46 
who were blind or mutilated. With sunken watery eyes, these 
poor people presented a sad spectacle. 
When we had washed and taken coffee, which is an indis- 
pensable ceremony among the Arabs, the chief led the way to the 
Jews’ quarter. We entered the house of a wealthy Hebrew. The 
Rabbi, as I suppose him to have been, was reading in the door- 
way j he seemed most anxious to please, and rose on our entry 
with many genuflections. He showed us his wife, who sat on a 
door-mat dangling a door-key ; she was handsome but rather dirty ; 
the lower half of her nose was painted black. I was much 
interested in all I saw, particularly the texts upon the wall, and 
many printed hooks, some of which I should have liked to 
purchase. They appeared to be portions of the Old Testament 
printed in Arabic. We were invited to partake of the thin Jew’s 
bread and some absinth, the most dangerous of all fermented 
liquors. After that the chief led the way to where 'his masons 
were building a house. 
I observed that instead of ordinary mud bricks, they were 
employing stones and plaster, which are probably found to answer 
better upon a rocky surface where little or no foundation can he 
obtained. 
In conversation with the Arabs the term “tair el h’ohr ” was 
often made use of, meaning the falcon excellence, coupled with 
the name of Gen. Marguerite, who formerly lived at Laghouat, but is 
now governor at Algiers, and who is one of the best authorities on 
the subject of falconry among the Bedouins. It is stated in the 
“ Chasses de 1 Algeria ” of this author, that the hawks trained for 
the chase are flve .EZ Arem, El Meguerness, El Baliri, El 
Terchoun, El Kreloui, but Dr. Tristram, an equally good authority, 
recognises seven sorts -.—{Ihis i, p. 297,) El Sakkr, L’AUi, El 
Terakel, Tair et Eohr, El Baliri, El Bourni, El Zeharhacli. 
My father has kindly compared the evidence, and he is led to 
conclude that El Arem and El Terakel are the female Sakkr 
falcon (Falco sacer,J and El Sakkr the male of that sjDCcies ; El 
Meguerness being the Lanner * f Falco lanarim,J and .EZ Baliri 
* Some naturali.sts have considered the banner falcon as having a good 
claim to be included in the list ol British Birds, on the ground that the figure 
of Lewin was referable to no other si)ecies, (B. B. i, § 17.) All the plates in 
my copy of that work are so i)oorly coloured that many are not recognisable. 
