of mines and forests, the erection of barrages and irrigational canals, the establishment of manufactories, &c. It was to lend a further sum of one hundred millions of francs, to be applied in similar works of public utility, and the Government made over to the company one hundred thousand hectares (two hundred and fifty thousand acres) of the best land in the colony at the nominal rent of one franc a hectare per annum during fifty years. It was understood that it was to colonise and people this land. Little, however, has been done in that respect, the society having done little more than re-let it to the Arabs."Murray's Guide.

The company endeavours to combine a successful commercial enterprise, with the claims both of science and pleasure. The garden has perhaps, somewhat too much the air of an enormous nursery-ground; and the extreme flatness of the land on which it is laid-out militates considerably against its picturesqueness. But it contains an extremely beautiful and varied collection of tropical plants; and an attempt has been made at ornamentation, by the introduction of a small artificial lake, which is covered with water-lilies. A little island in the centre is the home of some rare water-fowl; and a scheme was set on foot to combine a zoological with the botanical garden. The idea has been abandoned for the present, though there are still a few gazelles and llamas, also some ostriches and other birds domiciled in various parts of the garden. But the great glory of the garden is its avenues, in which form the trees are planted throughout. A great avenue of giant bamboos traverses the whole width of the plantation, forming a grand arcade, impenetrable to the rays of the fiercest sun, along the course of which are placed numerous seats; but it would, perhaps, be well for the visitor, especially if he be heated with walking, to abstain from the perilous advantage thus offered. The shade of the bamboo

is always more or less dangerous, and especially so towards sun-down. The old Italian proverb-Dove non va il sole va il medico-holds good equally on the southern side of the Mediterranean. And, indeed, it would be advisable for

persons easily susceptible of fever, to visit the Jardin d'Essai in the early part of the day, or, at least, not to linger there until sunset, as the land lies low, and the immense mass of foliage is apt to produce miasma. A great avenue

of plane-trees leads through the garden from the principal entrance, and from its central point various other avenues radiate; but, perhaps, the most striking and beautiful of any of these grand alleys, is the grove of palm-trees, which, in a line parallel with the plane-trees, stretches, in a double row of delicate feathery crowns, from one end of the garden

to the other. The grand avenue of Ficus elasticus, too, must not be forgotten; giant trees these, with trunks three or four yards in circumference. Indeed, knowing this tree as we do, only by its very smallest specimens, potted in our greenhouses and treasured in our windows, under the homely name of the india-rubber plant, we are more struck

in this world of tropical vegetation, by finding our old familiar friend with such an altered face, than by any marvels of strange exotics with which we are unacquainted. After having wandered at will through this wonderful Brobdingnagian garden, which may be done either on foot or in a carriage, for the drive goes entirely round it-pass through it to the road which borders it on the sea-ward side the Route de Constantine. On the other side of this road is a charmingly picturesque group of date-palms, known as the Oasis de Sainte Marie, more beautiful, though as individuals less remarkable, than the cultured avenue of the garden. Dwarfed and twisted by the rough sea-breezes, they have yet, in their wild and untaught beauty, a grace and charm which the most perfect symmetry of artistic arrangement lacks.

From this point is one of the most striking views of the

town.

"Westward, Algiers appears in profile, descending step by step from the summit of her steep incline, till her white feet touch the water. El-Bahadja—La Blanche the Arabs call her, and truly the name suits her even now, dishonoured though she be. The high defence of her ancient Turkish ramparts, that gleaming white girdle that encircled her, is broken through and cast down; the upper city has lost her minaretseven here some modern roofs peep out. Every nation of the world now moors its ships of war or merchandise at the foot of the grand old mosque. . Bordj-el-Fennar has lost its terrors. No matter; Algiers will always be the capital and true queen of the littoral, with her Kasba for crown-her Kasba, with a lean, solitary cypress, last remnant of the inner garden of the Dey, rising up in the sky like a dark thread, or which from afar resembles the aigrette on the royal turban. "Let be what will, she is, and may she long remain, El-Bahadjathe whitest city of the East.”—Une Année dans le Sahel.

On this spot, and on the site of the Jardin d'Essai, the

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OASIS DE STE. MARIE.

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army of Charles V. disembarked at the time of that emperor's disastrous expedition in 1541 (page 87).

The Emperor, we are told

"Believed so firmly in the success of his enterprise, that to avoid bloodshed, before disembarking his troops, he summoned the Algerines to deliver up their city. One of his officers, Don Lorenzo Manuele, appeared at the gate Bab-Azoun bearing a white flag and demanding an audience of the Dey. Don Manuele briefly explained his mission. 'The Christians were come,' said he, 'to chastise the pirates. The Emperor of Spain, with an immense fleet had arrived, and was about to take possession of the country.' He therefore advised the Bey to give up the city quietly, promising in the Emperor's name, to the Turks their lives and safe passage from the country, and to the Moors freedom to exercise their religion.

"To this lofty address the Dey replied, that he, too, had confidence in God.”—Histoire de la Conquête de l'Algérie. A. Fillias.

The troops then disembarked on the 23rd of October, and bivouacked at Hamma (the Jardin d'Essai and the Café des Platanes). The heat was overpowering.

The next day, one division of the army marched to the heights above the city, carrying with them a siege-train, ladders, and all appliances for taking the town by storm; meanwhile the Admiral, Doria, drew up his ships in line of battle. To quote the French historian

“The attack was well arranged; the advanced guard occupied an excellent position, the other two corps intercepted all communication between the town and the interior, while the guns of the fleet were prepared to complete the ruin of the city, added to which the troops were filled with ardent religious enthusiasm. Charles V. might well believe himself sure of success."

But it was not so to be.

On the afternoon of the 25th sudden clouds obscured

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