 more forcibly than by  
any teaching of our schools2 taking in1 
as  it were1 the mysteries of light and 
shade1 and the various phases of the    
atmosphere--taking them all to heart1 so
 that they influence our work  for years
 to come4    ,how often have we1 at the 
,uffizi1 or at the ,louvre1 envied the  
power and  skill of a master1 whose work
 we have vainly endeavoured to imitate2 
and  what would we not have given in    
those days1 to achieve something that   
seemed to approach1 ever so little1 to  
the power and beauty of colour1  of a   
,titian or a ,paul ,veronese4 99        
99 ,and have we not1 generally1 imbibed 
more of the trick or       method of    
colour1 of the master1 than of his      
inspiration--       more1 in short1 of  
the real than the ideal8    ,is it mere 
heresy in art1 or is it a brighter light

 dawning upon us  here1 that seems to   
say1 that we have learned and achieved  
more1 in  studying the glowing limbs of 
an ,arab child as it plays amongst these
  wild palmettos--because we worked with
 a background of such sea and sky  as we
 never saw in any picture of the        
',finding of ,moses2' and because in    
the painting of the child1 we had not   
perforce to learn any 'master's'  trick 
of colour1 nor to follow conventional   
lines8    ,and do we not1 amongst other 
things1 learn to distinguish between the
  true and conventional rendering of the
 form1 colour and character1 of         
palm-trees1 aloes and cacti8    ,first  
of the palm4 ,do we not soon discover   
how much more of beauty1  of suggested  
strength1 of grace1 lightness and       
variety of colour and  texture1 there is
 in this one stem1 that we vainly try to
 depict in  a wood engraving1 than we   
had previously any conception of2 and   
how  opposed to facts are the           
conventional methods of drawing         

palm-trees  7often with a straight stem 
and uniform leaves looking like a       
feather  broom on a straight stick71    
which we may find in almost any         
illustrated  book representing ,eastern 
scenes1 from ,constantinople to the ,sea
 of  ,galilee4    ,illustration3 #hadg  
,take1 for instance1 as a proof of      
variety in colour and grandeur of       
aspect1 this group of palm-trees 99 that
 have stood guard over the  ,maho-medan 
tombs for perhaps a hundred years2      
stained with time1 and  shattered with  
their fierce battle with the storms that
 sweep over the  promontory with        
terrible force4 9999 ,look at the beauty
 of their lines1 at  the glorious colour
 of their young leaves1 and the deep    
orange of those  they have shed1 like   
the plumage of some gigantic bird2 one  
of  their number has fallen from age1   
and lies crossways on the ground1       
half-concealed in the long grass and    
shrubs1 and it has lain there to  our   
knowledge1 undisturbed for years4 ,to   

paint the sun setting on these  glowing 
stems1 and to catch the shadows of their
 sharp pointed leaves1  as they are     
traced at one period of the day on the  
white walls of the  tombs1 is worth long
 waiting to be able to note down2 and to
 hit the  right tint to depict such     
shadows truly1 is an exciting triumph to
 us4         99 ,the palm-stem we have  
sketched is of a different variety      
and less formal in character than those 
generally seen in       the ,east2      
nevertheless1 there is endless variety  
in the       forms and leaves of any one
 of them1 if we judge from              
photographs4         9999 ,we had       
prepared a drawing of these palm-trees  
in       sunlight2 but perhaps ,mr4     
,severn's view of them in a storm1      
will be thought more characteristic4    
,second of the aloe2 and here we make as
 great a discovery as with the  palm4   
,have we not been taught 7in paintings7 
from our youth up1 that the  aloe puts  
forth its blue riband-like leaves in    

uniform fashion1 like  so many starched 
pennants1 which painters often express  
with one or two  strokes of the brush2  
and are we not told by botanists that it
 flowers  but once in a hundred years8  
,look at that aloe hedgerow a little    
distance from us that stretches  across 
the country1 like a long blue rippling  
wave on a calm sea1 and  which1 as we   
approach it1 seems thrown up            
fantastically and irregularly  by       
breakers to a height of six or eight    
feet1 and which 7like the  sea71 on a   
nearer view changes its opaque cold blue
 tint1 to a rich  transparent green and 
gold4 ,approach them closely1 walk under
 their  colossal leaves1 avoid their    
sharp spear-points and touch their soft 
pulpy stems4 ,what wonderful variety    
there is in their forms1 what           
transparent beauty of colour1 what      
eccentric shadows they cast upon each   
other1 and with what a grand spiral     
sweep some of the young shoots rear     
upwards6 ,so tender and pliable are     

they1 that in some positions a child    
might snap their leaves1 and yet so     
wonderful is the distribution of        
strength1 that they would resist at     
spear-point the approach of a lion1  and
 almost turn a charge of cavalry4 ,if we
 snap off the point of one of  the      
leaves it is a needle1 and a thread     
clings to it which we may  peel off down
 the stem a yard long--needle and       
thread--nature-pointed1                 
nature-threaded6 ,should not artists see
 these things8 ,should not poets  read  
of them8    ,here we are inclined to    
ask1 if the aloe flowers but once in a  
hundred  years1 how is it that          
everywhere in ,algeria1 we see plants of
 all ages  with their long flowering    
stems1 some ten or twelve feet high8    
,have they  combined this year to       
flower1 or are botanists at fault8      
,of the cactus1 which also grows in wild
 profusion1 we could say almost  as much
 as of the palms and aloes1 but it might
 seem like repetition4  ,suffice it1    

that our studies of their separate      
leaves were the minutest  and most      
rewarding labour we achieved1 and that  
until we had painted the  cactus and the
 palmetto growing together1 we had never
 understood the  meaning of 'tropical   
vegetation4'    ,illustration3 #jaea    
,many other subjects we obtain at the   
,bouzareah2 simple perhaps1 and         
apparently not worth recording1 but of  
immense value to a student of  ,nature4 
,is it nothing1 for instance1 for a     
painter to have springing up  before him
 in this clear atmosphere1 delicate     
stems of grass1 six feet  high1 falling 
over in spray of golden leaves against a
 background of  blue sea2 darting       
upward1 sheer1 bright1 and transparent  
from a  bank covered with the prickly   
pear1 that looks by contrast1 like the  
rock-work from which a fountain springs8
 ,is it nothing to see amongst  all this
 wondrous overgrowth of gigantic leaves1
 and amongst the tender  creepers and   
the flowers1 the curious knotted and    

twisted stem of the  vine1 trailing     
serpent-like on the ground1 its surface 
worn smooth with  time8 ,is it nothing  
for an artist to learn practically1 what
 'white  heat' means8    ,it is well    
worth coming to ,north ,africa in       
winter1 if only to see the  flowers1 but
 of these we cannot trust ourselves to  
speak--they must be  seen and painted4  
,it is difficult to tear ourselves away 
from this spot1 and especially  tempting
 to dwell upon these details1 because   
they have seldom been  treated of       
before2 but perhaps the question may    
occur to some--are  such subjects as we 
have depicted worth painting1 or1       
indeed1 of any  prolonged or separate   
study8 ,let us endeavour to answer it by
 another  question4 ,are the waves worth
 painting1 by themselves8 ,has it not   
occurred to one or two artists 7not to  
many1 we admit7 that the waves of  the  
sea have never yet been adequately      
painted2 and have never had their  due1 
so to speak1 because it has always been 

considered necessary to  introduce      
something else into the composition1 be 
it only a rope1 a  spar1 or a deserted  
ship8 ,has it not been discovered       
7though only of  late years7 that there 
is scope for imagination and poetry1 and
 all the  elements of a great and       
enthralling picture1 in the drawing of  
waves  alone2 and should there not be1  
if nobly treated1 interest enough in  a 
group of colossal vegetation in a       
brilliant atmosphere1 without the  usual
 conventional adjuncts of figures and   
buildings8    ,so far1 whilst sketching 
at the ,bouzareah1 we have spoken only  
of the  foreground2 but we have been all
 the time in the presence of the most   
wonderful panorama of sea and land1 and 
have watched so many changing  aspects  
from these heights1 that we might fill a
 chapter in describing  them alone4     
,the view northward over the            
,mediterranean1 westward towards ,sidi  
,ferruch1 southward across the plains to
 the ,atlas1 eastward towards  ,algiers 

and the mountains of ,kabylia beyond2   
each point so distant from  the other   
that1 according to the wind or time of  
day1 it partook of  quite distinct      
aspects1 fill up so many pictures in our
 mind's eye  that a book might be       
written1 called ',the ,bouzareah1' as   
seen under the  different phases of     
sunshine and storm4    ,it has often    
been objected to these ,eastern scenes1 
that they have 'no  atmosphere1' and no 
gradation of middle distance2 that there
 is not  enough repose about them1 that 
they lack mystery and are altogether    
wanting in the poetry of cloudland4     
,but there are clouds4 ,we have seen1   
for the last few mornings 7looking      
through the arched windows of the great 
aloe-leaves7 little companies of  small 
white clouds1 casting clearly-defined   
shadows across the distant  sea1 and    
breaking up the horizon line with their 
soft white folds1    ',they come like   
shadows1 so depart4'    --reappearing   
and disappearing by some mysterious law1

 but seldom  culminating in rain4       
,yes1 there are clouds4 ,look this time 
far away towards the horizon line       
across the bay1 and watch that rolling  
sea which looks like foam1 that  rises  
higher and higher as we watch it1       
darkening the sky1 and soon  enveloping 
us in a kin of sea fog1 through which   
the sun gleams dimly  red1 whilst the   
white walls of the tombs appear cold and
 grey against a  leaden sky4 ,see it all
 pass away again across the plain of the
 ,mitidja1  and disappear in the shadows
 of the lesser ,atlas4 ,there is a hush 
in the  breeze and all is bright again1 
but a storm is coming4    ,illustration3
 #jaeg    ,take shelter1 if you have    
courage1 inside one of the ,marabouts'  
tombs  7there is plenty of space71      
whilst a tempest rages that should wake 
the  dead before ,mahomet's coming4 ,sit
 and wait in there1 perhaps an hour1    
whilst one or two strong gusts of wind  
pass over1 and then all is still  again2
 and so dark that we can see nothing    

