CHAPTER VI.

It rained all night, so that going on was out of the question, from the swollen state of the river; so I walked off before breakfast, with Angelo, to an Arab village, about a mile and a half distant, to inquire about boars. The promise of some powder brought out the inhabitants; and, after a little banter and chaffing, they agreed to meet me after breakfast, and to show me one of those animals. So I returned to the caravanserai to breakfast, and then, with my friend, rode back to the Arab huts. We left our horses at the village, and proceeded to climb a horribly steep hill in company with some of the natives, to whom I had promised tobacco-money, on condition of being brought face to face with a boar. After some tremendously steep climbing, we came upon a number of recent tracks, one of which B––– followed with his Arab, while I remained in another gorge. Presently I heard a shot fired, about a mile off; and, on returning to where the horses were tethered, I found that B––– and his Arab had succeeded in discovering a boar. The Arab had fired at the brute attwentypaces, but missed his aim. It was now past five o’clock, so we returned to the caravanserai to dinner. Some Chasseurs d’Afrique had arrived in the interim. Their captain joined us in our room, and promised us an escort for the morrow. He was from Boulogne-sur-Mer, and spoke English pretty well. He told us we should have to start at six in the morning to cross the river.

Accordingly, next morning the Frenchman set out at six o’clock with his troops and traps, leaving a dragoon behind as an escort for us, but with the important qualification that the man might only stay one hour behind the rest, as he must be present on the arrival of the troop at Teniet. “Et maintenant,” quoth this bold warrior, “je vais me servir d’un peu de votre tabac, s’il vous plait, car je vois que votre blague est bien garni;” and, filling his pipe, he vanished, with a polite “Au revoir, messieurs!”

Feeling too tired to rise at seven for the sake of escort, especially as we had not a very long journey before us, I remained comfortably for breakfast, and B––– started alone. After a good meal, I set out with Angelo, and we forced our way through a densely-wooded country, till we came upon the obstacle which had lost us two days––the river Klebah. This stream we managed with some difficulty to cross; a Frenchman, who emerged from the auberge on the other side, assisting us, by his advice, as to the best spot to choose for our passage. B––– and the trooper had just finished breakfast in the auberge, and departed. The landlady of the “Scorpion,” a very chatty and amusing personage, insisted upon it that I was a German. She favoured me with a sporting anecdote, setting forth how she had killed three rabbits during an expedition to pick some rose laurier on the hills. As the bunnies popped their noses out of their holes, she had managed to pop them off with the branches.35As this was the only house to be met with on that day’s journey, I halted there for half an hour. Mine hostess related how an “English milord” had stayed there for six months with his wife, in a tent, without even a servant––“Qu’ils sont drôles ces Anglais!” was the landlady’s final comment; and it was not for me to contradict the oft-repeated sentiment.

Through a mountainous and most barren country, amid a pelting snow-storm, we wended onwards to Teniet. In my way from El Massin to the “Scorpion,” I might almost have knocked over several partridges with my whip, so close did they come; but here there were none to be seen, nor was there any cover that might shelter them. At a miserable auberge called “les Cèdres,” I found B–––.

The fort at Teniet is a fine edifice, in a commanding position. I went up and left my letter of introduction for Captain Camatte, who gave us very small hope of sport. He did not seem very keen on the subject, and advised us to try some other place, offering to give us recommendations, &c. I returned to a most miserable room, where we could hardly sit, so much were we annoyed by the smoke from the fire; we could scarcely decide which was hardest to bear, the smoke within, or the cold without. With a hearty laugh at the absurdity of coming to such a place as Teniet in search of game, and with a determination to set out on our return the next day, we betook ourselves to an early bed.

36CHAPTER VI.FURTHER PROGRESS.––RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES.

Cold Weather.––Milianah.––Vezoul.––The Aubergiste.––El Afroun.––The Rhamazan.––Dancing Dervishes.

In order to avoid the trouble of carrying our ammunition back with us, we sold the greater portion of it. The snow lay four or five inches deep in the road; we sent to the commandant to procure us mules and other necessaries, and set out, with a snow-storm beating down upon us, and the cold as sharp as it well could be. At the “Scorpion” we refreshed ourselves with coffee, and then re-crossed the river, which was scarcely fordable; we got to El Massin about six o’clock; the brigadier told us he had shot a hyena. Some capital wild boar they gave us for dinner, seemed to be an earnest of our return to sporting latitudes. At half-past seven next morning, we emerged from the caravanserai. The weather seemed at last, after a long season of inclemency, to have set in for heat. “Le temps s’est remis a neuf,” observed Mr. Ball; and it had changed with a vengeance, so far as the temperature was concerned. Terribly hot we found it, marching across the Milianah plain. We crossed the37Djelish in a bac, or flying bridge, and reached Afreville about ten o’clock. Leaving B––– and Angelo to proceed to Medea, I went on to Milianah, where I arrived at about twelve o’clock. While waiting there for my baggage, I noticed some Arab boys playing at a game closely resembling hockey. Milianah is a very strong fort, with a splendid view over the Atlas mountains and the plain of the Djelish. I stopped at the Cat or Du-chat stables, appropriately kept by Mr. Duchat-el, and found that it was too late to stop at any place on the road to Blidah.

