TPIE ALGERIAN SAHARA. 53 



suppose him to have been, was reading in the doorway. 

 He rose on the entry of Simhamed Betoumi (that I beHeve 

 to have been the name of my conductor,) with many genu- 

 flections. As he seemed anxious to show me everything, 

 we walked all over his house without any ceremony. 

 There were texts upon the walls, and printed books which 

 appeared to be portions of the Old Testament. The man 

 was a silversmith. Before leaving I was invited to partake 

 of the thin Jews' bread, and some absinthe, the most 

 dangerous of all spirituous liquors. 



I found that the Mzab sheiks knew the name of London, 

 and some very curious questions were asked me through 

 the interpreter about its extent ; also about the Queen and 

 our navy — whether we had more men-of-war than the 

 French, etc. .'' I catechising them in return about their 

 manners and customs. They evidently supposed that I 

 had come to inspect the products of the country with a view 

 to commerce. 



I had often asked my attendant to get me an opportunity 

 of seeing the Mosque, but knowing the prejudices of the 

 Arabs, and that he was himself a Mahommedan, it was 

 quite unlooked for when the chiei's sanction came one 

 morning, and a Christian and a stranger I passed up the 

 slippery ascending passage, by which the faithful draw near 

 the sanctuary at Gardaia ; but I was not to be permitted to 

 enter. From the top of the roof only might the Christian 

 dog look down upon the worshippers. In an inner open 

 court, some forty feet square, about a dozen devotees are 

 chanting, in a low monotonous tone, the prayers which 

 Mahomet commanded. No verses from the Koran, no 

 gilded lamps, no mural decorations, only the same 

 reiterated wailing chant. But my attendant hints that we 

 are there by stealth, so after briefly noticing that they keep 

 the Jiaik on, (for their heads are shaven) I slip away from 

 the precincts and return to the Guest house, glad to have 



