these defiles, to reach the bridge of Oued-el-Hamam, where we were to bivouac. We left behind us the little redoubt, where during the revolt of 1845, a cantineer, an old non-commissioned officer, shut up in the block-house, with only two brave comrades, held out against a body of Kabyles, till he was rescued by a detachment on their march to Mascara. It was raining hard, when, quitting the high road, we, to make a short cut, struck into a bye-path, at the risk of stumbling into ravines; but at last we crossed the famous ascent to which our soldiers had given the name of Crèvecouer, and a little afterwards we encountered General Renaud, who had come to meet General Lamoriciere, with a great number of officers, Arab chiefs, and the commandant of the place, M. Bastoul, the Solomon of the city. We were now at Mascara.

140

III.

THE history of Mascara is connected with the most glorious souvenirs of the province of Oran. In 1704, the Dey of Algiers gave the command of the west to one of his favourites, a young man of twenty-four years of age, named Bou-Chelagrham, (the father of the mustachio). Ambitious, active, and intelligent, Bou-Chelagrham had sworn to avenge the death of his predecessor, the BeyChaban, who had been killed by the Christians of Oran. Before, however, turning his arms against the infidels, it was necessary to reduce the whole province under his authority. Up to that time the city of Mazouna, situated in the Dahra, between the Cheliff and the sea, had been the residence of the Beys; but being too distant from the centre of the province, many tribes had thrown off the yoke. The first act, therefore, of the new Bey, was to quit Mazouna, and to transport the

seat of the Turkish power to the other side of the first chain of mountains, to a place called Pays des Querth, from the name of a tribe who inhabited it. This position allowed the cavaliers of Bou-Chelagrham to take the tribes of the plains of Mina, of Illill, of Habra, and of Sig, in flank, and gave them a hold also on the tribes of the south, who had hitherto dared to brave the orders of the Bey, whilst by the high plateaux of Sidibel-Abbes, the communication of the Turkish chiefs with Tlemcen, could take place without difficulty. On the last hills of the chain, then, which commands the fertile plain of Eghris, there arose the city of Mascara (Aa-Askeur, literally, the mother of Soldiers), which was henceforward, till the Christians were expelled from Oran, the chief residence of the Beys. Mascara soon became a prosperous place.

This city contained a numerous population, but not a very moral one, if we are to believe the saying of the traveller, Mohamed-ben-Yousef: "I drove rogues to the walls of Mascara, and they found refuge in its houses." But however bad may have been the character of its inhabitants, it is certain that its military position is an excellent one. Mascara was regarded by all mili

tary men as the key of the country, and when General Bugeaud, having assembled a strong column at Mostaganem, was doubtful whether he should march on Tegdempt, the new post established by Abd-el-Kader on the frontier of the Tell, or on Mascara, there to take up a permanent position, as General Lamorieiere advised, General Mustapha-ben-Ismael, being consulted on the subject, replied, "When the insurrection of BenCheriff (1810) broke out, a grand council of greybeards, Turks and Arabs, was held. The question under discussion was, "Shall we take post at Mascara, or carry on a razzia warfare against the tribes ?" and all the men good at the council table, and good in the saddle, were of opinion that we should establish ourselves at Mascara. I do not pretend to be wiser than they were, and what they said then, I say now, "Go to Mascara, and remain there." Nevertheless, the army marched upon Tegdempt, but did not stop there long. The council of old Mustapha and of General Lamoriciere was eventually and speedily adopted. Posted in this city during the winter of 1841 and 1842, in a city without provisions, without resources, General Lamoriciere undertook and successfully terminated a campaign, which resulted in the

pacification of the province, and struck a heavy blow at the power of the Emir, whilst General Changarnier, the mountaineer, as Marshal Bugeaud used to call him, by his boldness and energy, brought the province of Algiers to sue for merey.

Many people express astonishment at the respect paid to the uniform of the soldier, even in time of peace. They would be less surprised if they reflected that every soldier is the heir of those who have preceded him in danger. It is known also that war in Africa is not war in Europe; every hour is an hour of suffering. In Germany and in Italy war is waged with men, with nations, who recognise humanity as an inviolable law; the wounded are attended to; prisoners are well treated, and, when the battle is over, wearied limbs find shelter, houses to repose in; sometimes even fêtes and parties of pleasure re-animate the drooping ardour of the harassed campaigner. But in Africa, the contest once commenced, there is no more repose. The enemy is invisible, and is everywhere. Marches by day, marches by night, cold dews and burning suns, and in the winter sleet rains pouring on, and soaking through you for weeks together. Then, to support the body under these fatigues, the