the walls of the town, either stops there
entirely or comes back drunk. I could not
in the least make out how the Gouraya water
had acquired such an unusual property.
Follow me, we may perhaps be in time to
save a remnant of your property." The two
speakers, guided by a line of reeling Zephyrs,
passed through the gates of Bougie, and
reached the neighbourhood of the three
fountains. Several drunken snorers, stretched
at length on the battle-field, like Curiatii
whom wounds had betrayed to the
vengeance of the conqueror, indicated the path
to a thicket of pomegranates and aloes
interwoven with clematis. In the midst
stood the enormous wine-barrel upright, and
with its head staved in. Four men lying
close by, in attitudes that were more than
picturesque, kept sleeping guard round the
empty tomb, in which, however, they had
buried their senses.

A couple of Zephyrs, in a forward state,
were strolling arm-in-arm through the low
quarters of Algiers, thinking more about the
privileges of beauty than of those of rank and
epaulettes. In fact, they had completely forgotten
the latter. A superior officer happened
to pass. The youths were so intently
occupied in staring at a brown and bright-eyed
face which peeped through a little
square upper window, that they each forgot
to touch his cap. The officer stopped, and
asked the Arcadian nearest to him, in a tone
which sounded roughly interrogative, " Don't
you know politeness, sir?"

The questioned Zephyr, without the least
embarrassment, gravely turned to his
companion, and said, " Gauthier, do you know
Politeness?"

"No," replied Gauthier innocently. Then
turning again to the officer, he formally
clapped his heels together, stretched his left
arm along the seam of his trousers, and
deliberately declared, with his open right hand
to the peak of his cap, " Not known in the
battalion, Commandant!"

The Zephyr sometimes enters the service
of science, and turns science to his own
private profit. For instance, the Oran Zephyr
will procure you fossil fish which he finds in
the marl by industriously searching and
splitting the strata. But, if his labour prove
unfruitful or the order given be too heavy to
fulfil, he will nevertheless furnish you with
all the species by means of sardines, red
herring skin, and a little strong glue. It is said
that a Zephyr was the only person who could
supply an erudite and zealous naturalist with
the ratel of the Atlas, mentioned by Sallust
and by the learned Doctor Shaw. This Atlas
ratel bore a great resemblance to the
common rat, except that his nose terminated in
a little proboscis, and his tail was nearly a
quarter of an inch shorter than it should have
been. This excessively rare specimen of a
race now almost extinct was at once the joy
of the purchaser and the finder, who had
simply deprived one of his prison companions
of a morsel that could be well spared, to graft
the superabundant part, by means of a little
incision, on the root of his nose.

Another scientific Zephyr, to avoid coming
to a nonplus in a difficult moment, contrived
to take advantage of the mania which urges
so many people in Algeria to form large
collections of insects. An officer at bivouack,
perceiving, at the twilight hour, a hand which,
after discreetly raising the curtain of the
tent, was inquisitively taking a turn under
the cloak that served him for a pillow,
jumped up, and caught a Zephyr in the fact
of a search which was somewhat more than
suspicious. " What are you doing there, you
villain?" he shouted, beside himself with
rage.

"I, captain? I was feeling for coleoptera"
An extremely probable time and place for
beetle-hunting!

If you have the slightest taste for eccentric
dishes, a Zephyr is the purveyor to stock your
larder with an ever-varied supply of game.
To-day you have a fillet of gazelle, to-morrow
a quarter of porcupine. Hedgehog, hyæna,
jackal, tortoise, and lion, will all be sure to
figure on your bill of fare. There is no occasion
to trouble yourself about cats, and
dogs, and trunkless ratels. You will get all
those by hundreds. In a town where the
Zephyrs had lately arrived the public treasury
was exhausted by the payment of a trifling
bounty intended to encourage the disappearance
of rats. Their skill was too much even
for the rats of Algeria, the most knowing
rodents in the world.

In more than one town, and in more than,
one camp, the Zephyrs have managed to
organise theatres, which were in no respect
inferior to those of the mother-country. The
most remarkable fact is that the best supported
parts were those of interesting heroines
and dashing coquettes, kindly undertaken by
beardless members of the corps! It is
inconceivable what industry and talent have been
displayed on these exciting histrionic occasions.
The Zephyrs devoted themselves,
body and soul, to the accomplishment of the
mighty work. Scenery, costumes, and
properties were produced by magic. Nothing
stopped the ardent Zephyr, not even the
humble office of prompter. One day, at
Orleansville, a lieutenant-general arrived to
inspect the division. The fountains were to
spout their best in honour of his presence,
and the theatrical performance had not been
forgotten. Nevertheless, previous to the
hour of amusement, the inspection of the
troops demanded some attention. The roll-
call was first strictly read; but to the
astonishment of the lieutenant-general inspecting,
only a single private of an entire Zephyr
regiment mustered, and he had to answer for
all the rest. " Gauthier?" shouted the orderly.

    "Here."

    "Jobinel?"