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    I 22 ALGIERS FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

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    + They Another If Any Die; Quarter Enter...

    crowd which , lie will see from his window : tliere a xnass of Arabs , perfect in their national dressthe long classical woollen drapery

    white and flowing " , the linen head , -covering bound round by a fillet of , camel ' s hair cord ; their faces , long , handsome , and expressive , their

    feet bare , and their hands and arms in continual action as they discuss evidently the merits and price of a miserable little white Arab horse

    , whose tail is dyed red and whose magnificent saddle and bridle seem to our eyes worth twice the price of the beast who bears them .

    Near them stands a Kabyle , who has taken kindly to French civilization ; by his square facehis round headand his blue eyesyou see

    at once he is quite a different , creature from , the Arab his nei , ghbor . The Kabyle has bare legs and gaiters of skins , and what we remark of

    French civilization is a sack , which he wears as a shirt , ornamented down his broad back by the word " fragile" in red lettersthe

    , English of which is " Glass , with care ; " a good joke the unconscious mountaineer bears about with him , and it insures him a smiling

    welcome wherever he goes . Here stand a group of Spanish workmen in blue jackets and trousers , red sashes , and those little hats with

    tufted plumes which English ladies have adopted so generally for riding ; some of these men have very handsome thick

    scarfssome-, thing like Scotch plaids , but thicker , and of very beautiful colors and patterns . Moorish women all in white glide about like

    phantoms in the dark streets , mysterious and poetical when we can see nothing or but little of them ; but there is one in the broad sunshine

    who looks like a bundle of dirty clothes , waddling along without form or shape , though we cannot deny but that her black eyes

    gleaming out from under her white veil are very magnificent , and such as we rarely have seen beforeso blackso long and narrow ,

    to and be such about lovel ten y lashes years ! old There , led along is a little b , y bundle a tall Negress , , a bundle , clothed who appears in one

    long garment of dark blue cotton from head to feet , leaving her arms barewhich are decoratedas well as her feetwith massive rings

    of gold . , Moors are hurrying , backwards and forwards , , dressed in many colored costumes , turbans , jackets , sashes , and full trousers .

    Jewesses , whose dress is a caricature of the classical costume as seen in the British drama , but with very rich embroidery , forming a kind

    of breastplate . Of course there are French officers in all variety of uniform ; and Zouaveswho are the most icturesque of all . The

    Place and the surrounding , buildings are all French p ; there is nothing Moorish but the mosquewhich is very beautifuland has a lofty

    square tower decorated with , colored tiles . This , mosque was built by a Christian architecta slave ; he built it in the form of the cross

    and prophesied that some , day it should be used as a Christian church , , for which blasphemy he was immediately hung by the Dey of

    Algiers . The interior is very large and plain ; the floor of the mosque is covered with thick matting and carpets ; all the Moors leave their

    shoes at the door , so that even when the place is nearly full of Arabs

    and Moors the silence is most impressive . The men may be seen

    I 22 Algiers First Impressions.

    I 22 ALGIERS FIRST IMPRESSIONS .

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Sept. 1, 1860, page 22, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01091860/page/22/