bare floor, with empty stomachs; and in this misery they spent the first night at Bugia. On the following morning they obtained some provisions from the transport which brought them here; and on the same day, the 29th of January 1834, their first engagement took place with the Arabs, which was afterwards daily repeated. In these skirmishes, some of both sides were generally killed and wounded. But the Arabs grew bolder every day, so that the French had hard work to keep them at a distance.

The garrison at Bugia depended upon Algiers for their provisions, and all other necessaries, as the Arabs would bring nothing to market. Owing to the almost constant contrary winds, which are prevalent in these parts during the winter seasons, no vessel arrived from Algiers for some time; so that the poor Bugian troops were driven to the utmost extremities for want of the common subsistence of life. Add to this, hard service, no pay, and bad treatment from superior officers,-it is no wonder that discontent made its way amongst the soldiers, and induced many rather to take refuge amongst their enemies, the Arabs, from whom they had to expect nothing but barbarity, than to serve a civilized nation, into whose service they had been enticed. Krüger also made up his mind to embrace the first and best opportunity to effect his escape.

On the 28th of March 1834, he prepared some food, and at about ten o'clock at night left Bugia, and took his course towards the desert. He travelled the whole of that night, and on the morning he looked out for a place where he might rest during the day,

unobserved by the Arabs. This precaution he was induced to observe, out of fear that the Arabs, upon discovering him, might kill him, or bring him back to Bugia, and deliver him to the French commander, for which the Arabs were rewarded with 100 francs. In this manner our deserter proceeded for several days, when his food began to fail, which constrained him, in spite of all apprehensions of danger, to enter a village that he saw a little way off. But by the time he reached it, night had come on, and he found all the inhabitants wrapped in deep sleep. But here again the fear of his being amongst his enemies, and the barking of some hundreds of dogs, which are kept by the Arabs to prevent the wild beasts approaching their tents, forced him to quit the village. The night was dark and gloomy: the rain came down in torrents; the thunder pealed through the air; and the flashes of lightning were running along the ground in such a manner, that at some moments it appeared as if the whole neighbourhood had been doomed by heaven to destruction. Krüger had not gone a great distance from the village, when to all this was added a terrible roaring of wild beasts; and as he happened to be near a high tree, he climbed up, and spent the whole night upon it. As the morning approached, the weather gradually cleared up, and in a short time there were hardly any traces left of the dreadful weather of the night. He now descended from the tree, fatigued and hungry, and laid down to refresh himself by sleep, from which he was awakened by a voice more terrible to him

than the roaring of wild beasts: it was the voice of the greatest enemy of man-I mean the voice of men! He started up, and, to his great terror, beheld, at a short distance from him, two Arabs, well armed, coming towards him. Suddenly, one of them, on observing him, stopped short, and began to level his gun at him. Krüger cried aloud; on hearing his cries, the Arab desisted, and approached him. Krüger, as may naturally be supposed, was greatly terrified, and expected that moment would be his last; but the Arabs had no bad intention: the French uniform which Krüger wore seemed to have frightened them, as they gave him afterwards to understand. They thought he resembled much more a wild animal than a human being. The Arabs were on their way to a market-place, which was about three miles off; they, therefore, asked Krüger to go with them. On the way, they gave him dates and bread to eat, and in every respect treated him very kindly.

The Arab's character has, by some authors, been represented as very hospitable and kind; whilst by others it has been represented as inhuman, cruel, and selfish. How persons could be so vastly mistaken, in forming the character of a whole people, must be very surprising to many; but this, I have no doubt, will appear to them much more so, when they are told, that these two qualities, so diametrically opposed to each other, are so combined in the Arab, that persons, (and that even of a sharp penetration,) except they have lived amongst them for a considerable time, are very liable to form con

trary opinions of them. The same Arab who will to-night lodge you under his tent, defend you from your enemies, and treat you in the kindest manner possible, will, on the following morning, rob you of your property, ill-treat you, and, in case of your resistance, deprive you even of your life! I might enumerate examples to corroborate this my assertion; but I hope to convince my readers of it in the course of this work.

The Bedouin-sometimes written Bedowin, Beduin, or Bedoween-is a corruption of the Arabic word which signifies "one who is without a fixed residence," and is appropriated to the Arabs who are travelling in the deserts of Arabia and North Africa. They trace their descent back to Ismael, of which they are very proud. They do not intermarry with other tribes, and uniformly prefer a poor man out of their brethren to a rich stranger, except he be a convert to their religion. The Bedouin Arabs live always in tents in those places where they can find water, and pasturage for their cattle. Each tribe is considered to have an exclusive property in a district, the extent and value of which is proportional to the strength and importance of the tribe, and which is generally large, affording sufficient room for the migrations, which are indispensable among a people whose subsistence is chiefly derived, through their cattle, from the spontaneous produce of the barren regions they inhabit. The personal appearance of these desert-Arabs varies as to the parts they inhabit; generally speaking, however, they may be described as a middle-sized and

rather thin race of men, with brown complexions, and strong black hair. The muscles of their limbs are strongly developed; their strength, alertness, and activity, are very great; but their power of abstinence, and endurance of fatigue, are still more remarkable. They can often travel four or five days without tasting water, under circumstances in which a European would die in two days. Their sight is, generally speaking, so excellent, that they can distinguish the smallest object at a considerable distance. They shave their head, leaving only a long lock on the crown of the head, which they believe Mohammed will cut off for them at his reappearance, or, as others say, by which the pseudoprophet is to pull them up to heaven.

Their dress consists of a shirt; a barnoose, or a kind of cloak; a head-dress, or turban, which is generally fastened with a rope of camel's hair; and sandals. The shirt is made of coarse cotton, and worn till nothing remains of it, without its ever being washed; the consequence is, that they are always troubled with the third plague of Pharaoh, the destroying of which affords them some occupation during a great part of the day.

The women's dress differs from that of the men, in that, instead of the barnoose or cloak, they wear a kind of blue frock without sleeves, which is fastened in a peculiar manner. They are fond of ornaments, and, in the absence of gold and silver ones, they will hang about their person pieces of brass, bones, iron, shells, and curious stones, which they pick up in the desert. These they hang around