ed to revive the pristine glories of
Islam. The great Sultan, in order to consolidate his power both against
the French and over the Arabs, constructed a number of forts on the
limits of the Tell at Sebdou, on the west; at Saida, south of Tlemsen;
at Tekedemt, south of Mascara; at Boghar, south of Miliana; to the south
of Medea, and to the southeast of Algiers. Tekedemt, an old Roman town
about sixty miles southeast of Oran, was designed to be the capital, as
a great centre of commerce between the Tell and the Sahara.

The first stone of the new city and fortress had been laid by the Sultan
in May, 1836; and as the place grew, a population of settlers from
Mascara, Mostaganem, and other towns poured in. Large stores of warlike
munitions were formed, and a factory, worked by mechanics from Paris on
liberal wages, turned out eight new muskets a day. A mint of silver and
copper coins was established. The defences carried twelve cannon and six
mortars. A French observer, who was a prisoner at the time when the
Sultan was personally directing the works at Tekedemt, describes his
simple costume, like that of a laborer; his large tall hat, plaited with
palm-leaves; his "incomparable grace" and "fascinating smile" as he
saluted the man who was rather a guest than a captive.

The reforms of Abd-el-Kader included a regular police, schools, and
local tribunals of justice. All the chief towns had factories conducted
by Europeans, working in brass and iron, cotton and wool. The army
contained the finest irregular cavalry in the world, amounting, with all
the contingents from the tribes, to about sixty thousand men, only a
third of whom, however, were ever assembled for any single military
operation. His regular force comprised eight thousand infantry, two
thousand cavalry, twenty field-guns, and two hundred forty artillerymen.
His great ideal embraced the making the Arabs into one nation; the
recall of the whole people to a strict observance of religious duties;
the inspiring them with true patriotism; the calling forth of all their
capabilities for war, for commerce, for agriculture, and for mental
improvement; and the crowning of the whole by the impress of European
civilization. In laying the foundation for this mighty work, he had
already overcome vast difficulties by means of wonderful enterprise,
activity, and vigor. His intellectual greatness had caused him to shine
as a warrior, diplomatist, orator, and statesman. The Provin