inside but the light of a  pipe in one  
corner4 ,we get impatient1 thinking that
 it is passing off4    ,but it comes at 
last4 ,it breaks over the tombs1 and    
tears through the  plantation1 with a   
tremendous surging sound1 putting to    
flight the ,arabs  on guard1 who wrap   
their bournouses about them and hurry   
off to the  village1 with the cry of    
',allah il ,allah2' leaving the care of 
the tombs  to the palms1 that have stood
 guard over them so long4 ,oh1 how they 
fight and struggle in the wind6 how they
 creak1 and moan1 and strike  against   
one another1 like human creatures in the
 thick of battle6  ,how they rally side 
by side1 and wrestle with the           
wind--crashing down  suddenly against   
the walls of the tomb1 and scattering   
their leaves over  us2 then rallying    
again1 and fighting the storm with human
 energy and  persistence6    ,it is a   
fearful sight--the rain falling in      
masses1 but nearly  horizontally1 and   
with such density that we can see but a 

few yards from  our place of            
shelter--and it is a fearful sound1 to  
hear the palm-trees  shriek in the wind4
    ,there was one part of the scene we 
could not describe1 one which no  other 
than ,dante's pen1 or ,dor's pencil1    
could give any idea of2 we  could not   
depict the confused muttering sound and 
grinding clatter 7if  we may call it    
so71 that the battered and wounded aloes
 made amongst  themselves1 like maimed  
and dying combatants trodden under foot4
 ,many  scenes in nature have been      
compared to a battle-field2 we have seen
  sheaves of corn blown about by the    
wind1 looking like the tents of a       
routed host2 but this scene was beyond  
parallel--the hideous contortion1  the  
melancholy aspect of destruction1 the   
disfigured limbs in hopeless  wreck1 the
 weird and ghastly forms that writhed   
and groaned aloud1 as  the storm made   
havoc with them4    ,and they made havoc
 with each other4 ,what would the reader
 say1 if  he saw the wounds inflicted by

 some of the young leaves on the parent 
stems--how they pierce and transfix1 and
 sometimes saw into each  other1 with   
their sharp serrated edges1 as they sway
 backwards and  forwards in the wind4   
,he would say perhaps that no sea       
monster or  devil-fish1 could seem more 
horrible1 and we wish him no wilder     
vision  than to be near them at night1  
when disturbed by the wind4    ,we have 
scarcely alluded to the palmetto-leaves 
and branches that filled  the air1 to   
the sound of rushing water1 to the      
distant roar of the sea1  nor to many   
other aspects of the storm4 ,it lasted1 
not much more than  an hour1 but the    
water covered the floor of our little   
temple before  the rain subsided1 and   
the ground a few feet off where we had  
sat1 was  completely under water4       
,everything was steaming with vapour1   
but the  land was refreshed1 and the    
dark earth was richer than we had seen  
it  for months--there would be no dust  
in ,algiers until to-morrow4            

,illustration3 #jafc          ,,chapter 
,,vii4 ,,blidah--,,medeah--,,the ,,atlas
 ,,mountains4    ,illustration3 #iafe   
,,he ,atlas ,mountains1 of which we have
 spoken so often1 are almost  separated 
from the hills of the ,sahel on which   
the town of ,algiers is  built1 by the  
broad plain of the ,mitidja1 averaging  
between twenty and  thirty miles across2
 and at the inland extremity of this    
plain1 nestling  close under the shadow 
of the lesser ,atlas1 is situated the   
town of  ,blidah1 half ,arab1 half      
,french1 with its little population of  
,european  colonists and traders2 its   
orange-groves and its orange-merchants1 
who  here pass their monotonous1        
semi-successful lives--varied by        
occasional  earthquakes and ,arab       
meutes4    ,it was not particularly to  
see ,blidah1 but because it was on the  
high  road to the ,atlas ,mountains1 and
 to ,medeah1 a strongly fortified town  
situated #bijj feet above the           
sea-level--approached by a military road

  cut through the celebrated gorge of   
',la ,chiffa'--that two of our party    
left ,algiers on horseback1 on the #adth
 of ,december1 on a sketching           
expedition4    ,we made other           
interesting tours at different times2   
but it will be  sufficient for our      
purpose to speak of two expeditions--the
 one to  ,medeah2 the other1 to the     
celebrated ',fort ,napolon1' on the     
,kabyle  ,hills4    ,it seems to say    
something for the peculiarly            
invigorating character  of the climate  
that1 at an average temperature of #gj  
,fahrenheit1 our  little horses did     
their thirty or forty miles a day1 laden
 with our  well-stored saddle-bags and  
sketching paraphernalia2 and it speaks  
volumes for the security with which     
travellers can move about from town  to 
town1 that we were merely by chance     
provided with firearms1 and that  we    
started without any guide or escort4 99 
99 ,at the time we speak of1 journeys   
into the interior were       much less  

frequent than they are now2 when there  
is a       railway to ,blidah1 and a    
diligence to the ,fort ,napolon4    ,we 
pass through the eastern gate before    
sunrise1 and winding up the  hills      
behind ,mustapha ,suprieure 7keeping to 
the road7 we begin to  descend on the   
southern side and have the broad plain  
of the ,mitidja  before us1 just as the 
day is breaking4 ,as we come down       
towards the  plain1 we pass several     
farms of the ,french colonists2 and here
 and  there1 a tobacco plantation where 
both ,arabs and ,french are employed4   
,at ,birkadem1 which is in the midst of 
a farming district1 we halt to          
breakfast1 and run considerable risk of 
getting into a controversy  on ,french  
colonization1 with some friendly and    
pleasant1 but rather  desponding        
agriculturists4    ,but1 happily for    
ourselves and for our readers1 we do not
 attempt to  master the subject1 and    
with a sketch of the little ,moorish caf
 with  its marble columns and arcades1  

we continue our journey2 over a wide    
waste--half moorland1 half              
desert--passing at intervals little     
oases  of cultivation1 with houses1     
shrubs and gardens surrounding4         
,straight  before us1 apparently only a 
few miles off1 but in reality twenty1   
stretches the chain of the lesser       
,atlas2 the dark shadows here and       
there1 pointing out the approaches to a 
higher range beyond4    ,at the foot of 
the mountains we can distinctly see with
 our glasses1  the white ,moorish houses
 and villas that are built near ,blidah1
 and the  thick clusters of trees that  
shelter them4 ,our way across the plain 
for  the next two or three hours is     
rather solitary1 and although we keep up
  a steady pace1 we seem to get no      
nearer to our destination4 ,we pass a   
number of ,arabs leading camels1 and    
overtake a troop of twenty or thirty    
donkeys1 laden with goods and ridden by 
their owners 7who sit upon the  top of  
their piles71 shambling along almost as 

fast as a horse can trot4  ,they beat us
 hollow before noon1 because they never 
stop1 and reach  ,bouffarik1 the midday 
resting-place1 long before us4    ,at   
,bouffarik we are again amongst the     
colonists1 and hear the peculiar        
,french dialect of ,provence and        
,languedoc1 with occasional snatches of 
,german and ,maltese4 ,we rest until    
about two hours of sunset1 and become   
thoroughly imbued with the idea that we 
must be again in the south  of ,france2 
so completely have the ,french realised1
 in the midst of  an ,african plain1 the
 dull uniformity of a poor ,french town1
 with its  'place1' its one street of   
cobble-stones1 and its two rows of      
trees4  ,here we can obtain bad coffee1 
just as we can in ,france1 and read the 
',moniteur' but four days old4 ,it is   
altogether ,french1 and when the  white 
,arab mare belonging to one of our party
 turns restive at starting  again1 and  
proceeds through the village on its hind
 legs2 it is just  in time to remind us 

that it was here that ,horace ,vernet   
worked1 and  painted those rampant white
 steeds that we know so well1 in the    
centre  of his battle pictures4 ,the war
 horse1 7with the light upon him7 was   
more to ,horace ,vernet perhaps1 than   
the glory of the whole plain of the     
,mitidja2 but how he could have lived in
 ,algeria so long1 and have been  so    
little influenced by the scene around   
him1 it is hard to tell4    ,it is      
tempting 7indeed it is almost impossible
 to avoid7 at ,bouffarik1  going a      
little into the question of             
colonization1 and speaking from         
personal observation1 of the progress   
made during the last few years4  ,but as
 ,english people care little or nothing 
for the prospects of  ,algeria1 we will 
merely remark en passant1 that the      
insurmountable  evil of ,algeria being  
too near the home country1 seems to     
blight its  prospects even here1 and    
that the want of confidence displayed by
  private capitalists retards all       

progress4 ,nearly all the capital       
employed by the colonists at ,bouffarik 
and ,blidah has been raised by a        
paternal government2 but1               
notwithstanding help from the home      
country1  the tide of wealth neither    
flows nor ebbs1 with great rapidity4    
,at ,bouffarik we see the ,arabs calmly 
settled under ,french rule1 and         
learning the arts of peace2 taking to   
husbandry and steam ploughs1 and        
otherwise progressing in a scientific   
and peaceful direction4 ,we see  them in
 the evening1 sitting by their cottages 
with their half-naked  children1 looking
 prosperous and happy enough1 and hear  
them droning to  them in that monotonous
 'singsong' that is so irritating to the
 ear4    ,there is a musician at the    
door of our hostelry now1 who is as     
great a  nuisance as any ,italian organ 
grinder in ,mayfair2 he taps on a little
  piece of stretched parchment1 and     
howls without ceasing4 ,it is given to  
the inhabitants of some countries1 who  

have what is commonly called 'no  ear   
for music' to hum and to drone in more  
sensitive ears to the point  of         
distraction1 and it seems to be the     
special attribute of the ,arab to  fill 
the air with monotonous sounds2 when he 
is on a journey or resting  from it1 it 
is the same--he hums and moans like a   
creature in torment4  ,in contact with  
,europeans we perhaps see him at his    
worst2 for however  orderly and useful a
 member of society he may be1 however   
neat and  clean1 there is something     
cringing and artificial in him at the   
best4  ,but we must hasten on to        
,blidah4    ,again we cross a wide      
plain1 again do we overtake and are     
overtaken by1  the tribe of donkeys2 and
 just as the sun goes down we enter the 
city  gates together1 dismounting in the
 principal square1 which is filled  with
 idlers1 chiefly ,french soldiers and   
poor ,arabs who have learned to  beg4   
,we had chosen the time for this journey
 when the moon was nearly  full1 and our

 first near view of the town was by     
moonlight4 ,nothing can  be conceived   
more beautiful than ,blidah by night1   
with its little  white domes and towers1
 and the mountains looming indistinctly 
in the  background4 ,in the ,moorish    
quarter1 the tower of the principal     
,mosque  stands out clearly defined in  
the moonlight1 whilst all around  it    
cluster the little flat-roofed houses1  
set in masses of dark  foliage--the     
olives and the date-trees1 and the      
sharp-pointed spires of  the cypresses1 
just tinged with a silver light4    ,so 
peaceful1 so beautiful does it look at  
night1 so complete the  repose with     
which we have always associated ,blidah1
 that it is a rude  disenchantment to   
learn that but a few years ago1 this    
city was upheaved  and tossed about1    
like the waves of the sea4 ,in #ahbe1   
eight or nine  thousand people perished 
from an earthquake2 and in #ahff1 a lady
 who was  staying at our hotel1 thus    
wrote home to her friends3 99         99

