h to annihilate a whole army. At nine in the evening,
an entire drum corps would double through the town beating tattoo. Then
the soldiers would disappear for the night. Wine was only eight cents a
quart bottle, so their dissipation did not cost them much, especially as
they did not get drunk. But how they could talk and get excited! An
Englishman with such an opportunity would drink more and talk less. Most
of our crew had a fondness for eau de vie--"water of life"--a cheap
brandy that cost us only fifteen cents a quart. Cafe royale was also a
favourite beverage with them--a cup of strong black coffee with brandy,
the latter being bought separate in a bottle. The coffee could be
doctored to any degree of strength. At first, my shipmates would take
one portion of brandy, a swallow of cafe royale, and in would go
another, and so it continued until each bottle was emptied. When ready
to pay the waiter, he would count the marks on the bottle at so much a
mark. There was no chance to dispute the bill, and no opportunity for
the waiter to defraud the boss. I was continually eating grapes--great
large bunches weighing two or three pounds each; they were white and
seedless, and only two cents a bunch. Algiers was once the great
stronghold of the Algerian pirates. They and the Moors laid a heavy
tribute on vessels of all nations that came within their clutches. The
United States sent a fleet of men-o'-war into their ports, destroyed
their vessels, and liberated a number of American seamen they held in
captivity. The city is built on the side of a very high and steep hill;
the streets running parallel with the harbour are level, but cross
streets leading up are one continuous flight of steps. You can go into a
house on one street and descend from one basement to another and find
yourself on the top floor of a house on another street. That cannot be
done in any other city. Some of the old streets are only six feet wide,
the doors in the houses being very heavy and studded thickly with large
iron bolts. The windows are high from the ground and only twenty inches
square, with heavy iron bars, the whole place resembling a strong
prison. The new part of the city is quite modern in construction. The
French introduced new ideas when they captured the country.

The French Government took the coal from our vessel as they needed it.
They were paying one hundred dollars a day for the time the ship was
detained in the harbour. One day I was