citizens of Southern France, and periodically
cross the Pyrenees to see their wives.

During the first year of my life, I did nothing
but amuse myself. At three years old, I drew
a light cart about the farm on which I was
born, and carried the youngest daughter of my
owner. I remained on the farm until nearly
four years old, when my owner died, and I was
sold to a Senor José for sixty dollars. José
was a contrabandist, and employed me for two
years in carrying French goods into Spain
through the wildest depths of the frontier. I was
present at no fewer than three fights between
the contrabandists and the guardios civiles.
The last of these was connected with some
political movements of General Prim.

As my colour was peculiar, it was suggested
that I might lead to the identification of the
band; I was accordingly sold for Seville, where
I carried goods from the railway station to some
country villages. At the end of this time I was
taken with four others to Gibraltar, and sold to
some Englishmen for something over one
hundred and ten dollars. Thence I was shipped
for Abyssinia. They hoisted me on board by
passing under my belly a piece of canvas bound
with rope, and they put me into a stall only just
broad enough to hold me. On each side were
placed other mules, and more were put on a
deck below; our faces were turned toward an
opposite row of mules, our heels to the steamer's
side. There were two hundred of us, who, after a
voyage of eleven days, were landed and led to the
Alexandria railway station, and carried in twenty-
four hours to a sandy plain called Suez, where
with two thousand others I stayed for a week.
Then I was put into another steamer like the
first, but hotter, and six days after the
commencement of my second sea voyage the steamer
came to port in Abyssinia. Two visitors came
to see us, one of whom was clearly endowed
with more than ordinary discrimination.

"That is a remarkably fine animal," he
observed, pointing in my direction.

"A little small," said his companion.
"So much the better. A mule of fourteen
hands will thrive where one of fifteen hands
would lose condition. You can clear out your
cargo this afternoon, captain. The naval officer
has promised to send half a dozen native boats
alongside; with five-and-twenty in each, two
trips will finish the lot."

"Who will take charge of them when they land?"

At this question our visitors laughed.
"Why," said one of them, " I suppose you will
next ask me for a receipt for your cargo. All
you have to do is to send the mules on shore.
The Transport train may have detailed some
men to catch them. If they have, they will get
most of them; if not, it will be nothing new.
The beasts will have to take their chance. But
mind you give them a big drink before they go
into the boats. Water is scarce on shore."

The crew of my boat consisted of six men,
all blacks; indeed, I now discovered what I had
first begun to suspect at the Alexandria Railway

Station, that men vary as much in their
colour as horses or mules. Two of these men
occupied themselves in taking from me and
my companions the canvas halters which had
been placed on our heads before quitting the
vessel.

"I do not believe," said one, " that the English
are soldiers; for although I have seen more
than one thousand five hundred Indian warriors
land, and two thousand mules, I have only
counted fifty white fighting men."

"They have," said another, "some white
warriors at Aden, but they are above all devils
at sea. It was only yesterday that they wished
to tow thirteen of our sailing boats with that
fire ship yonder, so that we might take two
loads of stone to the pier which the Chinese
are building, instead of the one load which we
said was the most we could carry in twenty-
four hours."

"Ridiculous. A child could see that when
you fetched two loads instead of one, the pier
would be built twice as fast, and you would
only receive half the money."

"Exactly. So thought the captain of the
dhow. We agreed to let the white faces fasten
the thirteen vessels together by ropes, one after
the other, in a string: but when the steam-tug
tried to pull us on, we had all anchored.'

"Ha! ha! What did the fools do then?"

"First, they swore; then, they sent an
interpreter to explain that if we allowed the fire ship
to tug us, we should have no trouble with our
sails. As if we had not known that! Then they
swore again, and then we lighted our pipes; and
then they became very quiet. One gets to be
afraid of these English when they stop talking.
After a little while, a boat with twelve men
came from their fighting ship. The men had
swords. A little boy about fourteen years of
age was their chief. He stepped into the leading
dhow, told his men to tie its captain to the
mast, and — before Allah, it is true! they
flogged him."

"Did not the crew of his dhow fight for
their captain?"

"No, they said afterwards the Europeans
looked so wicked they did not know what to
do. Well, this abhorred boy went to the
second and third dhows and flogged their
captains also; mine was the fourth, but I and all
the boats in the rear had our anchors up before
the Europeans reached us. The boy only
laughed at me as the tug pulled us on. Now here
we are in shallow water. We must put out the
mules of these unbelievers, but at any rate we
have got most of their halters. What fools
these English are, not to have put one of their
men in our boat!"

I was now forced to walk up some planks
which led from the bottom to the top edge of
the craft. All around me was water. Three
or four men struck at and pushed me from
behind, until I half jumped, half was thrown,
into the sea. I saw land about one hundred
yards to my front and swam for it. The water
was very warm. I soon got to a shallow place