 ',last ,winter in ,algeria1'  by ,mrs4 
,h4 ,lloyd ,evans4         ',i was      
roused from sleep by a sound as of some 
one beating       the floor above1 and  
the walls on every side4 ,it increased  
rapidly in violence1 till the whole     
house shook and rocked       and seemed 
giving way beneath our feet4 ,i saw the 
wall in       the corner of the room    
split open1 and immediately             
afterwards masses of plaster fell from  
the ceiling and       walls1 bringing   
clouds of dust and a darkness as of     
night4         ',on the ,place it was a 
fearful scene1 people came tearing      
down the neighbouring streets1 women and
 children ran       aimlessly hither and
 thither1 shrieking wildly1 men uttering
       hoarse sounds of terror1 whilst  
the ground heaved and       trembled    
beneath our feet1 and we gazed at the   
surrounding       houses in expectant   
horror2 it seemed as if they must fall  
like a pack of cards4 ,the young trees  
rocked and swayed1 the       flagstaff  

waved backwards and forwards--the wind  
moaning1       the rain pouring down1   
whilst above all rose1 ever and anon1   
the sound of cavalry trumpets and the   
rolling of the drum1       calling on   
the troops to quit their tottering      
barracks4         ',the ,arabs alone    
stalked about unmoved1 shrugging their  
shoulders and muttering ,it is destiny6'
    ,the air is delightful at ,blidah1  
and the little country houses1 with     
their groves of orange-trees1 their     
gardens and vineyards1 have been        
pointed out by travellers1 as some of   
the most desirable spots on earth4  ,the
 extract above may tend to qualify the  
longings of some people2 but  we think  
we might 'take our chance' at ,blidah1  
as the ,neapolitans do  near            
,vesuvius--there are so many            
compensations4    ,early in the morning 
we are again on our way1 and as we leave
 the  western gate1 the donkeys1 with   
their dirty drivers1 scramble out with  
us and again play the game of the       

tortoise and the hare4    ,the gorge of 
,la ,chiffa is one of the principal     
approaches to the  mountains1 through   
which a military road is cut to ,medeah4
 ,the first  part is wild and rocky1 the
 road passing between almost            
perpendicular  cliffs1 carried sometimes
 by masonry over a chasm at a height of 
several  thousand feet4 ,we ride for    
miles through a valley of most solitary 
grandeur1 with no sounds but the rushing
 of the torrent and the  occasional     
cries of monkeys4 ,we pass by one       
celebrated waterfall called  ',ruisseau 
des ,singes1' and are otherwise reminded
 of the presence of  monkeys1 by their  
pelting us with large stones1 which they
 dislodge from  their hiding-places     
above our heads4    ,we are at times so 
shut in by the rocks1 that we can       
scarcely discover  any outlet1 but after
 a few hours' ascent1 we come suddenly  
upon quite  a different scene4 ,what is 
it that delights the eye and that       
thrills  us with pleasurable emotions1  

calling up memories of green lanes and  
,england1 pastoral8',tis the plash of   
water1 and the trickling1 tinkling  play
 of a running stream1 winding and       
winding down to the swollen  torrent    
that we crossed just now4    ,here under
 the shadow and shelter of the          
mountains--refreshed by rains  that they
 in the plains know not of1 and where   
the heat of a midday sun  can scarcely  
approach--we find a cottage1 a little   
farm1 green pastures1  cattle grazing1  
trees1 flowers and children2 the stream 
flowing through  all1 bright1 deep1 and 
sparkling1 with green banks1 bullrushes 
and lilies  of the valley of the ,atlas4
 ,a few poor emigrants have settled down
 in  this corner of the world1 as       
quietly1 and we may add as securely1 as 
if  a sandy plain did not divide them   
from everything kindred and civilized4  
,we make our midday halt under the shade
 of chesnut-trees1 and  sketch2 one     
great defect of our drawings being1 that
 they are far too  pastoral--they would 

not be admitted by judges1 to represent 
,africa at  all6 ,nothing in this land  
of strong contrasts could equal the     
change  from ,nature1 untilled1         
unfruitful1 stern and forbidding2 to    
this little  farm-house1 as it might be 
in ,wales1 surrounded by trees and      
watered by  a sparkling stream4         
,continuing our journey up the gorge1   
walking1 riding1 clambering1 and        
resting1 by turns1 we do not reach      
,medeah until after dark4 ,during the   
last few miles our horses are           
troublesome1 and will not be persuaded  
to pass close to any rock or brushwood1 
being evidently nervous of some  sudden 
attack1 or surprise2 and so we creep    
along silently and in single  file1     
trusting chiefly to our horses to keep  
to the path4    ,at last the            
long-looked-for lights of ,medeah       
appear1 and in a quarter  of an hour    
afterwards we are inside the            
fortifications2 and with a  ',voyageurs1
 monsieur' to the sentinel at the gate1 

we pass under the  dark arches of a     
,roman aqueduct--casting a deep shadow  
over the town as  the moon shines out1  
now obscured again by a passing         
cloud--like some  solemn dissolving view
 of ,roman power1 or phantom monument of
 the past4    ,at ,medeah1 we find      
everything much the same as at ,blidah2 
a little  rougher and poorer perhaps1   
but the same mixture of ,french and     
,moorish  buildings4 ,fine old mosques1 
courtyards after the style of the       
,alhambra1  and carved doorways of very 
early date2 but brick fortifications1   
young  ,french soldiers1 estamints1 and 
a ',place' with half-dead trees1 are    
more prominent features2 and here1 at a 
height of nearly #cjjj feet above  the  
sea1 set deep in the heart of the       
,atlas1 civilization may again  be seen1
 doing its work--the ,arabs indulging in
 absinthe freely1 and  playing at cards 
with their conquerors4    ,the beautiful
 mountain scenery south of ,medeah led  
us to spend some time  in sketching and 

in exploring the country4 ,in spite of  
its wildness and  solitariness we could 
wander about with perfect security1     
within a day  or two's journey of the   
,french outposts4 ,the crisp keen air at
 this  altitude tempted us on and on1   
through the most deserted region that   
can  be imagined4 ,the mountain-ranges  
to the south were like an undulating    
sea1 divided from us by lesser hills and
 little plains1 with here and  there    
valleys1 green and cultivated2 but the  
prevailing character of the  scenery was
 rocky and barren4 ,the great beauty was
 in the clouds that  passed over at     
intervals1 spreading a grateful shade1  
and casting  wonderful shadows on the   
rocks4 ,the rain would fall heavily     
through them  sometimes for three or    
four minutes1 like summer showers1 and  
the little  dried-up torrent beds would 
trickle for a while2 the ,arabs would   
collect  a few drops1 and then all would
 be gone--the clouds1 the rivulets1 and 
every sign of moisture on the           

ground--and the mountains would stand   
out  sharp and clear against the sky1   
with that curious pinky hue1 so well    
portrayed in the background of ,lewis's 
picture of ',a camp on ,mount  ,sinai4' 
,here we could pitch our tent in the    
deepest solitude1 and  romance as much  
as we pleased without fear of           
interruption4 ,the only  variation to   
the almost death-like silence that      
prevailed1 would be  the distant cry of 
a jackal1 which disturbed us for a      
moment1 or the  moaning of the wind in  
some far-off valley1 for the air seemed 
never  still on these heights4 ,a stray 
monkey or two1 would come and furtively 
peep at our proceedings1 but would be   
off again in an instant1 and there  were
 no birds2 indeed1 since we left ,blidah
 we had scarcely heard their  voices4   
,the few ,arab tribes that cultivated   
the valleys1 seldom came  near us2 so   
that we sometimes heard no voices but   
our own1 from morning  till night4      
,one day proved an exception4 ,we had   

been making a drawing of the  prospect  
due south1 in order to get the effect of
 the sun's rays upon a  sandy plateau   
that stretched between us and the next  
range of mountains3  it was little more 
than a study of colour and effect1 for  
there was  not much to break the        
monotony of the subject--a sand-plain   
bounded  by barren rocks4 ,we had nearly
 finished our work1 when two dark specks
  appeared suddenly on the sky-line1 and
 quickly descending the rocks1  began to
 cross the plain towards us4 ,with our  
telescope1 we soon made  out that they  
were horsemen at full gallop1 and we    
could tell this1 not  by the figures    
themselves1 but by the long shadows that
 the afternoon  sun cast from them upon 
the plain4 ,in a few minutes they rode  
up to  our tent4 ,they were not1 as our 
porters had insisted1 some ,arabs on a  
reconnoitering expedition1 but two      
,american gentlemen on hired horses     
from ,algiers1 who were scampering about
 the country without any guide  or      

escort4 ,they had come from ,milianah   
that day1 they would be at ,blidah      
to-morrow1 and at ,algiers the next day1
 in time to 'catch the boat for         
,europe6'    ,there was an end to all   
romance about desert scenes and being   
'alone  with ,nature we could not get   
rid of the western world1 we were       
tourists  and nothing more4    ,but it  
was pleasant to hear the ,english       
language spoken1 and delightful  to     
record that these gentlemen neither     
bragged of their exploits nor  favoured 
us with what are called ',americanisms4'
 ,in short1 we are able  to speak of our
 interview 7they came back with us as   
far as ,medeah7  without repeating any  
of those bits of smart conversation1    
that seem  inseparable from the record  
of such rencontres4 ,these gentlemen had
  taken a glance at a great deal1 in    
four or five days1 and had been         
7perhaps it did not much matter7 once or
 twice1 into a little danger2  they had 
seen the cedar forests1 the ',fort      

