THE KAID ARABIC STORY. 
57 
looked on with satisfaction. The Kaid was the best 
man of his men ; but Yusuf afterwards dressed and 
beat the victor, riding with great dexterity, and at- 
tracting the spontaneous apphiuse of all the spec- 
tators. The Kaid trembled whilst contending with 
Yusuf, who was set down as a marabout in conse- 
quence by our chaouch. 
I gave the Kaid, who was a mild and respectful 
man, a handkerchief, a little bit of writing-paper, 
and some soap, and sent him off to his station, 
whence he had come on purpose to visit us. Three 
handkerchiefs formed also an appropriate present to 
the Sheikhs of Edree. 
Yusuf has been reading an Arabic book, which I 
at first thought was some commentary on the Koran; 
but to-day I was undeceived. He related what he 
read ; it reminded me of Gulliver's Travels. A tall 
man walks through the sea, cooks fish in the sun, and 
destroys a whole town, whose inhabitants had insulted 
him, by the same means that our comparative giant 
saved the palace of Lillipiit from conflagration. 
This evening it was announced as an event that 
the Zintanah, a servant of the Germans, was going 
to Tripoli, having resolved to return home. Some 
said one thing about him, some another ; but most, 
" He's afraid of the fever of Mourzuk." The fellow 
came afterwards to me, asking for letters to Tripoli. 
I told him to go about his business; that he was a 
man of words and had no heart, otherwise he would 