I took a walk through the town, and on the Grande Place found a number of soldiers singing a chorus very creditably, without instrumental accompaniment. They perform in this manner every Sunday. The view over the plain of the Djelish is one of the most splendid I ever beheld, not excepting that from the Alhambra itself. I was told I could easily get to Blidah in a day on horseback, from Milianah, so I determined to stay at the Hôtel d’Iffly, a very comfortable place. At dinner I met Mostyn and Captain Ross, just arrived from Algiers, per diligence. Captain R–––, who is in the Bengal Artillery, told me he thought the French used the natives much better than we do those of India. I differ from him. One of the French officers with whom I dined told me the only way to manage the “Indigènes” was by that vigorous measure, “un coup de fouet,” and, from what I saw, I believe it to be the case.

On Monday, the 19th, I left Milianah at about half-past seven, and rode through splendid Pyreneean scenery to Vezoul, a French village. The aubergiste took me for a German, and announced that he had two German workmen staying with him, who spoke with the same accent I used. When I repudiated my Teutonic nationality, he met me with the remark: “Enfin, c’est le même sang rouge qui coule dans nos veines, que nous soyons Anglais, Français, ou Allemands;” to which undeniable proposition I rejoined, “Oui, c’est vrai nous sommes tous Européens ici.” I fed my horse here, and came on, over the mountains, under a very hot sun, to Bourkikah, where I entered the Medidja plain. On entering this plain, the traveller enjoys a magnificent view right onward to sea, gleaming miles away in the sunny haze. At Bourkikah, my horse was so tired, that I was obliged to take off the saddle-bags, and leave them at the “Bureau des Diligences,” to be forwarded. Some French officers at the hotel assured me I should not be able to get to Blidah, and recommended me strongly to stay at El Afroun, “chez les Petits Frères,” if I found my horse too tired to proceed. I rode determinedly on through the plain, but could scarcely get my horse to move by dint of whip or spur. By the time I had crossed the river into El Afroun, I found my horse so entirely knocked up, that it was clearly impossible to proceed. So, of necessity, I turned into the auberge, and had a very good dinner, enlivened39by a serenade from a legion of frogs, croaking dolefully in the neighbouring marshes.

Getting away from El Afroun by six o’clock next morning, I found myself at Blidah by half-past seven. The cavalry horses were just turning out on the plains, and looked very handsome as I rode into the town. At Blidah, where I breakfasted, the sun was hot enough to burn my face in a most unequivocal manner, and to necessitate the purchase of a new hat. On arriving at Bouffanieh, I got off my horse, which by this time had fairly fallen lame, and took the diligence into Algiers. At Bouffanieh I was much amused at the proceedings of a group of Arabs, who were squatting on the ground, selling oranges. Their first customer was a drunken Frenchman, who came staggering up, and began chaffing the vendors; but they evidently got the better of him in no time, and he retired in confusion. Next came a grave, steady-looking Spaniard, who, after much bargaining, marched off withoneorange. He was followed by a little girl, who very quickly got hold of three. I thought Algiers improved on a second view.

Next day I went for a ride to the Maison Carrée, with De Warne and Captain Thouars, of theEuphrates. We had a most magnificent view over the plain of the Metidja. This was the first night of the Rhamazan. I visited the mosques, which have been thrown open to Europeans since the French occupation. Thence I proceeded to view a strange religious or fanatic ceremony40of the Mussulmans; some Swedish naval officers were with us. The whole affair reminded me of a meeting of Jumpers, or Ranters. There are no priests to take part in it. The men stand round in a circle, reciting prayers to Allah, and calling on Mahomet, while they work their bodies violently backwards and forwards, till they lash themselves into a state of perfect frenzy. One fanatic more zealous than the rest then rushes forward, cuts himself with a knife, and stands on the sharp edge of the weapon, which is held by another. The chaunt or psalm is then renewed, and another devotee comes forward howling; snatches a portion of prickly pear, and actually devours it ravenously. Then another exceedingly zealous performer––whose face, by the way, reminded me strangely of the portraits of Disraeli inPunch––seized some red-hot coals, and held them in his mouth for a time, afterwards proceeding to swallow lighted pipes, and execute other salamandrine feats. After witnessing this spectacle of degradation for some time, we retired, somewhat disgusted at the buffooneries perpetrated in this country, as elsewhere, in the name of religion.

41CHAPTER VII.BONA AND ITS VICINITY.

Passage to Bona.––State of Affairs on Board.––Bona.––The Lake Metitza.––Ain Mokra.––Wild Duck Shooting on the Lake.

We bade adieu to B–––, who had given us letters of recommendation to the Admiral, for a first-class cabin to Bona––a thing difficult to achieve on board the steamers here, as civilians are only allowed second-class accommodation, the state cabin being reserved for the use of naval and military officers, as the steamers on this line rank as men of war. The boat was much crowded with soldiers, sailors, and Arabs, and we had to share a most miserable berth with eight other occupants. We had arrived too late to procure cabin places, and were obliged to dine in an unsavoury den, reeking with pestilential odours. Most of the Frenchmen grumbled loudly at the miserable accommodation afforded in return for their money. Steaming along past a fine coast, we reached Dellis about eight o’clock. I got Angelo to bring me my sheepskin and cloak, and preferred sleeping on deck to passing the night in a locality which, for the horrors it contained, might have figured as a scene in Dante’s “Inferno.”