,napolon1' and the principal  sights1   
and were now on their way home4 ,they   
had1 however1 done one  thing1 in which 
they evidently felt unmixed             
satisfaction1 though they  did not      
express it in so many words--they had   
been rather farther into  the interior1 
than any of their countrymen4    ,before
 leaving the mountains1 we should answer
 a question that we have  been asked    
repeatedly1 ',what of the ,african lion1
 so celebrated by ,jules  ,grard8' ,we  
answer1 that we did not penetrate far   
enough for 'sport1'  of this kind2      
indeed we scarcely ever heard of any    
lions4 ,once only  our horses stopped   
and trembled violently1 and would not   
pass a thicket  without a long detour2  
and once 7only once7 we heard the lion's
 roar1  not far off4 ,it is a sound that
 carries a dread with it not soon       
forgotten1 and the solemnity of which1  
when echoed from the mountains1  it is  
not easy to describe4 ,perhaps the only 
person who was ever  flippant in        

speaking of lions1 was ,gordon ,cumming1
 but then he used  to go amongst them   
7according to his own account71         
single-handed1 to  'select specimens'   
before firing6    ,but in the solitude  
of these mountain wanderings1 we have   
had  opportunities of seeing one phase  
of ,arab life that we had really come   
out to see1 and which was alone worth   
the journey4    ,we had started early   
one morning from ,blidah1 but not so    
early1 that in  deference to the wishes 
of some of our companions1 we had first 
attended  service in a chapel1 dedicated
 to ',our ,lady of ,succour4' ,we went  
into  the little building1 which1 like  
some rare exotic1 was flourishing       
alone1 surrounded by the most discordant
 elements--situated hard by  a mosque   
and close to some noisy ,arab dwellings4
 ,service was being  performed in the   
usual manner1 the priests were bowing   
before a tinsel  cross1 and praying 7in 
a language of their own7 to a coloured  
print of  ',our ,lady1' in a gilt frame4

 ,there were the customary chauntings1  
the swinging of censers1 the creaking of
 chairs1 the interchanging of  glances1 
and the paying of sous4 ,sins were      
confessed through a hole in  the wall1  
and holy water was administered to the  
faithful1 with a brush4  ,everything was
 conducted with perfect decorum1 and was
 7as it seemed  to an eyewitness7 the   
most materialistic expression of        
devotion it were  possible to devise4   
,before the evening of the same day1 we 
make a halt amongst the  mountains4 ,a  
few yards from us we see in the evening 
light a promontory2  upon it some       
figures1 motionless1 and nearly the same
 colour as the  rocks--,arabs watching  
the setting sun4 ,the twilight has faded
 so rapidly  into darkness1 that we have
 soon to put by our work1 and can see no
  objects1 distinctly1 excepting this   
promontory2 on which the sun still      
shines through some unseen valley1 and  
lights up the figures as they  kneel in 
prayer4 ,the solemnity of the scene     

could hardly be conveyed  to the mind of
 the reader in words1 its               
picturesqueness we should  altogether   
fail to do justice to2 but its beauty   
and suggestiveness1 set  us upon a train
 of thought1 which1 in connection with  
the ceremony of  the morning1 we may be 
pardoned for dwelling upon in a few     
words4    ,it was not the first nor the 
last time1 that we had witnessed the    
,arabs  at prayer1 and had studied with 
a painter's eye their attitudes of      
devotion1 the religious fervour in their
 faces1 and their perfect  abandon4 ,the
 charm of the scene was in its primitive
 aspect1 and in  the absence of all the 
accessories1 which ,europeans are taught
 from  their youth up1 to connect in    
some way1 with every act of public      
worship2 and who could help being struck
 by the sight of all this               
earnestness--at these heartfelt prayers8
 ,what does the ,arab see1 in this      
mystery of beauty1 in its daily         
recurring 'splendour and decline8 ,shall

  we say that the rising and the setting
 of the sun behind the hills1 may  not  
7to the rude souls of men who have      
learned their all from ,nature71  point 
out the entrance of that ,paradise1     
which their simple faith has  taught    
them1 they shall one day enter and      
possess8    ,if it were possible in     
these days1 when religious art assumes  
the most  fantastic forms1 to create    
ever so slight a re-action against a    
school  which has perhaps held its own  
too long--if it were not heresy to  set 
forth as the noblest aim for a painter1 
that he should depict  the deepest      
emotion1 the simplest faith1 the most   
heartfelt devotion1  without the        
accessories of purple and fine linen1   
without marble columns  or gilded       
shrines1 without furniture1 without     
,madonnas and without  paste--then we   
might point confidently to the picture  
before us to aid  our words4    ,what if
 the heaven prayed for1 and the prophet 
worshipped1 seem to a  ,christian       

unorthodox and worse--there is sincerity
 here1 there is faith1  devotion1       
ecstasy1 adoration4 ,what more1 indeed1 
does the painter hope  for--what does he
 seek2 and what more has he ever found  
in the noblest  work of ,christian art8 
,if he lack enthusiasm1 still1 before a 
scene so strange1 let him think  for a  
moment what manner of worship this1 of  
the ,arabs is2 and contrast  their      
system with that of the ,vatican4 ,the  
religion of the ,arabs is a  very       
striking thing1 and its position and    
influence on their lives might  put many
 professing ,christians to the blush4   
,an honest1 earnest faith  is theirs1 be
 it right or wrong4 ,if we examine it at
 all1 we find it  something more than a 
silly superstition2 we find that it has 
been 'a  firm belief and hope amongst   
twelve millions of men in ,arabia alone1
  holding its place in their hearts for 
more than twelve hundred years4'  ,it is
 a religion of ,duty1 an acting up to   
certain fixed principles  and defined   

laws of life1 untrammelled by many      
ceremonies1 unshaken by  doubts2 a      
following out to the letter1 the written
 law1 as laid down for  them by         
,mahomet1 as the rule and principle of  
their lives4    ,if the whole system of 
the ,mahommedan faith breaks down 7as we
 admit it  does7 on examination1 it does
 not affect our position1 viz43--that we
  have here an exhibition of religious  
fervour which seldom reaches to         
fanaticism1 and is essentially sincere4 
,regarding the scene from a  purely     
artistic point of view1 we can imagine  
no more fitting subject  for a painter1 
than this group of ,arabs at their      
devotions--,nature their  temple1 its   
altar the setting sun1 their faces      
towards ,mecca1 their  hearts towards   
the ,prophet1 their every attitude      
breathing devotion and  faith4          
,setting aside all questions of         
orthodoxy1 regarding for our particular 
purpose both civilised and uncivilised  
worshippers under their general         

religious aspect--how would it 'strike  
that stranger' who1 descending  from    
another planet1 wondered why1 if men's  
,duty was so clearly placed  before     
them1 they did not follow it--how would 
he view the two great  phases of        
religious worship8 ,whose religion would
 seem most inspiring1  whose temple most
 fitting1 whose altar most glorious1    
whose religion  the most free from      
question2 the modern and enlightened1   
intrenched in  orthodoxy and enthroned  
in state2 or the benighted and          
un-regenerate1  but earnest1            
nature-loving and always sincere8    ,we
 shall have perhaps 7if we make a       
serious study of these subjects and  put
 our heart into the work71 to unlearn   
something that we have been  taught1    
about the steady painting of ,madonnas  
and angels1 in our  schools2 but1 if we 
do no more than make one or two sketches
 of such  scenes as the above1 we shall 
have added to our store of knowledge in 
a  rough and ready way2 and have        

familiarised ourselves with the sight of
  what1--though barbaric--is noble and  
true4    ,illustration3 #jaia           
,illustration3 #jaic          ,,chapter 
,,viii4 ,,kab ,,ylia--,,the ,,fort      
,,napol,,on4    ,illustration3 #iaic    
,t was almost impossible to take up a   
newspaper in ,algiers1 or to  converse  
for five minutes in a caf1 or at the    
club1 without the  'question ,kabyle'   
cropping up in some paragraph or        
conversation4 ,every  day there came    
contradictory news about the war1 that  
it would really  be over to-morrow or   
the next day1 or the next week4 ,it had 
lasted with  more or less activity for  
thirty years1 but now at last the       
smouldering  embers seemed to be dying  
out4    ,the ,djurjura mountains        
stretching eastward into ,kabylia1 which
 we  knew so well in their peaceful     
aspect1 with the sun shining upon their 
snow-clad summits from morning till     
night1 were still the theatre of  war4  
,in the heart of the mountains1 about   

sixty miles from ,algiers1  and at a    
height of nearly #cjjj feet above the   
sea1 the ,french army was  busily       
engaged in building a fortress1 in order
 to keep the ,kabyles  at bay and give  
protection to the colonists2 and whilst 
this work was  progressing with         
wonderful rapidity1 the outposts of the 
army were  carrying on a guerilla       
warfare with the unsubdued tribes4      
,their camps  were pitched on the       
various heights1 and the sound of the   
morning  rveille was generally succeeded
 by the 'ping' of the rifle from  some  
concealed ,kabyles1 and by a quick      
return volley from the ,french          
outposts4    ,we went to the ,fort      
,napoleon at the invitation of some     
,french officers1  who1 when they wrote 
to us1 imagined 7as all ,french people  
had imagined  a hundred times before7   
that the war was over1 and that it would
 be  a good opportunity to visit the    
camp and the fort1 in process of        
construction4 99 ,two easy days' journey

