AIN-EL-FOUKARA. 447 



ceased to flow : it is known as ' A in- El- Foukara ' or the 

 'Fountain of the Poor.' 'God is great,' cried Sidi 

 Aomar, as he threw himself upon the earth where the 

 miraculous spring issued, and thrust his hands into it, 

 and made his ablutions. As he regained his house 

 reciting his devotions, he saw afar off, two girls of 

 the Soudan, sitting before his doors, and an unknown 

 negro held a horse, magnificently caparisoned, by the 

 bridle, seeming to await his coming. ' What Sultan 

 has come to visit me, the poor hermit?' asked Sidi 

 Aomar of himself; and he hastened forward so as not 

 to keep his guests waiting. 



" But the negro bowing down to the ground said, 

 'The Sultan of Fess hearing of thy virtues, and thy 

 poverty, hath sent thee great riches, and I myself am 

 thy slave.' 'I have no need of slaves,' replied the 

 marabout, ' return whence thou earnest. Take back to 

 the Sultan his present, and say, that by the Grace of 

 God, I have enough.' At this moment the sun arose : 

 there was a great cry ; the young girls, the negro, and 

 the horse all vanished ; leaving no trace behind them. 



" Then Sidi Aomar knew that the hand of God was 

 upon him, and that he had been preserved from the 

 arts of the demon. " * 



The character here assigned to Sidi Aomar is that 

 of a local saint, Fakir, or Marabout, such as is common 

 among the nations of the east, and the miraculous fountain 

 of " Ain Foukara " means in the Arabic " The Fountain 

 of the Fakirs. " " Foukara " or " Fokara " being the plural 

 of "Fakir" "poor" that is, poor, or humble, in a 

 religious sense. A Fakir being supposed to be "one 



* Le Grand Desert, par Eugene Daumas (French general), Paris, 

 1848, pp. 8t> 92. 



