splashing into them with his bare feet. My host
then stooped down and by the light of the candle
showed me where they were, so that I could walk
round them.
The caravanserai lay at a little distance outside the
oasis. As soon as we had left the palms behind I
stopped the sheykh, told him that I could find my
way across the desert alone as it was a starlight
night, and when I had promised, to his great delight,
to send him a present of a little gunpowder we fell
upon each other’s necks, embraced, and bid each
other a most affectionate farewell.
I have described the men who attended upon us as
being ‘ servants,’ but from some remarks which Aissa
let fall upon my return I am not sure that they would
not be more accurately described as slaves.
In the ‘ good old times ’ of Barbary, when piracy
reigned at Algiers and the voice of the French was
not heard in the land, slavery was a recognised institution
in the country, and huge caravans came
several times a year from the Sudan, via Twat to
Wargla, bringing slaves, which from this point were
distributed all over Algeria.
But since the French have conquered the country
slavery is of course theoretically abolished. In the
eye of the French law there are no slaves. But that
eye, like many others, is occasionally given to the
immoral habit of winking, and slavery in the out-of-
the-way districts is one of the things which it considers
itself not always bound to notice. Since, in
the majority of cases, both the slaves and their masters
are perfectly contented, why should the law interfere
?
Aissa, on my return, made most searching inquiries
into the menu of the repast. Was there any murger
(Arab soup) ? Was there a meshwi (sheep roasted
whole) ? Was there any meat in the couscous ?
Was the couscous itself white or brown ? Were
there any honey cakes or sweets ? All these are
points which go to show the amount of honour
done to a guest. When he heard of what the meal
had actually consisted he was extremely indignant.
He had always heard, he said, that that sheykh was
a terrible skinflint, but he had no idea that he would
have condescended to such meanness.
Aissa had a great idea of the respect which was
due to his employers, and the sheykh’s stinginess in
providing such a meal impressed him very unfavourably.
The next morning, when I sent him down
with my present of powder to the sheykh, he must
have made some very strong representations to him
on the subject, for he brought back with him,
apparently to square the account, a present of three
eggs. I gave them to Aissa — I had seen the
sheykh’s eggs before.