 on horseback1 halting for the  night at
 a caravanserai called ,les ,issers1    
brought us to ,tiziouzou1 a  small town 
and military depot on the borders of    
,kabylia1 at the foot of  the mountains1
 and but a few miles from the fort4 ,at 
,les ,issers we slept  upon the ground1 
each man by the side of his own horse1  
as there was  neither stabling nor      
sleeping accommodation to be had in the 
inn1 which  was crowded before we       
arrived1 with troops and war matriel4   
,to reach  this1 our first night's      
halting-place1 we had had some rough    
riding1  ending by fording in the       
evening1 a rapid river which rose above 
the  saddle-girths and nearly upset our 
active little horses4 ,the night was    
starlight1 and we lay down about fifty  
together1 with fires burning in a       
circle round us1 to prevent any         
surprise4         99 ,general ,randon   
laid the first stone of the ,fort       
,napolon       in ,june1 #aheg4 ,this   
fort1 which occupies an area of more    

than twenty acres1 and is built on most 
irregular ground1       was built in a  
few months4    ,the route from ,les     
,issers to ,tiziouzou was crowded with  
baggage-waggons  sticking in the mud1   
and with immense droves of camels and   
donkeys1  on their way to the fort4 ,the
 late rains had almost obliterated the  
military road 7which was said to extend 
all the way from ,algiers to  the ,fort 
,napolon71 and in some places it was    
turned into a river4 ,the  greater part 
of our route had been wild and          
uncultivated1 but as we  came near to   
,tiziouzou and approached the mountains1
 every valley was  luxuriant with       
vegetation1 fig-trees and olives grew in
 abundance1 the  former of enormous     
size4 ,but nearly every inhabitant was  
,french1 and we1  who had come to sketch
 and to see the ,kabyles1 were as yet   
disappointed  at finding none but       
,french soldiers1 ,european             
camp-followers1 and  camel-drivers1 on  
the way2 and when we arrived at         

,tiziouzou1 we were so  shut in by      
mountains on all sides1 that even the   
heights of ,beni-,raten  were concealed 
from view4 ,it was fortunate that we    
obtained the shelter  of a little inn on
 the night of our arrival1 for the rain 
fell steadily  in sheets of water1 until
 our wooden house was soaked through1   
and stood  like an island in the midst  
of a lake4    ,we sent our horses back  
to ,algiers1 and carrying our own       
knapsacks1 set  off in the early morning
 to walk up to the fort4 ,a lively      
cantinire  7attached to a regiment of   
,zouaves camped near ,tiziouzou7 walked 
with  us and led the way1 past one or   
two half-deserted ,kabyle villages1 by a
  short cut to the camp4 ,the military  
road by which the artillery had been    
brought up was about fifteen miles1 but 
by taking the steeper paths1 we  must   
have reduced the distance by more than  
half4 ,at one point of the  way the bare
 mountain side was so steep and slippery
 with the late rain1  that it was almost

 impossible to ascend it1 but some      
,arabs1 with an eye  to business worthy 
of the western world1 had stationed     
themselves here  with their camels to   
drag up pedestrians2 a camel's tail was 
let for two  sous and was in great      
request4 ,the latter part of the ascent 
was through  forests1 and groves of     
olive and cork trees1 looking cool and  
grey  amongst the mass of rich          
vegetation1 through which we had        
sometimes to  cut a path4    ,it was a  
wild walk1 but our merry little         
cantinire was so active and             
entertaining that we1 encumbered with   
knapsacks1 had enough to do to  keep up 
with her1 and indeed to comprehend the  
rapid little ,french  histories that she
 favoured us with4 ,every now and then  
we heard through  the trees the strains 
of ',partant pour la ,syrie1' or the    
rattle of a  regimental drum1 and came  
suddenly upon working parties on the    
road1  which the army boasts was made   
practicable in three months4    ,after  

about four hours' clambering1 we again  
emerge upon the road1 near  the summit1 
and in a few minutes more1 come in sight
 of the fort and the  pretty white tents
 of the camps on the surrounding hills4 
,here we must  pause a few minutes1 to  
give a picture of the state of things at
 the  ',fort ,napolon1' a few weeks     
before our arrival4 ,we are indebted to 
,lieut4-,col4 ,walmisley1 one of our    
countrymen who accompanied the          
expedition1 for the following graphic   
account of a sharp action with the      
,kabyles3--    ',daylight dawned upon   
the ,kabyle hills on the morning of the 
#bdth  ,june1 #aheg1 and its light      
streamed over the serried ranks of the  
second  division1 as1 under the command 
of ,general ,mac,mahon1 the head of the 
column marched out of the lines of      
,aboudid4    ',before it lay the heights
 of ,icheriden1 with its village and    
triple  row of barricades1 behind which 
the men of the ,beni ,menguillet        
anxiously  watched the progress of the  

foe4 ,the path of the column lay along a
  mountain ridge1 and it was strange to 
see that column of between six and      
seven thousand men1 advancing quietly   
and composedly1 the birds singing       
around them2 the ,kabyles crowning every
 available hillock1 the hawks and       
eagles slowly wheeling in large circles 
over their heads1 and the bright  rays  
of the morning sun gleaming on brighter 
bayonets4    9999999999    ',the ,kabyle
 barricades remained black and silent as
 ever2 not a bournous  was to be seen1  
as the #edth and the ,zouaves received  
orders to carry the  position at the    
point of the bayonet4 ,before them lay a
 ridge covered  with brushwood1         
affording capital shelter1 but at about 
sixty or seventy  paces from the        
stockades the brush had been cleared    
away1 and now the  occasional gleam of a
 bayonet1 the report of a musket or two 
fired  against the stockade1 the loud   
ringing of the trumpets1 as they gave   
forth in inspiriting tones the pas de   

charge1 and the wild shouting of  the   
men1 as they pushed their way forward1  
told of the progress of the  attack4    
',still the same stern heavy silence    
reigned over the hostile village4  ,was 
it indeed deserted1 or was it the       
silence of despair8 ,but now the  bugle 
notes became shriller and more exciting2
 the shots quicker and  more steady1 as 
emerging from the bush1 the attacking   
column rushed  forward to the attack4   
,sixty paces of greensward were before  
them3 but  instantly1 and as if by      
magic1 a thousand reports broke the     
silence of  the dark stockades1 a wild  
yell rose from their defenders1 as the  
hail  of lead fell on the advancing     
regiments1 and a long line of dead      
marked  the advance4 ,the ,kabyles      
leaning their pieces over the joints of 
the  trees1 where they were fitted into 
each other1 and through crevices and    
loopholes1 offered little or no mark    
themselves to the shot2 whilst not  a   
ball of theirs missed its aim4    ',but 

the ,zouaves were not to be daunted2 and
 leaving the ground dotted  with their  
dead and dying comrades1 on they rushed1
 a wild cheer rising  from their ranks1 
and a volley of balls pattering a reply4
 ,again the  line of fire burst from the
 dark stockade1 and the advancing column
  withered away4 ,the ground was strewn 
with fallen forms1 and the fire of  the 
stockade fell fast and sure4 ,the men   
gave way1 seeking the shelter  of the   
bushes2 their officers dashing to the   
front1 vainly attempting to  lead them  
on4 ,it was useless--even the sturdy    
,zouaves refused to cross  the deadly   
slope1 for to do so was death2 on the   
green slope1 across  which the balls    
hurried fast and thick1 lay whole ranks 
of ,french  uniforms4    ',the fire from
 stockade and bush raged fast and       
furious2 well kept up  on the side of   
the ,french1 more deadly on that of the 
,kabyles1 and still  the men would not  
advance over the uncovered space1 for it
 was certain  death4 ,two thousand      

,kabyle marksmen lined the loopholes1   
and the balls  now began to whiz round  
the heads of the generals and their     
staff4'    ,general ,mac,mahon1 who was 
wounded in this engagement1 at last     
resorted  to shells to dislodge the     
defenders2 the result was successful1   
and the  whole ended in a panic4        
',fast and furious now became the flight
 of the ,kabyles1 and all was  havoc and
 confusion4 ,the men of the ,legion1    
mixed up with the ,zouaves  and the     
#edth1 dashed after the fugitives1      
entering the villages with  them1 and   
bayoneting right and left with savage   
shouts1 whilst down the  steep sides of 
the hills1 away over the ridges to the  
right and to the  left1 the waving      
bournous might be seen in flight6'      
,the curtain fell upon the ,kabyle war  
soon after this action1 and large       
detachments of troops were at once told 
off to build the fort4 ,all  around1 on 
every promontory and hill1 the little   
white tents were  scattered thickly1 and

 the sound of the bugle1 and the sight  
of the red  kepis of the soldiers1      
prevailed everywhere4 ,but the war was  
practically  over1 civilians came up    
from ,algiers--some to see1 and some to 
trade--and quite a little colony sprung 
up4 ,and here1 on one of the  heights   
shown in our little sketch1 we establish
 ourselves again--whilst  the ,kabyle   
villages still smoulder in the distance1
 and revenge is deep  in the hearts of  
the insurgent tribes1 'one peaceful     
,english tent'  is pitched upon the     
heights of ,beni-,raten1 and its        
occupants devote  themselves to the     
uneventful pursuit of studying mountain 
beauty4 ,we  endeavour 7and with some   
success7 to ignore the military element2
 we  listen neither to the rveille1 nor 
to the too frequent crack of a  rifle2  
our pursuits are not warlike1 and1      
judging from the sights and  sounds that
 sometimes surround us1 we trust they   
never may be4    ,the view from this    
elevation is superb1--north1 south1 east

