A NIGHT WITH THE ARABS. 415 



carried the deep vertical wrinkle between the eyes that 

 appears so remarkable when they raise their eyebrows. 



" ' Dear me,' said Aicha, disappointed in her turn, ' he is 

 not going to see me home to-day ;' and she turned towards 

 the douar, where she arrived without accident. 



" The news of this second encounter soon spread through 

 the village, and the wisest talebs of the tribe laid their heads 

 together to resolve its meaning. After much thought and 

 long reference to the Koran, they discovered the hidden 

 meaning, and translated it as follows : ' God is great, and the 

 lion doeth what he wills.' 



" A month passed by, and Aicha was again in the woods 

 gathering fagots for the evening fire. At the moment she 

 cut the first limb from a cedar tree, its dense branches parted 

 and the lion stepped out with the same melancholy counte- 

 nance as before, but a gleam burned in his great eyes that 

 seemed to menace what they turned upon. 



" The maiden wanted to fly, but those eyes nailed her to 

 the earth, and she could not move. The lion stepped up to 

 her with his royal mien, and her heart ceased to beat for 

 very terror. 



" ' Look at my forehead.' said the terrifier. 



" ' But the seignior will recollect that it was he that 

 ordered me to do it, and I only obeyed,' said the young girl, 

 with a voice whose tones were quivering with heartfelt 

 anxiety. 



" • Yes, and I thank you for it ; but it was not that I was 

 going to speak with you about.' 



" ' What then is it the seignior desires V 



" ' Look at this wound on my forehead.' 



"'I see it' 



" 'Has it healed?" 



u ' Perfectly, it is quite well.' 



" c That proves, Aicha, that the wounds that woman gives 



