in a week or so.

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tention by the ease and gracefulness of his j feat, and leads to an interestin movements. Each time he came forward after cation: loading, I had marked his excitement increasing, and now carried away by it, he seemed to forget the peaceful nature of the meeting, for, "While drinking our coffee, we obs my eyes. levelling his gun deliberately at the Arab boy who, leaning with folded arms he negro, standing next one of the French officers and stick, watched every motion that witself in a myself, he fired with the muzzle within a cou- The boy's countenance was disgus with its sinple of feet of his body; the man fell, rolled pulsive, and the vacant yet cunning eng rapidly over and over, and lay as if dead. On exami- of his features, more those of a brute the hellish nation of the wound, there was no fear to be human being, as well as the form of the frightentertained for his life, as he was hit near the shapen head, stamped him as an idiot was now hip, and a double fold of his bernous, which birth. A tattered bernous hung looselyt. Swalwas burnt through, had deadened the force of shoulders, and cold and wet as the ev mouth, the powder. It was nevertheless an ugly was, he stood staring in at the entrance od venlooking wound, as pieces of the woollen ber- tent, while the other Arabs, whom curice repnous and some grains of the coarse powder had at first attracted, gathered round the puthad been driven into the burnt flesh. The rest a few yards distant. Knowing that the Arf its of the party did not care much about it, and regard as saints, madmen, and those whose sting the wounded man's wife, instead of looking tellects are affected, I paid no more attentiand, after her husband, rushed up to the man who to him, and left the tent for a few minute it had shot him, and, assisted by some female When I returned, the boy was still there, fixeed friends, opened upon him a torrent of abuse in the same attitude; and I was told that he with such evident fluency of tongue and comhad just made a display of his sanctity, by mand of language, that after endeavoring in holding in his naked hand a live scorpion, and vain to get in a word or two, he fairly turned then eating it, without suffering in the least tail and walked off. I asked in the evening close to the tent, there could be no doubt but from its poisonous sting. As he was standing how the wounded man was, and they answered that it would not signify, he would be well that he performed the disgusting feat of de Ten minutes afterwards he youring the reptile, but I was rather incredu came himself limping to our tent, evidently lous as to the fact of the sting not having bee int much more distressed at the serious injury his removed, We were discussing this poir eld bernous had received, than at his own hurt, when, guessing that he was the object of ond. and exhibiting the big holes burnt in his gar- conversation, he went away, and returned and ment with a most woebegone expression of most immediately with another scorpion in countenance. The same rejoicings continued hand. Taking a piece of stick, I examined the all the afternoon; and even when our numbers most closely in his uncovered hand, and puld were increased by the return of the shooting fectly satisfied myself that it had not been deeparty, no objections were made to our going to prived of its sting, or injured in any way. The and fro as often as we pleased. It is the cus- scorpion was of a tolerable size-upwards of tom always to make a present to the musi- two inches long-quite lively, and able to incians, which I understood was handed over to flict a very painful wound, the effects of which the bridegroom; so perhaps the five-franc would be apparent almost instantly, and last piece given by each of us may have had some for a considerable time. Standing over the effect. The actual ceremonies of an Arab boy, I watched him narrowly, to see that he marriage are very simple. The young man did not pinch off the tail of the reptile, or play having made his choice, the two fathers meet any trick; but, half raising his hand to his and settle what sum is to be paid for the bride; head, he put his mouth to his open palm, and this important point arranged, a contract is I saw distinctly the scorpion writhing between drawn up and signed, the money paid, the his teeth as he took it up, and heard the bridegroom goes for his wife and brings her crunching of its shelly covering, as he delibehome. A divorce is a still easier matter; the ratley chewed and then swallowed it. Neither husband gives his reason for desiring it (frehis hands nor his mouth suffered in the slight quently a very trifling one), and the woman est degree, and after a short interval he pro returns to her father, who, however, is entitled duced and ate another in the same way, whic to keep the sum he originally received at the also examined. The boy, since the early time of the marriage. Owing to their habits riod when the infirmity of his mind beca ined of life, the Arab women enjoy a greater degree apparent, had been brought up a memberhemof comparative liberty than falls to the lot of the religious sect of the Aisaoua, who entors. females of other Mahometan nations. Con- the privilege, by the special gift of God toes, and stantly employed in the severest domestic la-founder, of being proof against the vene Aïsabor in the field, as well as at home, conceal-reptiles, and the effects of fire. The pres Part ment of the person, as practised by the Moors and inhabitants of cities, is impossible in the douar, neither do they attempt it.”