The gentle music of the sailors, swabbing the deck, awoke me next morning. I found we were off Bougie, a most beautifully-situated place, entirely surrounded by snow-covered mountains. Here are distinctly to be seen the ruins of the old wall supposed to have been built by the Vandals. A rather tedious day on board, but the occupation of watching the coast, which is very fine, varied the monotony of the voyage. We passed Djigelli at about twelve, and Philippeville at nine in the evening, when I retired to rest, and, the Fates be thanked, it was in a fresh cabin.

There was a Jewess on board, a rather pretty personage, who slept in the same cabin with six men, most of them French officers, with a coolness that astonished me. Her husband was in the berth opposite her; she did not appear to feel the discomforts of her position, but chatted away gaily in Arabic and French throughout the whole passage. I don’t think she quitted her berth once.

At half-past six on Saturday, the 25th of March, came Angelo to announce to me that we were off Bona. This is a very strongly fortified place. We were rowed ashore by Maltese boatmen, and, amid a great crowd and bustle on the quay, landed, and went to the Hôtel de France. The proprietors were very civil, and assigned us a room at the top of the house, looking out on the place. We sallied forth in quest of horses to take us to the market-place. An Arab,43who spoke some very broken and dilapidated Italian, took us round the market and through the streets, shouting “Reel Ain Mokra!” Several Arabs came up and offered us their horses, but the steeds had such a forlorn look, that we declined the accommodation, and settled to start by carriage next morning.

Accordingly, on Monday, the 26th of March, we set out at five o’clock, on a most wretched morning. The vehicle was the most miserable locomotive contrivance I ever saw. Drawn by two horses, it pounded and churned along a most detestable road. We were obliged to get out several times, and in one place we stuck in the mud for twenty minutes. It was only by dint of putting our united shoulders to the wheel, that we succeeded in extricating our unhappy chariot from its stationary position. At length our eyes were gladdened by the sight of the defile which opens on the lake Metitza, where Count Z–––’s property is situated. Though of Polish origin, the Count is an Englishman, and has, I believe, been an officer. Right gladly we alighted from the carriage, and, loading our guns, prevailed on some Italian fishermen to take us out in a boat for a pop at the wild ducks which we saw flying about by hundreds, bagged a few, and then returned to find that the Count’s keeper had come down, under the impression that we were poachers, with a firm determination to take us into custody there and then. The production of our letter of recommendation brought him back to civility, and44produced an offer to take us out shooting; Count Z––– himself was absent in London.

There is an establishment here for the manufacture of oil from putrid fish, which agreeable occupation announced itself in the shape of such an overpowering odour, that I seized a glass of cognac, and fled precipitately, taking my way towards the caravanserai of Ain Mokra. Poor old Nero, whom I had brought with me, got into a scrape here, and narrowly escaped being drowned. It appears that the putrid entrails of the fish are thrown into a kind of pond, which is thus filled with a slimy mixture resembling clay, and exhaling a most horrible odour when exposed to the sun’s rays. Nero contrived, in some way or other, to slip into this delectable compound, and there he would have remained, had I not laid hold of him and pulled him out by main force. I at once had him washed and scrubbed, and even emptied some scent on him, but in vain; for days afterwards, poor Nero carried about with him a reminiscence of his odoriferous adventure, which rendered his absence most desirable to the comfort and well-being of his friends. I sallied forth about four miles from Ain Mokra, and lay in ambush for boars, but none appeared, and only shot some jackals––a very poor substitute for the nobler game I had missed.

R. Pheney, lith.M. & N. Hanhart, Impt.SHOOTING WILD DUCKS NEAR AIN MOKRA, PROVINCE OF CONSTANTINE, ALGERIA.

R. Pheney, lith.M. & N. Hanhart, Impt.

SHOOTING WILD DUCKS NEAR AIN MOKRA, PROVINCE OF CONSTANTINE, ALGERIA.

At five, next morning, I went out to shoot on the lake. I got Angelo to row a boat slowly among the reeds, and soon saw hundreds of wild ducks, teals,45and large white birds of whose name I am ignorant; they looked to me like flamingoes. I could only succeed in bagging a few, as they were exceedingly shy, and made off as soon as the boat approached; moreover, the rushes were not thick enough to afford us an effectual concealment. As the miasma from the lake was sufficiently powerful to threaten fever, we returned to the caravanserai, where we breakfasted, and, after shooting a few quails, returned in our carriage, at one o’clock, to Bona. My driver, who sat beside me, was a very loquacious old soldier, who had served in the campaigns against the Arabs under Baraguay d’Hilliers and Youssouf, and been present at the capture of Milianah and Medeah. The Arabs, he said, never met the French fairlyen bataille rangée, but always fired from ambush at the rear-guard, and in this way killed a great number of men. He described the conduct of the Arabs to their prisoners as very merciless. They never gave quarter, and frequently mutilated their captives; the women, in this particular, being more cruel than the men. I was informed, on my return, that the party who came out last year to shoot, had only killed four lions in as many months, though they had “all appliances and means to boot,” and always kept several Arabs in their pay.

