n, and our gentlemen enjoyed a dip in
the warm water after their ride across the desert. From this bath one
of them dated the cure of a severe pain in the leg which had caused him
much inconvenience during the journey. Our other excursion was to the
neighboring oasis of Sidi Okba, the ecclesiastical, as Biskra is the
commercial, capital of the Ziban. Judging by appearances, one would say
that commerce must be a much more thriving thing than religion, for Sidi
Okba is in every way inferior to Biskra. The people are more squalid,
the houses more wretched: the very mosque itself is in a dirty,
tumble-down condition. Here we found no Arabs who could speak French;
and at one time, having lost our way among the palms, we were very much
at a loss to know what to do. For some time we tried in vain to catch a
glimpse of the mosque, thinking that it, beacon-like, would guide us
back to the town. Equally in vain we interrogated all the Arabs we met
in all the languages at our command, and it was only at last, inspired
by desperation, that we hit upon the expedient of signs. Assuming the
attitude of prayer, we called out, "Allah! Allah!" An Arab at once
answered "Marabout! marabout!" and then we remembered that this was the
name for mosque, and nodded, "Yes, marabout." He seemed delighted at
having understood us at last, and soon led us to the mosque, from whence
we knew our way to the place where we had left our luncheon. We had
crossed the desert in the early morning, and were obliged to seek a
resting-place in the shade during the hot hours of the day. This we
found in a house belonging to a son of the caid of Biskra. There we ate
the luncheon we had brought with us, and then we reclined upon the
Persian carpets and rested till the hour arrived when we could safely
undertake the return journey.

The day after our visit to Sidi Okba was our last at Biskra. We bade
adieu to it with regret, and we shall always remember the time spent in
this oasis of Sahara as among the white days in our calendar.

J.P.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] [For the use of the wood-cut presenting a view of the oasis of El
Kantra we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. John Murray of Albemarle
street, London.--ED.]

MODERN KASHMIR.

[Illustration: RUINS OF A TEMPLE OF MARTAND (OLD SRINAGAR).]

The topographically inclined among biblical commentators might select a
great many more unlikely spots for the Garden of Eden than Kashmir. The
four rivers are