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chief of the sect resides near Medea, and high disciples are to be found scattered over the whole of Northern Africa; they are held in a cer.ain degree of reverence, but do not possess much influence. Captain Martenot

Our next extract relates a rem rkable gave us these details, and referred me for furVOL. III.-No. III.

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times follow ation on the subject to the following [another; and the chorus then taking it up, adthe track, f a grand festival of the Aïsaoua, dressed a prayer to God, in accordance with dog, seldo? when kiloy an officer who was an eye-witness the favor demanded. Incense was every now enes he so graphically describes. and then thrown on a brazier of live coals, and French ste court of a small Moorish house in the chorus repeated in a loud voice, Es-salah! for sale. de l'Empereur, Algiers, about sixty Es-salah! They then all seated themselves Ad Moors were assembled. Frou in a circle, leaving a vacant space in the cenpowerful -one red and yellow, and the other tre of the court. The Mokaddam and his chief England and green-were suspended from assistants took their places opposite to me, and These dons of the court, over the heads of the at their side a dozen Aisaoua arranged themthe sect. These were the standards selves, each armed with an enormous tama fine Marabout, Mohammed-ben-Aissa. In bourine, which they beat in cadence, while the Arab, iddle, a long wax taper, placed in an old chorus vociferated a song in honor of Benplace chandelier, alone afforded light to the Aissa. There was in these songs an undefinambly, and cast its uncertain, glimmering ble spirit of frantic rage, which produced in into the gloomy corners of the building. me a certain impression of terror. I saw some upper gallery was filled with women, of these fanatics roll enormous serpents in the ered with their white veils, leaving visible hollow of their tambourines, while livid adders Thy their black eyes and their eyebrows, reared their hideous heads from the hoods of ined with henna. Bou-Chama, by whose their bernous, and, dropping to the floor, glided vitation I attended the festival, remained by over the marble as cold as themselves. In my side, and explained the origin of the reli- spite of the horror which I felt at this sight, gious sect to which he belonged, in nearly the curiosity got the better of my disgust, and I Following terms:-'Four or five hundred remained. I must confess, however, that my years ago a celebrated Marabout lived in the heart beat violently; the dim obscurity, the province of Oran. His name was Mohammed-infernal music, the women, shrouded in their Ben-Aïssa, and having succeeded in gathering white veils, appearing like phantoms risen ogether a certain number of disciples, he from the grave, all prepared my imagination andered with them over the face of the land, for the horrid spectacle of a festival of the metimes in the Tell, and at other times Aisaoua. At the sound of this barbarous unging into the wilds of the Sahara. One music, one of the party rushed into the circle hty during his wanderings he lost his way in with a frightful cry and extended arms, as if W desert. The provisions were exhausted, possessed by the evil one. He made the round we his faithful followers, sinking from weak- several times, roaring hoarsely and savagely, s, were on the point of perishing with hun- then, as if compelled by a supernatural power, Er, when Ben-Aïssa, stretching his hands to- he began to dance to the sound of the tamwards heaven, implored the mercy of the God bourines and drums. He was then clothed in of Mohammed. Lord,' cried he, 'thou alone a white bernous, and his 'shasheah' (red art able to save us. Take pity upon us, and woollen cap) being taken off, the long hair left cause whatsoever we may touch, to change on the top of an Arab's head fell over his for us into wholesome food.' At these words, shoulders. He then commenced his 'zeekr. seized with sudden inspiration, his disciples The zeekr is a species of religious dance, gathered stones, serpents, scorpions, &c., sat- which consists in jerking the head from right isfied their hunger, and suffered no harm. to left, so that it touches the shoulders alter'We,' continued Bou-Chama, followers of nately. The whole body of the Aïsaoua was this illustrious Marabout, have inherited the in motion, his eyes soon became red and bloodsame privilege; and it is in commemoration of shot, and the veins of his neck blue and disthis miracle, and to perpetuate it, that we have tended; nevertheless, he continued his terrific now assembled together. By our prayers we dance. On a sudden two others rose up, and obtain the cure of the sick, and draw down the with savage yells, joined the first. The three, mercies of heaven upon our newly-born chil-excited by each other, redoubled their stampren. After these words, Bou-Chama left me ings and the motion of their heads, working Cad joined his brethren; the rites were com- themselves up into a state of frenzy impossible 0 encing. The prescribed ablutions having to describe. Now calling for red-hot iron, hen performed, the Aisaoua, standing in small shovels, the broad part the size of the beditative postures, recited eight times the hand, with long iron handles, were given to if sulman profession of faith-I bear wit-them. Seizing each one, these enthusiasts, abo that there is none other god than God, placing one knee on the ground, applied their stones Fat Mohammed is his prophet.' In their hands, and even tongues, to the red-hot metal. then Sheir was someting grave and solemn. One of them, more madly excited than his ap'ནག . ch was most impressive. The Mokaddam, companions, placed the brightest portion of the or chief of the sect, then chanted a prayer for instrument between his teeth, and held it in all Mussulmen, and called down upon them that position for upwards of thirty seconds. the benedictions of the prophet. At the end of Let not the reader think that I exaggerate; each prayer the, Mokaddam stopped, and the I witnessed all that I relate; and, in order to Aisaoua, lifting up their voices in turn, asked impress the scene stronger upon my memory, health for one, or the blessing of maternity for the performer of this last act placed himself