46CHAPTER VIII.ON TO TUNIS.

Algeria in general.––The Arabs and their Conquerors.––Antagonism between the Two Races.––Social Condition of the Arabs.––The Oasis steamer.––Arrival at Tunis.

On the 28th of March I left Bona in the steamerOasis. The engine broke down shortly after leaving the port, and, as the sails were absolutely useless, we had the pleasant consciousness of drifting towards a lee shore; but in a short time the damage was luckily repaired, and we proceeded on our voyage.

The accounts I had heard of Algeria had not prepared me to find such a flourishing state of affairs as I really found to exist in the community. The colony possesses fine harbours, a magnificent soil, and a glorious climate; numerous towns, with good hotels, are springing up in the interior. It is true that many of the immigrants are not French, but the majority are of that nation; and all the inhabitants, after a few years, adopt the French manners and language. The non-Gallic population are chiefly Spaniards, Italians, Maltese, and Germans. I met only one party of English at Bona, where a community of eighteen souls47have been brought over by a Mr. Vincent; they appear to thrive very well. I was told that Count Z––– intended establishing an English village near Bona.

From the general prosperity, I, of course, except the Moors and Arabs, who will never, I believe, adopt European civilisation; they seem to recoil from before it, like the wild beasts of their native deserts.

The French people certainly pointed out to me in the towns one or twoEuropeanisedArabs, and laughed at the idea of their ever becoming “Français.” From what I saw, the natives merely adopted the vices without the good qualities of the dominant race. If to be civilised consists in sitting in thecafés, drinking absinthe, playing cards, and speaking bad French, I certainly saw one or two most unquestionable specimens of the Arab adaptability to Gallic impressions; but, with the exception of these brilliant results, I never saw the least token of intercourse between the Moors and their conquerors; indeed, each nation may be said entirely to ignore the existence of the other. The peculiarity of Mussulman habits, with regard to women, entirely precludes all prospect of a future mixture of the two races––such an amalgamation, for instance, as occurred in our own country between the Norman-French conquerors and the conquered Saxons. So well are the French aware of this impossibility, that I have seen the question of the expediency of utterly expelling the Mussulmans from Algeria gravely discussed in the French journals.

Another method proposed was, that the young Arabs who had attained the military age of from eighteen to twenty-two years, should be transferred to France, there to pass their period of service as infantry soldiers only, that opportunities might be found, during their “soldiering years,” for instructing them in agriculture, and the rudiments of civilised education. This appears to me a sufficiently feasible plan; but I suspect that the Arab converts to civilisation would, on their return to their native land, quickly relapse into their old idle, roving habits, their primitive mode of life, and their inborn hatred of the infidel, whom they now regard as an instrument sent by Providence to inflict vengeance on the true believer for his apathy, and culpable neglect of his religious duties, including the propagation of his faith by fire and sword. Still, they believe the time to be approaching when every true son of the prophet shall “hae his ain” again; and it is past the power of mortal man to shake a Mahometan’s trust and reliance on Destiny.

For the rest, the French behave with the greatest toleration towards all members of the Moorish faith, who are allowed to perform every rite of their religion, and polygamy even is permitted to prevail among the Mussulman population. At Bona, a very handsome mosque is being erected on the Grand Place by the Government. Tolerant themselves, the French refuse, with perfect justice, to suffer any display of bigotry or fanaticism on the part of the Mahometans towards the49Christian community; the consequence is, that the mosques and other resorts of Mahometans are all thrown open to European visitors.

My dog Nero was a most decided favourite on board the French steamer,Oasis. Everybody was caressing and patting him, from the captain to the stewardess, rather a nice young female, from Germany, who took him under her especial protection, and looked after his creature-comforts in a way that must have aroused the most lively gratitude in the canine bosom of the said Nero. Poor old dog! he seemed quite bewildered at the attention he received, not only here, but also on board the French man-of-war, theTartar, where the French soldiers and sailors were crowding around him all day long, and overwhelming him with favours, in the shape of bits of meat, when they took their meals. A number of Arabs were sleeping about the deck. These children of the desert used to excite Nero’s especial wonder. Whenever he was let loose, he was sure to be sniffing about among the prostrate figures, examining their faces andbournouses, and often waking them up with a start, to the intense delight of the French tars.

On our arrival off La Goulette, the only anchorage for ships, situated about eight miles from Tunis, by sea, and nine miles by land, we were greeted by a scene of the most tremendous confusion. All the feluccas were rowed by Arabs, and their shouting, swearing, and gesticulation exceeded all my former50experiences of the kind, Stamboul not excepted. A little patience, and a good deal of backsheesh, enabled us to pass our baggage through the Douane; and we sent it on by boat to Tunis, whither we proceeded by land in a carriage, and a drizzling rain. Once on the way we stopped, at what the inhabitants term the “Carthaginian cistern,” to take in some exceedingly dirty water, from a fountain of old-fashioned appearance. The carriage windows were closed on account of the rain––an arrangement which interfered a good deal with my view of the surrounding country. Twice only, before we arrived at Tunis, my companion, a Russian, opened the window––to spit! On the first of these occasions, I got a glimpse of a large heap of immense stones, which were pointed out to me as the ruins of Carthage, and a grove of olives, looking dismal exceedingly in the drizzling rain. On the second occasion, I saw the lakes, and a solitary Tunisian sentinel. This soldier was dressed much in the Turkish costume, and I should scarcely have known him from an Osmanli, but that he wore the brass plaque in the front of his scarlet fez, instead of at the top.

