of horned cattle, and also for the production of grain. The second class feed their herds upon the mountain-plateaus, before referred to, lying between the Tell and the Little Desert; which, though not rich in grain, yet present spots affording excellent pasture. Of the third class we have already spoken.

The influence of blood-relationship, an aristocratic form of government, and the love of a roving life, are common to all these races; though the Tellias, as agriculturists, are less addicted to this latter quality than the second class, who, as shepherds, are continually under the necessity of changing their positions, in order to seek fresh pasture-grounds. Many of the tribes, into which each of these classes is divided, are both numerous and powerful; but, like the wild clans of American Indians, the vicissitudes of their mode of life, hereditary diseases, and continued wars amongst themselves, have reduced some of them to a state bordering on extinction, and altogether buried others in oblivion.

As to their social condition, the heads of families are regarded with great respect by their offspring, who, settling around the patriarch's tent, together with his connexions and slaves, form, in course of time, a douar (or circle of tents) of which he is the sheikh (a title signi

fying senior or elder), and over the domestic economy of which he holds independent authority. When, for the sake of reciprocal protection or otherwise, several douars unite, this union takes the name of farka, and then the sheikhs form together a Djemâa (or council), to watch over the common interest of the farka; one amongst them, on account of either his superior nobility, age, intellect, or uprightness of life, generally being nominated the head of such assembly.

Nobility of blood is especially held in great consideration by these wild but aristocratic people. Thus, all descendants of Fathma, the daughter of Mahomet, and of Sidi-Ali-ben-ebi-Thaleb, his brother, rank as nobles of the first order, and bear the title of Sherif or Sidi; the latter word signifying lord or master. Amongst the chief privileges they enjoy, is the right of being judged by their peers in case of infringement of the laws. Descendants of the Koraiche, or tribe to which the prophet belonged, or of such tribes as accompanied the first planting of the standard of Islamism in Western Africa, also rank as nobles, but of the military order. Again, there is another order of nobles, viz., the Marabouts or Marrabbutts, a word said to be derived from the Arabic verb "rbth" (to devote oneself), the par ticiple of which verb is "mrbth." These are the lords spiritual of the Arab aristocracy, and may

rank in influence as superior to all other orders. They are devoted to the preservation of their faith; lead austere lives dedicated to study, and the teaching of the law of Mahomet; and moreover, according to the belief of their superstitious disciples, they possess the power of working miracles, and of prophecy. These men are surrounded with a halo of sanctity during their life, and after death their cubbas, or tombs, are places of prayer for the pilgrim, of refuge for the criminal, resorts for all devout Moslems, and points of assembly for the elders of the farkas in their neighbourhood. Upon the woodclothed slopes of the Atlas, upon the wide-spreading plains of Algeria, the white domes of these sacred sepulchres frequently attract the eye of the wanderer:

A profound veneration for religion is planted in the Arab breast; so profound indeed, that it amounts to fanaticism. The utter negligence shown until lately by the French occupants in allowing themselves to be regarded as a nation of infidels, doubtless has rendered them still more odious in the eyes of the Arab than if they had upheld the honours of Christianity. Loving to be compared with the ancient Romans, why should they forget the exclamation of Rome's greatest moralist, Cicero:-"Pietate ac reli

gione, atque hâc unâ sapientiâ, quod deorum immortalium numine omnia regi gubernarique perspeximus, omnes gentes nationesque superavimus ?"

It has been well observed by a French writer, "Les Arabes ne peuvent pas comprendre un état sans religion. Quand ils virent que nous ne professions ancun culte, ils en conclurent que nous n'étions pas une société, mais une agglomération de mécréants." Monsieur l'Abbé Suchet, who in 1842 nobly ventured to present himself in the camp of Abd-el-Kader, between Tak'dempt and Mascara, to demand the release of fifty-six of his countrymen then in the hands of the Emir, remarks that wherever he passed his title of. priest was venerated. And to that might probably in great measure be attributed the immediate deliverance of his countrymen without

ransom.

The

But to return from this digression. Marrabbutts often unite and form a douar, or even when very numerous a farka, in the neighbourhood of a chapel or tomb, sacred to the memory of some deceased brother. There they instruct a certain number of youth in the law, and exist upon the produce of lands bestowed upon them, and upon such pious donations as they may receive. They are bound to hospitality and to shelter those in distress. They also

celebrate marriages, pronounce divorces, &c. The pupils of this priesthood are entitled tolbas (or learned men). All the above orders of nobility are hereditary amongst the Arabs.

As to the present organisation of the Arabs, the late invasion of their shores by a Christian host, superior in discipline and in the art of war, together with the determination shown to form a settlement within the limits of their country, caused the Moslem to tremble for his liberty and faith. The troublous times, however, soon produced a leader, who, with the Koran in one hand and the sword in the other, placed himself at their head, rousing them to war against the Infidel. Of the sacred order of the Marrabbutts, remarkable for austerity of life, for profound knowledge as a taleb, and for valour, tribe after tribe readily flocked to his standard to wage the Holy War. Ambitious as brave, Abd-el-Kader soon aspired to the title of Emir, prince or head of the state, proving himself of noble blood and of the lineage of the former Sultans of Tak'dempt. Sagacious as ambitious, he saw that to consolidate his power it was necessary to create delegates, who, bound by fear and interest, might bring into a proper state of organisation his wild subjects. With this view he divided his empire into districts and subdivisions; viz., into Khalifats,