 and west1  there is a wondrous         
landscape1 but northward especially2    
where far above  the purple hills1      
higher than all but a few snowy peaks1  
there stretches  a horizontal line of   
blue1 that seems almost in the clouds4  
,nothing  gives us such a sense of      
height and distance1 as these accidental
 peeps  of the ,mediterranean1 and      
nothing could contrast more effectively 
than  the snowy peaks in sunlight1      
against the blue sea4    ,illustration3 
#jbjc    ,all this we are able to study1
 in perfect security and with very      
little  interruption2 sketching first   
one mountain side clothed with a mass   
of verdure2 another1 rocky1 barren1 and 
wild2 one day an olive-grove1  another a
 deserted ,kabyle village1 and so on1   
with an infinite variety  which would   
only be wearisome in detail4    ,and we 
obtain what is so valuable to an artist1
 and what is supposed  to be so rare in 
,africa--variety of atmospheric effect4 
,it is generally  admitted 7and we      

should be unwilling to contest the      
point71 that ,english  landscape is     
unrivalled in this respect1 and that it 
is only form and  colour1 that we may   
study with advantage in tropical        
climates2 but  directly we ascend the   
mountains1 we lose that still1 serene   
atmosphere  that has been called the    
'monotony of blue4'    ,we read often of
 ,african sun1 but very seldom of       
,african clouds and  wind4 ,to-day we   
are surrounded by clouds below us1 which
 come and  gather round the             
mountain-peaks and remain until evening4
 ,sometimes just  before sunset1 the    
curtain will be lifted for a moment1 and
 the hill  sides will be in a blaze of  
gold--again the clouds come round1 and  
do not disperse till nightfall2 and when
 the mountains are once  more revealed1 
the moon is up1 and they are of a silver
 hue--the sky  immediately above1       
remaining quite unclouded4 ,the air is  
soft on these  half-clouded days1 in    
spite of our height above the sea2 and  

the showers  that fall at intervals1    
turn the soil in the valleys into a     
hotbed for  forcing hothouse plants1 as 
we should call them in ,england4    ,the
 weather was nearly always fine1 and we 
generally found a little  military tent 
7lent to us by one of the ,staff7       
sufficient protection and  shelter1 even
 on this exposed situation4    ,but we  
must not forget the winds that lived in 
the valleys1 and came  up to where our  
tents were pitched--sometimes one at a  
time1 sometimes  three or four together4
 ,of all things that impressed us1      
during our stay  upon the ,kabyle hills1
 the beauty of the clouds1 the purple   
tints upon  the mountains1 and the wind1
 will be remembered best4 ,it is a      
common  phrase1 to 'scatter to the four 
winds2' but here the four winds came    
and met near our little camp1 and       
sometimes made terrible havoc with our  
belongings4 ,they came suddenly one day1
 and took up a tent1 and flung it  at a 
man and killed him2 another time they   

came sighing gently1 as if a  light     
breeze were all we need prepare for1 and
 in five minutes we found  ourselves in 
the thick of a fight for our            
possessions1 if not for our  lives4 ,and
 with the wind there came sometimes such
 sheets of rain1 that  turned the paths 
into watercourses1 and carried shrubs   
and trees down  into the valley2 all    
this happening whilst the sea was calm  
in the  distance1 and the sun was       
shining fiercely on the plains4 ,these  
were  rough days1 to be expected in late
 autumn and early spring1 but not to  be
 missed for a little personal           
discomfort1 for ,algeria has not been   
seen without a mountain storm4          
,before leaving ,kabylia1 we will take  
one or two leaves from our  note-book2  
just to picture to the reader 7who may  
be more interested  in what is going on 
at the camp1 than in the various phases 
of the  landscape7 the rather           
incongruous elements of which our little
 society  is made up4    ,there has been

 a general movement lately1 99 amongst  
the conquered  tribes1 who are beginning
 to re-establish themselves in their old
  quarters 7but under ,french rule71    
which brings together for the night     
about a hundred ,kabyles1 with their    
wives and children4         99          
,october1 #aheg4    ,around the camp    
this evening there are groups of men and
 women standing1  that bring forcibly to
 the mind1 those prints of the early    
patriarchs  from which we are apt to    
take our first and1 perhaps1 most vivid1
  impressions of ,eastern life2 and we  
cannot wonder at ,french artists        
attempting to illustrate ,scriptural    
scenes from incidents in ,algeria4      
,there are ,jacob and ,joseph1 as one   
might imagine them1 to the life2 ,ruth  
in the fields1 and ,rachel by the well2 
and there is a patriarch coming  down   
the mountain1 with a light about his    
head as the sun's last rays  burst upon 
him1 that ,herbert might well have seen1
 when he was painting  ,moses with the  

tables of the law4 ,the effect is       
accidental1 but it  is perfect in an    
artistic sense1 from the solemnity of   
the man1 the  attitude of his crowd of  
followers1 the grand mountain forms     
which are  partially lit up by gleams of
 sunset1 and the sharp shadows cast by  
the  throng4    ,this man may have been 
a warrior chief1 or the head of a tribe2
 he  was certainly the head of a large  
family1 who pressed round him to        
anticipate his wants and do him honour4 
,his children seemed to be  everywhere  
about him2 they were his furniture1 they
 warmed his tent and  kept out the wind1
 they begged for him1 prayed for him1   
and generally  helped him on his way4   
,in the ,koran there is a saying of     
similar purport  to the words 'happy is 
the man that hath his quiver full of    
them'--this  one had his quiver full of 
them1 indeed1 and whether he had ever   
done  much to deserve the blessing1 he  
certainly enjoyed it to the full4 99    
,looked upon as a coloured statue he    

was1 in some respects1 a perfect  type  
of beauty1 strength1 and dignified      
repose--what we might fitly  call a     
'study1' as he sat waiting1 whilst the  
women prepared his evening  meal2 but   
whether from a moral point of view he   
quite deserved all the  respect and     
deference that was paid to him1 is      
another question4         99 ,how many a
 man is sheltered from the winds of the 
world by       a grove of sleek         
relations1 who surround him and keep him
       from harm2 such a man has never  
really tried the outer       world8 and 
has but a second-hand experience of its 
troubles4    ,as a picture1 as we said  
before1 he was magnificent1 and there   
was a  regal air with which he disposed 
the folds of his bournous1 which we1    
clad in the costume of advanced         
civilization1 could not but admire  and 
envy4 ,he had the advantage of us in    
every way1 and made us feel it  acutely4
 ,he had a splendid arm1 and we could   
see it2 the fine contour1  and colour1  

of his head and neck were surrounded by 
white folds1 but not  concealed4 ,his   
head was not surmounted with a battered 
'wide-awake1' his  neck was not bandaged
 as if it were wounded1 his feet were   
not misshapen  clumps of leather1 his   
robes--but we have no heart to go       
further into  detail4 ,there is a       
'well-dressed' ,french gentleman        
standing near  this figure2 and there is
 not about him one graceful fold1 one   
good  suggestive line1 one tint of      
colour grateful to the eye1 or one      
redeeming feature in his 7by contrast7  
hideous tout ensemble4    ,these are    
everyday truths1 but they strike us     
sometimes with a sort of  surprise2 we  
have discovered no new thing in costume1
 and nothing worth  telling2 but the    
sudden and humiliating contrast gives   
our artistic  sensibilities a shock and 
fills us with despair4    ,a little way 
removed there is a warrior on horseback 
at prayers1 his  hands outstretched1 his
 face turned towards the sun4 ,it is as 

grand a  picture as the last1 but it    
does not bear examination4 ,he came and 
sat  down afterwards1 to smoke1 close to
 our tent1 and we regret to say that  he
 was extremely dirty1 and in his habits1
 rather cruel4 ,there were  red drops   
upon the ground where his horse had     
stood1 and his spur was a  terrible     
instrument to contemplate2 in the       
enthusiasm of a noble nature  he had    
ridden his delicate locomotive too hard1
 and had1 apparently1  sometimes        
forgotten to give it a feed4 ,it was a  
beautiful1 black ,arab  steed1 but it   
wanted grooming sadly2 its feet were    
cracked and spread  from neglect1 and   
its whole appearance betokened rough    
usage4 ,perhaps  this was an exceptional
 case1 perhaps not2 but to the scandal  
of those  whose romantic picture of the 
,arab in his tent with his children and 
his steed1 are amongst the most         
cherished associations1 we are bound to 
confess that we have seen as much       
cruelty as kindness1 bestowed by the    

,arabs and ,kabyles1 on their horses1   
and incline to the opinion that  they   
are1 as a rule1 anything but tender and 
loving to their four-footed  friends4   
,illustration3 #jbab    ,the ,kabyles   
came round our tents in the morning     
before leaving1 and  the last we saw of 
our model patriarch1 was flying before  
an enraged  vivandire1 who pursued him  
down the hill with a dish-cloth4 ,he had
 been  prowling about since dawn1 and   
had forgotten the distinction between   
'meum' and 'tuum4'    ,it has been said 
that there is 'no such thing as ,arab   
embarrassment1  and no such dignity as  
,arab dignity2' but the ,arab or the    
,kabyle1 as  we hinted in a former      
chapter1 appears to great disadvantage  
in contact  with the ,french1 and seems 
to lose at once in morale4    ,another  
day1 there is a flutter in our little   
camp1 for 'the mail'  has come in1 in   
the person of an active young orderly of
 ,zouaves1  who1 leaving the bulk of his
 charge to come round by the road1 has  

anticipated the regular delivery by some
 hours1 scaling the heights with  the   
agility of a cat1 and appearing suddenly
 in our midst4 ,if he had  sprung out of
 the earth he could not have startled us
 much more1 and  if he had brought a    
message that all the troops were to     
leave ,africa  to-morrow1 he could      
scarcely have been more welcome4    ,and
 what has he brought to satisfy the     
crowd of anxious faces that  assemble   
round the hut1 dignified by the         
decoration of a pasteboard  eagle and   
the inscription ',bureau de ,poste4' ,it
 was scarcely as trying  a position for 
an official1 as that at our own         
,post-office at ,sebastopol  in ,crimean
 days1 although there was eagerness and 
crowding enough to  perplex any         
distributor2 but it was very soon over1 
in five minutes  letters and papers were
 cast aside1 and boredom had recommenced
 with the  majority4 ,it was the old    
story--the old curse of ,algeria doing  
its work2  the ,french officers are too 