As we approached Tunis, we became involved in an increasing crowd of loaded asses and mules; and, amid a great deal of screeching and shouting, we made our entry into the city, and drove to the Hôtel de France, where we obtained such a complete view of an old wall, that it effectually prevented us from seeing51anything else. The rooms, or rather holes, assigned to us, were so miserable, that we tried the solitary opposition shop the place can boast––the Hôtel de Provençe––but found that here we should fare rather worse than in the Hôtel de France. There was a third establishment––a tavern, rejoicing in the magniloquent title of “Hotel of the Britannic Isles”––but as this hostelry was entirely occupied by sailors and Maltese skippers, we declined to avail ourselves of the “Britannic” accommodation. There was a great crowd of rather miscellaneous company at thetable-d’hôte. One French female, whom, without offence to gallantry, I may be permitted to describe as the ugliest woman I met in my travels, excited my especial horror. This charming person actually amused herself, and disgusted her neighbours, by indulging,across the table, in an amusement generally associated in men’s minds with the chewing of tobacco! I discovered, however, that she was only a servant maid.

52CHAPTER IX.MARSA.

Angelo’s Horsemanship.––The Bey’s Palace at Marsa.––The Arabs and their Love of Tobacco.––The Friendly Moor at Camatte.

On the first of April I rode to Marsa, a little town on the seashore. Angelo’s horse seemed rather fresh, and my servant was evidently no Centaur. He came up to me in an olive wood, where I made a halt for about five minutes. He was holding on hard by the mane, his trousers were up to his knees, and his face was horribly pale. On my asking him why he loitered behind so, he owned, with a dismal sigh, that he was half afraid of the horse. “Afraid of the horse, sir!” was poor Angelo’s lament: “Very wicked horse, sir––fell from a horse, sir––at Scutari, sir––broke three ribs, sir––and in hospital five weeks, sir!”

I told him to be of good cheer, for the horse would soon be quiet after a good gallop; and, tying the horses to some olive trees, I bade Angelo wait for me by the side of a little hillock in the plain, where I could readily find him on my return, and went away into the forest with my gun. The ground was covered with long, thick, pointed grass, very wet with the dew.53I saw some quails, and shot a few; then returned to where Angelo was waiting, and galloped on to Marsa. At this place, the Bey, and the principal inhabitants of Tunis, have summer residences, to which they resort for the sake of sea-bathing. On the way, I encountered a number of Arabs, mounted on mules. The foremost shouted out to me in Arabic, as I passed, asking me to stop and give him some tobacco. I understood the word “tobacco,” which seems to have nearly the same sound in all languages, and knowing this request to be often a “dodge” on the part of the Arabs, who want an opportunity to rob, if not to murder, the traveller, I pointed to Angelo, who was following, about fifty paces behind me, with my gun, and shouted out thathewould find tobacco for them. They evidently understood my meaning; for they all set up a loud laugh, and my friend the tobacconist––or rather the tobacco-less––looked exceedingly “sold.”

I found Marsa very prettily situated, opposite to the bay of Tunis, near the ruins of old Carthage. The Bey’s palace is a handsome building. The English and French consulates are also well built. I proceeded to a small Italianlocanda, to get breakfast; but the old lady, who seemed the presiding genius of the place, obstinately refused to let us have anything. “Io han niente,” was her unanswerable argument. But I rather ostentatiously pulled out my watch, whose golden blink somewhat softened the old lady’s mood, and caused her to remember that she might have54certain eggs, and some bread, and salad, though a moment before she had been protesting that she had not even such a thing as bread in the house. Her son, a handsome young Italian, returned at this juncture, and we soon had an excellentdéjeûnerof sausages, salad, spinach, omelette, and cheese, with very good wine and coffee. I went down to the seaside and bathed, first burying my watch and purse in the sand; for the Arabs have a weakness for occasionally coming down under such circumstances, and stealing one’s clothes.

Past a ruined temple, down an avenue into Camatte, where I got an Arab to show me the way to a house formerly occupied by an Englishman. Here, for a wonder, I met a Moor, who spoke very good French, and was very civil. He asked me how I liked Africa, and laughed cordially at my open avowal, that it was “un peu bizarre.” After gathering a few delicious oranges for me in the garden, he took me into the interior of the house. I found it a most charming residence, with a deliciously cool marble reservoir in the centre, full of gold and silver fish.

I rode back by the margin of the lake, but saw only small game till I got to a large olive forest, where a jackal made his appearance. I gave chase, and, after a rattling gallop, lodged him among some cactus bushes, where I could get near enough to shoot him; and so back to Tunis.

55CHAPTER X.ABOUT BOAR-SHOOTING.

Sleeman.––The Oued el Ahwena.––Its Scenery and its Dangers.––Beauty of the Landscape on its Banks.

