comprehension of what she wanted to say,
and expressed herself with a clearness and
resolution which are rarely met with among
Arab women. It was evident that she was under
the overpowering influence of some potent
and genuine sentiment; in other words, that
her soul was illumined with a ray of faith.
She began her statement without needing to
be questioned.

"I come to you," she said, "because, here,
it is only amongst the French that truth and
justice are to be found. In vain do they tell
us falsehoods and keep us imprisoned within
our tents; we behold your works, and judge
of you from them."

"Your address, my daughter," replied the
president, "prepossesses me with a good
opinion of you. Speak without fear, and be
assured that whatever can possibly be done
in your behalf, shall be done."

"O! I will speak without fear. It is not
here that a woman need feel afraid. I never
was more calm than I am at this moment."

"Quite right, my child. Of whom do you
complain? Has any one acted unjustly
towards you?"

"I will tell you all about it, and the exact
truth; for you are the only person who can
comprehend my situation and at the same
time support my rights. My name is Ourida
Bent Douni; I am the daughter of Douni
Ben, the khhab of the tribe of the Beni
Todjar, and I have to complain of my own
father, who wants to force me to marry an
ugly and infirm old man, named Mammar
Belasenan, his neighbour."

"How could your father have conceived
so unfortunate an idea! Can he have been
seduced by the dowry offered him by Belasenan;
and does he want, like too many other
fathers, to sacrifice his child to a
moneybag?"

"No; the dowry has nothing to do with
this business. My father desires to marry
Belasenan's daughter, and he will not consent
to the match except on the condition that
I am to be made over to him in exchange.
I have resisted with all my
strength; because the man to whom they
want to give me, inspires me with disgust
and horror, and because I do not feel myself
capable of fulfilling with him the duties of a
wife. My resistance has brought upon me
my father's anger, blows, and ill-treatment
of every kind. I was bound with ropes.
Only look; you see how my arms still show
the marks and bruises of the cord which I
broke, or rather which"—here the plaintiff
exhibited a charming air of embarrassment—
"which some one else broke for me. For,
unless I had had that assistance, I know not
what would have happened to me."

"Let us see, my child; don't be ashamed
to speak out openly. It is right that I should
know what this assistance was, although I
think that I have guessed it. Since you appear
to understand us so well, you ought to
know that we invariably respect and honour
every true and natural sentiment, and that
we reserve our contempt only for falsehood
and hypocrisy. Speak without fear; confide
to me all you may have on your mind."

"Yes, I will tell him!" exclaimed the
plaintiff, with a natural burst of feeling. "I
will tell him; and why not? Ought I to
make any concealment from you? Besides,
is it not allowable to tell you all—to confide
completely in you? It was not I who broke
my bonds; I was not strong enough for that;
it was Khabib Oulid Galb, a cavalier belonging
to your makrezen; a brave cavalier."

"Whom you prefer to Belasenan, don't
you?"

"Yes; I love him," answered the plaintiff
with resolution. "Why not avow it? And
what harm is there in that? I had rather die
than belong to any other man than him!"

"Very good, very good, my child. Your
frankness and the sincerity of your expressions
are the best recommendations in your
favour that any one can give you. I promise
you, on my word of honour, that satisfaction
shall be done you. But let us hear more;
explain everything clearly. Did Oulid Galb
carry you off?"

"O! it does not cause me the slightest
embarrassment to relate to you the whole of
our story. We have loved each other for
more than a year, ever since the marriage of
Ben Tâm, where he saw me dance with the
women of the tribe, and where I saw him, I
myself, manœuvring on horseback with
musket and gunpowder better than all the
cavaliers of the united goums. Since that
time, being aware of my father's violence, he
has often proposed to me to elope with him.
I never would. But at last my patience
became exhausted; and when I was bound
and covered with blows, I sent Bent Soudan,
our negress, to inform him of it. He came;
he broke the ropes, and then I fled with him;
but I swear to you, by the head of the
Prophet, that we came directly and straight
to you, and that no one can say they met us
travelling out of the shortest road."

"I believe your statement. He accompanied
you hither; he is therefore here?"

"Yes, assuredly, he is here; but, of course,
he did not venture to present himself together
with me."

Orders were immediately given for the
introduction of Oulid el Galb, who did not
keep the court waiting long. He really was
a handsome fellow, with a countenance at
once mild and energetic. He was clad in a
neat, appropriate, and complete horseman's
costume. On beholding him, it was not very
difficult to comprehend the preference
accorded to him by the plaintiff over the infirm
and ugly Belasenan. His attitude betrayed
a certain degree of uneasiness, which did not
appear to arise from natural timidity, but
merely from anxiety and fear lest his heart's
desires should not be gratified.