near home to care much for 'news1' and  
hear  too frequently from ,paris 7twice 
a week7 to attach much importance to    
letters4 ,newspapers were the 'pices de 
rsistance1' but there was not  much news
 in ',la ,presse' and its feuilleton    
consisted of two or  three chapters of a
 translation of ,dickens' ',martin      
,chuzzlewit'2 there  was the            
',moniteur1' with lists of promotions in
 the army1 and the  usual announcement1 
that ,napoleon1 'by the grace of ,god   
and the national  will1' would levy new 
taxes upon the people2 there was a      
provincial  paper1 containing an account
 of the discovery of some ruins near    
,carcassonne2 there was ',le ,follet'   
for 'my lady commandant1' and a  few    
other papers with illustrated           
caricatures and conundrums4    ,some of 
the letters were amusing1 as we heard   
them read aloud2 one was  too quaint not
 to mention1 it was from a bootmaker in 
,paris to his dear1  long-lost customer 
on the ,kabyle ,hills4 ,he 'felt that he

 was going to  die1' and prayed ',m'sieu
 le ,lieutenant' to order a good supply 
of  boots for fear of any sudden        
accident1 'no one else could make such  
boots for ,monsieur4' ,and so on1       
including subjects of about equal       
importance1 with the latest ,parisian   
gossip1 and intelligence of a new  piece
 at the ',varits4' ,one other letter we 
may mention1 that came up  by the same  
post1 to one other member of that little
 band1 perched like  eagles on the      
heights2 it was also unimportant and    
from home1 and the  burden of it was    
this--',broadtouch' had stretched ten   
feet of canvas for  a painting of one   
rolling wave1 and ',interstice' had     
studied the texture  of a nut-shell     
until his eyes were dim4    ,we finish  
the evening as usual with dominoes and  
coffee2 enjoying many a  long and       
delightful chit-chat with our military  
friends4 ,these pleasant1  genial1 but  
rather unhappy gentlemen do not 'talk   
shop1' it is  tabooed in conversation1  

as strictly as at the ',rag'3 but the   
stamp of  banishment is upon their faces
 unmistakeably1 and if they do speak  of
 this foreign service 7now that the war 
is nearly over71 it is in  language that
 seems to say1--'all ye who enter here1 
leave ,hope behind4'    ,illustration3  
#jbai    ,illustration3 #jbba           
,,chapter ,,ix4 ',,winter ,,swallows4'  
',oh que l'hirondelle est bien la type  
de la vraie sagesse1 elle qui  a su     
effacer de son existence1 ces longs     
hivers qui glacent et  engourdissent6   
,ds que le soleil commence  dcrotre1    
sitt que les  plantes jaunissent et     
qu'aux chaudes haleines du ,zphyr       
succdent les  froides rafales de        
l'aquilon1 elle s'envole prudemment     
tire d'ailes1  vers les douces rgions   
embaumes du ,midi4'    ,illustration3   
#ibba    ,e come down the hills and back
 to ,algiers1 to find the winter in full
  bloom1 and the 'winter swallows' in   
great force1 ,in fact1 so full of       
bustle is the town1 and so frequent is  

the sight of ,english faces1 and  the   
sound of ,english voices1 that it hardly
 seems like the place we had  left a few
 weeks since4    ,it has been said that 
,english people love sunshine and blue  
sky more  than any other nation1 and    
that the dwellers under the 'ciel       
nebuleuse  du nord1' will go anywhere to
 seek a brighter clime2 and it is a     
fact1  the importance of which is hardly
 realised in ,england1 that the ,african
  sun is producing a crop of ,english   
residents that is growing rapidly1  and 
taking firm root in the soil1 in spite  
of siroccos1 in spite of                
earthquakes--without a thought of       
colonization in the strict sense of  the
 word1 and without1 it must be added1   
any particular love for the  ,french    
people4    ,the visitors1 or tourists1  
are increasing also1 and they are       
naturally1  rather vulgarising our      
favourite places4 ,thus we hear of      
picnics at the  ,bouzareah1 of balls at 
,mustapha1 of 'trips' to ,blidah by     

railway1 and of  'excursions to the     
gorge of ,la ,chiffa and back' in one   
day4    ,an amusing chapter might be    
written upon ,algiers from the          
traveller's  point of view1 but one or  
two touches will suffice1 to show the   
easy and  familiar terms1 on which our  
countrymen and country-women invade this
  stronghold of the ,french2 once the   
'city of pirates' and the terror of     
,mediterranean waters4    ,there is the 
cosmopolitan traveller1 who1 having     
'done ,europe1' finds  ,algiers1 of     
course1 rather 'slow1' by contrast2 and 
there is the very  matter-of-fact       
traveller1 who finds it all vanity1 and 
says1--',take  ever so copious a stock  
of illusions with you to the bright     
,orient1  and within half-an-hour after 
landing1 you are as bankrupt as a bank  
of deposit444 and the end of it all is1 
that this city of the ,arabian  ,nights 
turns out to be as unromantic as ,seven 
,dials4' ,there are lady  travellers1   
who 7enjoying special advantages by     

reason of their sex1 and  seeing much   
more than ,englishmen of ,moorish       
interiors7 are perhaps  best fitted to  
write books about this country2 there   
are proselytizing  ladies1 who come with
 a mission1 and end by getting          
themselves and their  friends into      
trouble1 by distributing tracts amongst 
the ,moors2 and  there are ladies who   
7when their baggage is detained at one  
of the  ports71 endeavour to break down 
the barriers of official routine in an  
unexpected way4 ',the douane did not    
choose to wake up and give us our       
luggage1' writes one1 'it was such a    
lazy douane2 and though ,i went  again  
and again and said pretty things to the 
gendarmes1 it was of no  use4'          
,another form of invasion is less       
polite1 but it has been submitted  to   
with tolerable grace on more than one   
occasion4 ,here is the latest  instance4
 99         99 ',under the ,palms1' by  
the ,hon4 ,lewis ,wingfield4 ,london1   
#ahfg4    ',being anxious to obtain a   

sketch of one of the quaint streets of  
the  upper town1 ,i wandered one morning
 up its dark alleys and intricate       
byeways2 and wishing to establish myself
 at a window1 ,i knocked at a  promising
 door1 and was answered by a mysterious 
voice from behind a  lattice2 the door  
opened of itself1 and ,i marched        
upstairs unmindful of  evil4 ,in the    
upper court ,i was instantly surrounded 
by a troup of women1  in the picturesque
 private dress of the ,moorish ladies1  
unencumbered  with veil or yashmak4     
',these ladies dragged at my            
watch-chain1 and pulled my hair1 until  
finding myself in such very questionable
 society1 ,i beat a hasty  retreat1     
flying down stairs six steps at a time1 
slamming the doors in  the faces of the 
houris1 and eventually reaching the     
street in safety1  while sundry slow    
,mussulmans wagged their beards and said
 that ,christian  dogs did not often    
enter such places with impunity4'    ,it
 is pleasant to see with what good      

tempered grace1 both the ,moors and  the
 ,french take this modern ,english      
invasion4 ,we settle down for the       
winter here and build and plant         
vineyards1 and make merry1 in the same  
romping fashion that we do in           
,switzerland4 ,we write to ,england     
about it1  as if the country belonged to
 us1 and of the climate1 as if we had   
been  the discoverers of its charms4    
,but it is all so cozy and genial1 and  
so  much a matter of course1 that we are
 apt to forget its oddity2 we have      
friends in ,england who speak of        
,algiers with positive delight1 whose   
faces brighten at the very mention of   
its name1 and who always speak of  going
 there1 as of 'going home4'    ,we have 
principally confined our remarks to     
places near ,algiers1  omitting all     
mention of ,oran and ,constantine1      
because it is impossible  to work to    
much purpose if we travel about1 and    
these places are worthy  of distinct and
 separate visits4 ,the longest journey  

that we would  suggest to artists to    
make in one winter1 would be to the     
cedar forests  of ,teniet-el-,had1      
because the scenery is so magnificent1  
and the forms  of the cedars themselves1
 are perhaps the wildest and most       
wonderful to  be met with in any part of
 the world4 ,hitherto1 almost the only  
sketches that we have seen of this      
mountain forest have been by our own    
countrymen and countrywomen1 for ,french
 artists do not as a rule go far  from  
,algiers4    ,with a few notable        
exceptions1 99 our experience of the    
works of  ,frenchmen in ,algiers1 has   
been anything but inspiring2 we have    
known  these artists closetted for      
weeks--copying and re-copying fanciful  
desert scenes1 such as camels dying on  
sandy plains1 under a sky of  the       
heaviest opaque blue1 and with cold grey
 shadows upon the  ground--drawing      
imaginary ,mauresques on impossible     
housetops1 and in  short working more   
from fancy than from facts2 producing1  

it may be1  most saleable pictures1 but 
doing themselves and their clientelles1 
no other good thereby4 ,it seems        
ungracious to speak thus of people  from
 whom we invariably received civility   
and kindness2 but the truth  remains1 we
 found them hard at work on             
'pot-boilers' for exportation1  and     
doing1 like the photographers1 a        
flourishing trade4         99 ,we shall 
not be accused of alluding in this      
category to       such painters as the  
late ,horace ,vernt2 or to ,grome1      
,frre1 and others who study here in     
winter time4    ,we should endeavour to 
spend most of our time in the country1  
if we wish  to make progress4 ,if we    
stay in ,algiers we shall of course be  
liable to  some interruptions2 we shall 
be too comfortable and perhaps become   
too  luxurious4 ,we must not dream away 
our time on a ,turkey carpet1 or on our 
terrasse1 charming though the view may  
be4 ,there is too much scent of  henna1 
too strong a flavour of coffee and      