I started next day with the Umbra, who was remarkable for a long scimitar, and spurs nearly as long. Each time I put my horse to a gallop, he was under the impression that I wanted to ride a race with him, and went on at full speed, till I restrained his ardour. We arrived duly at Sleeman, where the Caid had everything prepared very comfortably for us. My friends B––– and F––– arrived later, in a carriage. We had a good Arab dinner, with the national kouskous, followed by a chibouk.

There was a river about six miles off, where boars were rumoured to make their abode. I rose early next morning, and, proceeding to this stream, hid in the thicket on the banks, while the Arabs beat the bushes. After waiting a long time, I managed to “pot” a wild boar, which came rushing past me at full speed. After this, the Arabs refused to beat the bushes any more, declaring that the dogs were tired, though the real reason was that they wanted their own56dinners, so I was obliged to give up the sport and return. The wild boar was dispatched as a present to the consul.

R. Pheney, lith.M. & N. Hanhart, Impt.HOG-SHOOTING ON THE BANKS OF THE OUED EL AHWENA, IN TUNISIA.

R. Pheney, lith.M. & N. Hanhart, Impt.

HOG-SHOOTING ON THE BANKS OF THE OUED EL AHWENA, IN TUNISIA.

The river which we visited to-day is called the Oued el Ahwena. It runs through a rich valley, bordered on both sides by mountains which rise up gradually, and are covered to their very foot with trees of various descriptions. The plain itself is fragrant with myrtles, orange trees, and olives. The beauty of the scene amid which this river falls into the sea is beyond description. Here the water is hissing wildly among osiers and furze bushes; there it skips along like a young goat over the small pebbles; and yonder, again, it winds like a serpent among the sand hills on the sea-shore. The dark olive-trees on the bank seem to look seriously on, like a father watching the pranks of a favourite child. The large ash-trees shake and quiver, like old aunts, all in a tremble at the dangerous hops and vagaries of a lively niece; while the gay-plumaged birds of the air ring out their wild applause, and the flowers on the bankside murmur tenderly, “Oh, take us with you, dear sister!” But the joyous, sparkling river rushes on like a coquette, bounding and skipping towards its goal.

Such is the river Ahwena in the glorious month of April: fair without, like many a gay flirt, she can yet inflict wounds incurable, if not death, upon those whom her wiles entrap. Woe to the traveller or57hunter who, oppressed by thirst in this burning climate, ventures to taste the sparkling water that bubbles up like champagne, invitingly at his feet! Cholera and death would be the probable result. The waters are redolent of cholera, and the banks of fever. No man may pitch his tent in safety for a single night on the banks of this death-dealing water; not even the Bedouins, who avoid the locality as if it were plague-stricken, for fever is in the very air. Strange that so fair an exterior should veil so baneful a mystery. Those bright, sweet-smelling flowers conceal snakes and reptiles whose bite is almost instantaneously fatal, and the place might be appropriately termed the Valley of Death. Among yonder fair trees lurk the treacherous panther and the slinking hyena.

Yet, in this world, amid present impressions of pleasure, we have little time to think of the danger veiled beneath the smiling outward shape. So, at least, it was with me, as I reclined on the carpet of soft grass, after slaying the boar, placidly discussing my breakfast, and enjoying the beauty of the scene around, with the azure-rippling sea about two miles off, the magnificent mountains around me, the sparkling river at my feet, and, across the bay in the far distance, the ruins of the once mighty city of Carthage, with the birds singing merrily overhead in the bright sunshine. There is exquisite pleasure in the sensation of the external world thus melting away, as it were, into a little world of our own, and when the green trees,58the azure sky, the perfumed plants, all take their places in an exquisite picture of Nature’s own painting. Women, perhaps, most indulge this feeling; hence they often smile with an amiable incredulity when they hear the “lords of the creation,” proud of their scholastic lore, discussing and settling everything, priding themselves upon having divided all things so cleverly intosubjectiveandobjective, and boasting that they have furnished their wise heads with so many drawers (like a chemist’s shop, forsooth), with reason located in one, good sense in another, understanding in a third, and so on to the end of the chapter.

59CHAPTER XI.SPORTING EXPERIENCES.

El Greesh.––Shooting Hyenas.––An Expedition with the Arabs.––The Caid and his Family.––Another Wild Boar.

The next day I rode on to a place called El Greesh, about twenty miles from Sleeman. I wanted to pitch my tent at the base of the purple mountain, outside the village, where I was sure we should have got a great deal of game, as the mountains were covered with thick underwood. A–––, however, and the rest were opposed to it, so I yielded, and pitched my tent in the village itself, where I soon had the entire tribe around me, examining me and my arms, my gestures, and everything, as if I was an event. After a cup of coffee, I determined to start in search of game, and, with a little backsheesh, got an Arab to accompany us to one of the neighbouring defiles, where, after waiting about an hour and a half, I managed to bag a very fine hyena. He was just sneaking out of his hole, and was about 150 yards off. On my return, the natives manifested great joy, shook my hands, made a circle round me, tapped me on the back, &c., to my chagrin. As I was tremendously fatigued, I60retired to my sheepskin in my tent with great satisfaction. The natives all slept around our tents on the ground, and some of them kicked up a most infernal noise till about two in the morning, singing a sort of chorus. The following morning the whole tribe collected around our tents and watchedour toilette du matinwith the most intense eagerness.