pre

directly opposite to me with a lighted taper in | burnt brightly, and sent forth a thousand sparks. his hand. It is impossible for me to give a Without having been there, it is impossible to reason for what I saw, but I cannot disbelieve realize the terrific sight I had before my eyes. it; I smelt the stench of the burnt flesh, and Opposite me, within two paces, was the negro, when I afterwards touched their hands and whose glowing mouth displayed itself in a feet, I found only a fresh and uninjured skin. black and hideous face; his head, with its sinThe sight of one old man, nearly sixty-five gle lock of crisp woolly hair, vibrating rapidly years of age, gave me great pain; he grasped from side to side; and around me the hellish the red-hot iron, and placing it on his leg, al- music, the convulsive stampings, and the frightlowed it to remain there until a whitish smoke ful cries of the dancers. The negro was now arose, which filled the whole house with its in a state of the most furious excitement. Swalpoisonous odor. These dances lasted in this lowing the still burning contents of his mouth, manner for the space of an hour. Notwith- he seized a large scorpion, full of life and venstanding the noise produced by the songs and om; placing it on his arm, he irritated the repthe tambourines, the painful rattle in the tile in every possible manner, pinching it, putthroats of these mad fanatics could be distin- ting it near the taper, and burning one of its guished amidst the din; at last, exhausted by claws. The enraged animal darted his sting fatigue, they fell backwards, one after the into the offered hand; the negro smiled, and, other, and lay senseless and motionless on the raising the scorpion to his mouth, I heard it ground; the songs ceased, and nothing broke crack between his teeth; and, as he swallowed the solemn silence but the sound of their heavy it, I turned my head aside in horror. The breathings. A man, whose task it was to at- reader, perhaps, supposes that the scorpion tend the half-dead wretches, now advanced, was deprived of his sting; but I had ocular and placing his foot successively on the pit of demonstration to the contrary; nay, more, I their stomachs, pressed their sides strongly, might have brought one from the Boudjareeah kneaded their limbs, and caused them to re- myself, and given it with my own hand, as vive. The dance recommenced; four fresh many have done who have been admitted to Aisaoua rushed into the circle, aud were soon these Hadrah.' in the same state of frenzy as their predecessors, striking their heads with red-hot shovels, and stamping upon them with their naked feet. Then, in their delirium, imagining that they were transformed into camels and lions, they uttered the cries of the animals they represented, and feigned a combat between them; their months foamed and their eyes sparkled with The Mokaddam now presented to them a leaf of cactus, of which the thorns, an inch in length, and sharp as a needle, made me tremble. At this sight the combat ceased; the Aisaoua threw themselves upon the cactus, they tore and ground it between their teeth, making the air resound with a hoarse noise resembling the horrid cries of an enraged camel. At this moment the women, placed in the upper gallery, raised their dismal cry of lu-lu, lu-lu, lu-lu.

rage.

6

"A yatagan was now brought, the point wrapped in a handkerchief, and two men held it horizontally about three feet from the ground. On seeing this, a man rose from his seat and commenced his zeekr; then, uncovering his breast, he sprang with all his weight on the naked blade: it seemed as if his body would have been cut in two by such a blow. He remained, however, with his bare breast on the sharp edge of the sabre, balancing himself with his feet, in a horizontal position, and tranquilly continuing his zeekr. Meanwhile the four other Aisaoua continued their furious dance, beating their heads with the iron shovels brought to a red heat. To these, three others soon joined themselves, grasping in each hand a living adder, with which they struck their bodies. As they danced, the serpents wound themselves about their limbs, "This frightful scene was only the prelude hissing horribly. Then seizing them, some to all the horrors I was about to witness. To-placed them in their mouths, so as only to perwards eleven o'clock the songs ceased, and coffee and couscousoo were brought in, of which I found it impossible to partake. The repast over, they recited a prayer before recommencing their dance; and on the musicians beginning to strike their enormous tambourines, seven or eight of the disciples rose, howling dreadfully, and, dressed in white, like their pre-selves above the heads of their tormentors. decessors, began to perform the zeekr. My acquaintance, Bou-Chama, was of this party; and taking a bundle of small wax tapers, he placed first his hand, and then his arm, face, and neck, in the flames. His features, when thus lit up, as they appeared from one moment to another through the varying flames, had quite a demoniacal appearance. In the mean tin.e a negro had amused himself by placing live coals in his mouth, which, as he breathed,

