278 MY CALIPH 



"Praise to God, the Only. 



"To the honorable, the bous and sheiks of the township of M'Kalta, 

 whom may God replenish with happiness! After the salutation and the 

 mercy of God, the respectable the Colonel, bearer of these presents, 

 comes among you, into your township, to make a trip for his gratifica- 

 tion. We recommend him to you most particularly. He will be your 

 welcome guest. 



"Written by the humble after -named, under God, Tauchon, Civil 

 Controller at Sousa, the 23d Djoumada 2d, 1309. 



"(Sig.) C. Tauchon," and an official seal. 



The date is that of the Hegira. 



Armed with this screed and accompanied by an escort 

 of Spahis and an interpreter, I started for the interior. 

 As kick would have it, there are two M'Kaltas, one being 

 within the jurisdiction of Iv'sar H'lal. I readied this 

 M'Kalta, and presented my letter to the wrong man, as I 

 had intended to go to the other M'Kalta ; but the wrong 

 man proved to be distinctly the right one, for he was the 

 most noted chief in that part of the country, and my safe- 

 conduct was of a nature to be respected by every one. 



The caliph received me with literally open arms. lie 

 was sitting in receipt of custom — the Arabs coming in to 

 pay their annual tax on olive-trees, which, though but a 

 part of a cent per tree, amounted as a total to a very large 

 sum — and gave himself up to me at once, adjourning all 

 other business, and bidding several supplicants come on 

 tlio morrow. This struck me as an interruption to busi- 

 ness ; but as time is by far the least vahial)le of the pos- 

 sessions of an Arab, and every one was doubly com])on- 

 sated for any delay by the sight of a Frank — about one 

 of whom turned up there every two or three years — the 

 act was b}^ no means strained. Coffee was at once served — 

 such nn aroma of ])uro Mocha I had never tasted before 

 — and we sat (h)\vn, lie and 1 and some o[ tlie sheiks wlio 