R. Pheney, lith.M. & N. Hanhart, Impt.SHOOTING HYENAS ON THE PURPLE MOUNTAINS NEAR EL GREESHE.

R. Pheney, lith.M. & N. Hanhart, Impt.

SHOOTING HYENAS ON THE PURPLE MOUNTAINS NEAR EL GREESHE.

The greater part of them had brought their matchlocks, as the day was to be a grand field-day, and they were all in the highest spirits, laughing, and cracking jokes to an extraordinary amount. We started about sevenA.M., and I remained till elevenA.M., till which time they had not succeeded in driving anything out of cover. Here I sprained my ankle in descending a broken gully, and was obliged to return to the tent. I came back about fourP.M., with only small game. After sun-down we went out a second time in ambush after hyena. A lion or panther came, a little after sunset, and frightened the horses so that they broke loose, and we returned to the tents about elevenP.M.

The next day we started early, in order to return to Sleeman. We stopped an hour on the banks of our old friend, the river Oued el Ahwenah, for luncheon, where I shot several quail and snipes, and a large bird, whose name I ignore, also a hare, the only one I saw in Tunisia. About fourP.M., I reached the Caid’s house; a woman, for a wonder, opened the door. As the Caid was there, I looked anywhere but at her. The next day we went out all61day, after boar, to the river, with an Italian and some Arabs. I stood up to my knees in the river for about an hour in the brush-wood, when one rushed by; I fired, and he rushed forward badly damaged. The rest fired, and he was found dead a few yards off. The Italian’s steed broke loose, and he left us in search of it. I broke from mycorps de garde. My horse lost a shoe, and then broke loose, and I had to follow him for more than a mile. I had a kind of dumbshow conversation with the Caid’s son on my return, a very fine, handsome lad, about seventeen. I hear his sister is most beautiful, and I promised to send him a present, on getting to Tunis, and he is to write to me and tell me if he receives it. After dinner the Caid came and smoked two or three pipes, drank coffee, and wished us adieu in a most gracious manner.

We had considerable difficulty in bringing home the boar, as our Arabs all deserted us on account of its being the Ramadhan; but Angelo and B––– managed to carry it back between them. I returned to Tunis next day.

62CHAPTER XII.TUNIS AND ITS GOVERNMENT.

Picturesque Situation of Tunis.––The Horse Market.––Effects of Race.––The Bazaars.––Mohamed Medea.––The Bardo.––The Bey of Tunis.––His Mode of administering Justice.––Prince Puckler Muskau’s Account of his Interview.

Tunis is situated on the borders of a lake, or rather inlet of the sea. It is surrounded by a crenelated wall, which resembles very much that of Constantinople. Like that city, too, Tunis, from the exterior, presents a very imposing aspect; but enter the city, and the illusion vanishes; there is the same dirt, the same narrow and filthy streets, as in the Turkish capital. The dogs alone are wanting to make the comparison perfect. An ancient historian has called this placeTunis the white; but, like other whited sepulchres, it is very foul within. The horses, the really thorough-bred ones, are the finest objects in Tunis. As in the canine and human, so in every other race, blood will tell. The Arab horse, though by no means so swift for a short distance as his English cousin, has a most marvellous power of endurance. He is also extremely sure footed, and scarcely ever comes down. I weigh over thirteen stone, yet have frequently ridden the63same horse forty English miles per diem, over country that would infallibly cut up your English two hundred guinea hunter. They also, so to speak, live on air. Their chief drawback is that they are, with few exceptions, stallions, and, consequently, when tethered or standing near each other, are very apt to fight most desperately, or else break loose from their tetherings, when a long and wearisome pursuit is the necessary result. It is very difficult to come across the bestpur sanghorses, as the Arabs are afraid of the Bey’s taking a fancy to them, and taking them by force; and, consequently, they often purposely mutilate them, lest he should seize them to himself. There are also some very fine bazaars at Tunis, and the otto of roses there is especially excellent. Our Consul has a very fine, large house, and dispenses his hospitalities, &c., very generously to his compatriots. His lady is also a most amiable person. Tunis is, I hear, celebrated for the manufacture of the red cap, usually termed “fez,” which is worn generally throughout Mussulman countries, and universally by the military. The Tunisian soldiers wear the plaque in front of the fez, in lieu of on the top, like the Turkish. As soon as I had selected my horse, a fine black thorough-bred Arab (whose price was four hundred francs only), I used to make excursions every day into the country, sometimes alone, sometimes attended, always armed, as the Francs of Tunis told me many stories of the dangers arising from going out in the country unarmed, among64the Arabs. I think a great number of them were very much exaggerated. One of the places I was fond of riding to was Mohamed Medea, about twelve miles from Tunis, very prettily situated, where there was a very fine ruin of a Roman aqueduct, and eke a French restaurant, where adéjeûner, made more agreeable by a twelve miles’ ride, was served in quite Parisian style. The reason of there being a French restaurant is this:––The present Bey, on his accession, determined to build a fresh palace at this place; and, being under a sort of douce compulsion, employs nothing but French architects and operatives, who make the hotel their head-quarters, it being about the only Christian house in the entire place. Quail abounded in this vicinity, and there werepas mal de sangliers. To escape from theennuiof thetable d’hôte déjeûnerat Tunis, occupied by French bagmen and milliners, and served in a stuffy hole of a back kitchen, I used frequently to make Angelo put my breakfast in mysacoche(saddle-bag), consisting of a piece of cold meat and somevin du pays, and then ride out, dismount, and breakfastal fresco, or ratheral bosco; sometimes I am sorry to confess to breaking the eighth commandment, as I helped myself to my dessert of oranges, from the trees near or under which I sat. The Arabs,malgréthe ogre histories I had heard of murder and robbery, were always most civil, and would accept, in spite of the prophet, a glass of wine from my hands though our conversation was of65course of the most limited description, unless Angelo was present to interpret. It is true I always was armed.