tobacco1 there are1 in short1  too many 
of the comforts of life2 we had better  
be off to the hills1  where the air is  
cooler1 and where we can live a free    
life under canvass  for a while4 99     
99 ,it may not be thought very practical
 to suggest much       sketching in the 
open air1 as the light is generally     
considered too trying1 and the glare too
 great1 for any very       successful   
work in colour4    ,the tropical        
vegetation in ,algeria gives continual  
shade and shelter1  and the style of    
architecture1 with cool open arcades to 
the houses1 is  admirably adapted for   
work2 but failing the ordinary means of 
shelter1  much may be done under a large
 umbrella1 or from an ordinary military 
tent4 ,in the ,paris ,exhibition of     
#ahfg1 there were some portable1 wooden 
,swiss houses1 that seemed constructed  
for sketching purposes1 as they  could  
be taken down almost as easily as a     
tent1 and removed from one  place to    
another4    ,a few months1 spent amongst

 the mountains1 will have a wonderfully 
bracing effect on ,europeans1 because   
both the eye and the mind will  be      
satisfied and refreshed2 although1 it is
 a curious fact that on the  uneducated1
 such scenes have little1 or no1        
influence4    ,we shall not easily      
forget 'the splendid comet of ,arab     
civilization that  has left such a trail
 of light behind it1' but cannot help   
remarking  that neither the ,arab in a  
state of nature1 nor the ,moor          
surrounded by  every refinement and     
luxury1 seem to be much influenced by   
the grace and  beauty around them2 and  
in this they do not stand alone1 for it 
is1 as  we said1 a notable fact8 that   
contact with what is beautiful in       
scenery  or in art1 is of itself of     
little worth4 99         99 ,to reverse 
the position--it is a fact1 which may be
 proved       bystatistics1 that there  
is as much1 if not more1                
benevolence1 forbearance1 and mutual    
help1 existing amongst       the lower  

classes in the 'black country1' as in   
any other       part of the ,united     
,kingdom4    ,what shall we say of the  
,sicilian peasant girl1 born and bred on
 the  heights of ,taormina8    ,what of 
the ,swiss girl who spends her life1    
knee-deep in newly-mown hay8  ,does     
beautiful scenery seem to inspire them  
with noble thoughts8 ,does  being 'face 
to face with ,nature1' as the phrase    
goes1 appear to give  them refined      
tastes1 or to elevate their ideas8 ,does
 it seem to lead  to cleanliness1 to    
godliness1 or any other virtue8 ,the    
answer is almost  invariably1 ',no2'    
they must be educated to it1 and neither
 the present  race of ,arabs nor ,moors 
are so educated4 ,they do not seem to   
appreciate  the works of their fathers1 
and will1 probably before long1 fall    
into  the way of dressing themselves and
 building dwellings1 after the style  of
 their conquerors4    ,with ,europeans  
it is just the reverse1 and the most    
educated and refined  amongst us1 are   

learning more and more to value1 what an
 ,eastern nation  is casting off4 ,we   
submit to the fashions of our time not  
without  murmurs1 which are sounds of   
hope4 ,we put up with a hideous costume 
and  more hideous streets--from habit or
 necessity as the case may be--but  even
 custom will not altogether deaden the  
senses to a love for the  beautiful4 ,in
 costume this is especially noticeable4 
,what is it that attracts the largest   
audiences to 'burlesque'                
representations at our theatres8 ,not   
the buffoonery1 but the spectacle4  ,the
 eye robbed of its natural food1 seeks  
it in a number of roundabout  ways--but 
it seeks it4 ,what made the ,american   
people crowd to ,ristori's  performances
 in ,new ,york1 over and over again8    
,not the novelty1 not  alone for the    
sake of being able to say that they had 
been there2 but  for the delight to the 
eye in contemplating forms of classic   
beauty1  and the delight to the ear in  
hearing the poetry of the most musical  

language in the world1 nobly spoken1    
although but few of the audience  could 
understand a word4 ,it was a libel upon 
the people to suggest that  their       
attending these performances was        
affectation2 it was an almost           
unconscious drawing out of that natural 
love for the beautiful1 which  is       
implanted somewhere1 in every human     
breast1 and which1 in this case         
perhaps1 gave the ,american audience a  
temporary relief from smartness1  and   
angularity of body and mind4            
,illustration3 #jbcc    ,illustration3  
#jbce          ,,chapter ,x4            
,,conclusion4    ,illustration3 #ibce   
,f the foregoing sketches have seemed to
 some of our readers1 a thought  too    
slight and discursive1 and to be wanting
 in detail2 it is because1  perhaps1    
they have reflected a little too        
naturally1 the habit of  a painter's    
mind1 and have followed out the         
principle of outdoor  sketching1 which  
is to 'hit off' as accurately as        

possible1 the various  points of        
interest that come under observation1   
and1 in doing so1  to give colour rather
 than detail1 and to aim principally at 
the  rendering of atmosphere and effect4
    ,but for this1 perhaps1 most readers
 will be thankful1 and for two  reasons4
 ,first1 because it is a fact1 that     
,english people as a rule1  care little 
or nothing for ,algeria as a            
colony--that they never have  cared1 and
 probably never will4 ,second1 because1 
in spite of the  assertion of a late    
writer1 that ',algeria is a country     
virtually unknown  to ,englishmen1' we  
believe that the ,english public has    
been literally  inundated with books of 
travel and statistics1 on this subject4 
,it is only in its picturesque aspect1  
and as a winter residence for  invalids1
 that ,algiers will ever claim much     
interest for ,english people2  and even 
in picturesqueness1 it falls far short  
of other cities well  known to          
,englishmen4 ,there is nothing in       

costume to compare with the  bazaars of 
,constantinople1 or in architecture1 to 
the bystreets of  ,trebizond2 but       
,algeria is much more accessible from   
,england1 and that is  our reason for   
selecting it4 ,it has one special       
attraction1 in which it  stands almost  
alone1 viz1 that here we may see the two
 great tides of  civilization--primitive
 and modern--the ,east and the          
,west--meet  and mingle without limit   
and without confusion4 ,there is no     
violent  collision and no decided       
fusion2 but the general result is       
peaceful1 and  we are enabled to        
contemplate it at leisure2 and have such
 intimate and  quiet intercourse with   
the ,oriental1 as is nowhere else to be 
met with1  we believe1 in the world4    
,in speaking thus enthusiastically of   
the advantages of ,algeria1 let  us not 
be supposed to undervalue the beauties  
of ,england1 or its  unapproachable     
landscape and mountain scenery4 ,the    
'painter's camp' in  the ,highlands1 is 

no doubt1 the right place for a camp1   
but it is not  the only right place2 the
 spot where it was pitched is covered   
with snow  as we write these lines4     
,moreover1 it is not given to everyone  
to be  able to draw trees1 and it is a  
change and relief to many1 to have      
landscape work that does not depend upon
 their successful delineation4    ,in   
fine1 for artists1 ,algiers seems       
perfect2 a cheap place of residence     
with few 'distractions1' without many   
taxes or cares2 with extraordinary      
opportunities for the study of ,nature  
in her grandest aspects1 and of         
character1 costume1 and architecture of 
a good old type4    ,but what they      
really gain by working here is not      
easily written down1  nor to be         
explained to others2 nor is it all at   
once discovered by  themselves4 ,it has 
not been dinned into their ears by rote1
 or by rule1  but rather inhaled1 and   
7if we may so express it7 taken in with 
the  atmosphere they breathe4 ,if they  

have not produced anything great or     
noble1 they have at least infused more  
light and nature into their  work1 and  
have done something to counteract the   
tendency to that sickly  sentimentality 
and artificialism1 that is the curse of 
modern schools4    ,we have been led to 
insist1 perhaps a little too earnestly1 
on the good  effects of sound work on a 
painter's mind1 by the thought of what  
some  of our foremost artists are doing 
at the present time4 ,when painters of  
the highest aim and most refined        
intelligence1 seem tending towards a    
system of mere decorative art2 when     
,millais paints children1 apparently1   
to display their dress1 and devotes his 
great powers as a colourist  almost     
exclusively to imitative work2 when     
,leighton cultivates a style  of refined
 ,platonism which is not ,attic and is  
sometimes scarcely human2  when other   
painters of celebrity1 that we need     
scarcely name spend  their lives upon   
the working out of effective details2   

when the modern  development of what is 
called ,pr-,raphaelitism1 seems to      
remove us  farther than ever from what  
should be the aim of a great painter1 we
 may  be pardoned for insisting upon the
 benefits of change of air and change   
of scene4    ,but not only to artists   
and amateurs--to those fortunate people 
whose  time and means are as as much at 
their own disposal as the genii of      
,aladdin's lamp2 to those who can get   
'ordered abroad' at the season when  it 
is most pleasant to go2 to those who    
live at high pressure for  half the     
year1 and need a change--not so much    
perhaps1 from winter's  gloom--as from  
the 'clouds that linger on the mind's   
horizon2' to all  who seek a 'new       
sensation1' we would say1 once more--pay
 a visit to  the 'city of pirates1' to  
the 'diamond set in emeralds1' on the   
,african  shore4          ,,postscript  
,,to ,,second ,,edition4    ,we have    
been requested by several readers to    
state1 in a ,new ,edition1  the readiest

 and cheapest method of reaching        
,algeria from ,england4    ,there is no 
quicker or cheaper way than to go       
through ,france to  ,marseilles1 and    
thence by steamer direct to ,algiers4   
,the cost of the  journey from ,london  
to ,algiers varies from to #aj1         
according to  'class4' ,the steamers    
from ,marseilles leave on ,tuesdays1    
,thursdays1  and ,saturdays1 at mid-day3
 the cheapest boats leave on ,thursdays1
  their first-class fare1 including     
living1 being about #c #cs4 ,all other  
information respecting this journey1 can
 be obtained by reference to            
,bradshaw's ,continental ,railway       
,guide4    ,the best months for a visit 
to ,algeria are from ,november to       
,april4    ,travellers should obtain the
 ,french ',guide de l',algerie1'        
published by  ,hachette1 ,paris2 also   
',last ,winter in ,algeria1' by ,mrs4   
,evans1 a most  useful book for         
visitors4    ,hotels in ,algiers3--',l  
,orient1' ',la ,regence' ',l ,europe1'  

c4