ted set of
brethren in high repute at the Universities, and a general at Rome, so it
appeared that the Marabouts, besides their wild crew of masterful
beggars, living at free quarters, partly through pretended sanctity,
partly through the awe inspired by cabalistic arts, had a higher class
who dwelt in cities, and were highly esteemed, for the sake of either ten
years' abstinence from food or the attainment of fifty sciences, by one
or other of which means an angelic nature was held to be attained.

Fifty sciences! This greatly astonished the strangers, but they were
told by the residents that all the knowledge of the highly cultivated
Arabs of Bagdad and the Moors of Spain had been handed on to the select
few of their African descendants, and that really beautiful poetry was
still produced by the Marabouts. Certainly no one present could doubt of
the architectural skill and taste of the Algerines, and Mr. Thompson
declared that not a tithe of the wonders of their mechanical art had been
seen, describing the wonderful silver tree of Tlemcen, covered with
birds, who, by the action of wind, were made to produce the songs of each
different species which they represented, till a falcon on the topmost
branch uttered a harsh cry, and all became silent. General education
had, however, fallen to a low ebb among the population, and the wisdom of
the ancients was chiefly concentrated among the higher class of
Marabouts, whose headquarters were at Bugia, and their present chief,
Hadji Eseb Ben Hassan, had the reputation of a saint, which the Consuls
believed to be well founded.

The Cabeleyzes, though most irregular Moslems, were extremely
superstitious as regarded the supernatural arts supposed to be possessed
by the Marabouts, and if these could be induced to take up the cause of
the prisoners, there would be at least some chance of their success.

And not long after the party had arrived at the French Consulate, where
they were to dine, a messenger arrived with a parcel rolled up in silk,
embroidered with gold, and containing a strip of paper beautifully
emblazoned, and in Turkish characters. The Consul read it, and found it
to be a really strong recommendation to the Marabout to do his utmost for
the servants of the Dey's brother, the King of France, now in the hands
of the children of Shaitan.

'Well purchased,' said M. Dessault; 'though that snuff-box came from the
hands of the Elector of Bavaria!'

As soon as the m