The Bardo is one of the lions of Tunis. It is the country residence of the Bey, and, besides the harem, contains a hall of justice and barracks. It is at Bardo that the Bey holds his court of justice, in which the cases are decided very quickly, and with great precision. The interior of the harem, according to a French traveller, who had visited it, is fitted up very gracefully. There is a magnificentjet d’eauin the marble court of the interior. The gallery running round this court on the second storey is furnished with a very artistically elaborated railing, or grating, part of which is painted green, part gilt. Behind this railing the ladies of the harem get a sly peep at those who visit his highness. The vast saloon in which the Bey receives his visitors is hung with crimson velvet, embroidered with gold, and the ceiling is also gilt and painted over in brilliant colours. From the two sides of the wall are suspended different descriptions of arms, richly manufactured; on the right, they consist of swords and poniards; on the left, of various kinds of muskets and pistols. Gold, silver, and precious stones sparkle out from these arms. Under these weapons are ranged three rows of divans, covered with a thick sort of red silk. The centre of the apartment is furnished with magnificent Persian carpets. On the lowest of the66divans, the principal courtiers seat themselves, on solemn days of reception, in double file; while at the extremity, the Bey reclines on an ottoman placed crossways, and covered with white satin. In Europe, we might, with great advantage, take a wrinkle or two from this semi-barbarian prince as regards the administration of justice with expedition. The Bey of Tunis is, at one and the same time, the chief governor of the realm, the administrator of the public revenues, and the final judge of all grand cases. From his immediate authority depends the administration of the police, the imposition of taxes, the various diplomatic relations, and the superintendence of the army and navy.

We Europeans can scarcely comprehend how one man can look after so many different details, or direct them with order and precision. But in this country, mark, oh! red-tapeists, everything relating to interior administration is reduced to the greatest simplicity, and from this simplicity, freed from the complicated system of European red-tapeism and bureaucracy, results, it is to be hoped, a strict economy in public expenses, and a rapid process in the courts of justice and other Government affairs. Where a European prince would require a hundred differentemployés, here five or six clerks suffice. Besides the celerity and economy resulting from such a system, a third no less important advantage is derived, viz., the facility with which the Bey is able to superintend the67conduct of the ministers, being so few in number, and immediately detect and punish those in whom any act of embezzlement or fraud has been detected; and punishment in this country immediately follows detection. Verily, there are advantages in autocratic as well as in constitutional dynasties!!

In the administration of justice, too, the Bey is supreme judge, from whom there is no appeal. The celerity with which causes are tried and judged, is, I am told, perfectly astounding. The case merely consists in a simple exposition of the facts, and such is the wonderful power of discernment of the merits of the case which the Bey thinks he has obtained from long habit, that it is said he rarely deliberates. The court is open to the public––even to Christians! I did not go; but Prince Puckler Muskau has left an account of his presence there. After giving a description of the room, &c., and the Bey’s entry, the Prince proceeds:––“The Bey was now presented with a magnificent pipe, which was at least ten feet long. After a few puffs, the audience commenced. The civil and criminal procedure is so summary, that a great majority of cases were decided in as many minutes as they would have taken years in Europe. The subject of the causes was frequently very trivial, yet the patience of the sovereign was by no means exhausted. I thought, in general, that the pleaders were satisfied with the Bey’s decision. One sees, by this, that the Bey’s place is no sinecure; and I am told that few68monarchs in Christian countries have so much personally to do. The Bey sits every day in the court, from eight in summer, and from nine in winter, till mid-day; and illness, or absence from town, is his only excuse for non-attendance. His other governmental duties occupy pretty well the rest of his day.”

Each country has an “idea,” I suppose, that its own Government is best, and perhaps it is as well it should be so. The man who travels much sees the defects and the advantages of each. Our Parliament would certainly not easily be acclimatised in Barbary, nor would a Bey exactly do to grace the British throne. What, for instance, would we think of such a proclamation as this in theLondon Gazette, on a king’s accession? It was issued by Mustapha, the father of the present Bey, to the consuls of Christian powers:––“Glory to princes of the religion of Messiah. To the chosen by the great of the nation of Jesus, our most honoured, most longed for, most magnificent, and most powerful friend, the King of –––, we make known, friendly, the following: On Wednesday, 23rd of the month of Moharrem the sacred, of the present year 1251, at the moment when the sun illumined the horizon, the hour marked by destiny having struck for my most honoured brother, Hassein Basha, he emigrated towards the mansion of eternity,” &c. &c.

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