PREFACE. I AM quite aware of the responsibilities which I drew down upon myself when I first planned my present undertaking. "Write a book! Good gracious! think of the critics, consider the consequences!" said my friends. I did think of the critics-I did consider the consequences-and finally came to the conclusion that a plain story, plainly told, would not entail upon me a greater amount of condemnation than I was capable of enduring calmly. Algeria is a country virtually unknown to Englishmen; a land at present a blank to British commercial enterprise, as yet undelved by the indefatigable Mr. Murray; and I conceived that a simple narrative, well supported by statistics, well stocked with reliable information, would not be uninteresting matter for general perusal. It is true that a certain class of travellers take ship annually for Africa, to escape our inhospitable cold, and spend a certain number of months in the vicinity of Algiers, basking in its warmth, and probing its environs; but these wanderers return with spring to our northern clime, knowing as much about Algeria, its prospects and its future, as though they had never left their own firesides. - To know a people we must live among them, study their manners, and listen to their grievances; and in the case of a budding colony, such as the one at present under notice, we must sift their complaints, and compare their experiences with the reports of colonial administration. I travelled through Algeria in the company of two friends, untied by time, unshackled by extraneous circumstances; and when we had concluded our wanderings, we congratulated each other mutually upon not having missed a district in any of the three provinces, of each of which we had one sample, or more, stored up in our respective journal-books. I have coupled Algeria and Tunis by way of showing the differences and demonstrating the similarities of two sister countries situated side by side, enjoying the same advantages, and suffering under the same defects; the one rising gradually but surely from the mire of barbarism, under the influence of Christian and European help; the other, solitary, and still Mussulman, tottering rapidly to its fall. I have done little in the way of actual comparison, because I think that if I have at all succeeded in striking off the two photo-, graphs which are indelibly fixed upon the retina of my mind, the companion pictures will speak sufficiently strongly for themselves. If I have failed in my endeavour, I must humbly beg for the indulgence of the public, hoping, at the same time, that the subject will be taken up by some one more capable of doing it the justice which it undoubtedly deserves. GARRICK CLUB. LEWIS WINGFIELD. CONTENTS Algiers-Arab Boatmen-Varied Population-Moorish Wo- men-Streets and Arcades—Citadel of the Last Dey- Modern Town-Lodging House-Picturesque Mosque- Jardin de Marengo-Café Maur-A Sale-Arab Fête- Wild Dance-Repulsive Scene-Pandemonium-Insensi- bility to Pain-Ecclesiastical Statistics-Jardin d'Essai— An Earthquake-Strange Groups-The Grande Place- |