ilding itself
serves another purpose still more alien to its religious character. The
hustings, even among this simple and primitive people, are not scenes of
unbroken tranquillity. There are always two parties in the village, as
with us; but, as fortunately is not the in the United States, these
parties have casehardened into hereditary factions, always ready to air
their ancestral feuds at the polls. Bullets come to the aid of ballots.
To use the local expression, "The speaking is done with powder." The
rude fire-lock of the country, with its absurdly long barrel and
wheel-lock, answers well enough at short range, and proves highly
influential in bringing about a speedy decision without the assistance
of returning boards and electoral commissions. The villages have rarely
more than two or three thousand souls, and cover but a few acres. The
dispute cannot last long, and contested elections are soon settled. The
mosque is one story higher than the other buildings, having a second
floor. It is also on more elevated ground. These attractions cause the
sanctuary to fill up rapidly in time of trouble. The faithful who get
first to church have a marked advantage over their fellow-parishioners.

[Illustration: A KABYLE WAKE.]

The administration of the tribe comes directly under French control. It
is committed to a chief who is not allowed to interfere with the local
affairs of the villages composing the tribe. But pressure in the
direction of centralization is gradually being employed by the French,
in accordance with the political notions and genius of that nation. It
needs, however, to be used with extreme caution, as warning catastrophes
still occur to prove. The solemn engagement made when the Kabyles
capitulated in 1857, to rigidly respect their public customs and their
communal elections, will enforce itself upon the more or less sincere
attention of the invaders as long as they possess the country. The
stormy clanhood that insists on the luxury of at least an annual fight
among neighbors is often the last hold of national independence.

[Illustration: THE POLLS: MODEL VOTERS.]

France is not the first suzerain who has found it hard to rule, and
indispensable to sedulously humor, these restless indigenes. They were
quite as troublesome to the Turks. The dey of Algiers was but a nominal
branch of the home house at Constantinople. Thanks to his Kabyle
constituents, he did business pretty much on his own account and i