mit the head of the reptile to escape: one even forced the adder to bite his tongue, and, leaving it thus suspended, continued his dance. Others squeezed them between their teeth, to increase their rage; and the irritated reptiles, in their desperate struggles to escape, twined around their necks, and, hissing, reared them

Excited by the spectacle before their eyes, and by the increasing noise of the music, the Aïsaoua rose in a body, and rushed to take a part in the dance. Then commenced a scene which words cannot describe. Twenty Aisaoua, clothed in white bernous, with dishevelled hair and haggard eyes, mad with excitement and fanaticism, bathed in sweat, and grasping serpents in their hands, stamping, dancing, and convulsively shaking their heads, each starting

vein swollen and distended with blood. The women, like phantoms, assisting in this scene, lit only by a pale and solitary taper, uttered in a piercing tone their shrill cries of lulu, lu-lu, lu-lu. This, mixed with strange songs, hoarse sounds, and the hollow rattle in the throat of each Aisaoua, as he fell exhausted and senseless, formed altogether a scene so totally repulsive to human nature, that it seemed, in truth, a feast of hell. Such dreadful exertions could not, however, last long: by degrees the number of dancers diminished, as one after another they sank under the fatigue, and their panting bodies strewed the marble pavement of the court. The feast of the Aïsaoua was over."

With this long specimen we finish our notice. The return of the travellers to Algiers, their visit to Bona and Tunis, the historical account of the Kabiles or Berbers, and other matters treated of, not furnishing us with aught which we could consider to be of sufficient novelty or importance to Occupy our pages. From what we have done, we think it will be seen that the publication is exactly what we have pictured; viz. the frank exposition of a light, slight,| and pleasant excursion, over a country from which the latest intelligence must, from the nature of the case, be generally acceptable.

and realities, be for the most part idle, yet it may be permitted to us to state, that the word Gazetier is derived from Gazette, a denomination which the earliest journal received from the piece of Venetian coin, 'Gazetta,' which the reader paid for each number in the Piazza de St. Marco, in the seventeenth century. The first regular Journal which modern times has known, however, appeared in England in 1588. It bore the title of the English Mercury,' and probably suggested to the French nation the idea of the Mercure Français, ou Suite de l'Histoiré de la Paix.' This publication commenced in 1605, the Septennaire of D. Cayer, and extended to the year 1644, forming altogether a collection of 25 vols. The curious compilation was, till 1635, edited by John Richer, and continued by Theophile Renaudot.

tin de l'Assemblie Nationale,' agreed to in corporate his paper with the Moniteur," and soon after became the first rédacteur en chef of the latter journal. As Maret was an admirable short-hand writer, the paper became, to use the words of his biogra pher, a tableau en relief. It was not merely fidelity of expression that was transmitted, but the spirit of the debate was embodied, and the gesture and demeanor of the orator described. Something more, however, than mere reports were needed; and a series of articles were determined on, comparing the parliamentary system springing from the Revolution, with the system that prevailed anteriorly. The exact and conscientious Peuchet undertook this difficult task. His articles, under the title of an introduction, form the first volume of the collection of the 'Moniteur.'

From this period the principal and the most precious recommendation of the 'Moniteur' was, and is, that it is a repertory of all the important facts connected with the annals of modern France. The 'Moniteur,' indeed, is the only pure well of undefiled historical truth, though occasionally dashed and brewed with lies, more especially in the Napoleonic time, from which a thorough knowledge may be obtained of the parties and history of France. Tables compiled with diligence, method, and clearness, and published for each year, facilitate the researches of the student, and conduct him through the immense labyrinth of facts which have been accumulated during half

Without entering upon the early history of Journalism in France, or enumerating the journals and newspapers of the Revolution, it will best accord with our design to begin our sketch with the mention of the only one which sprung out of this great crisis which has survived that stormy and terrific epoch, and which has lived to see many great changes even in our own day. We allude to the Moniteur Universel,' the official journal of the French Government. Born of the first Revolution, and a witness of all the political revolutions which have succeeded it, the 'Moniteur' has had the rare advantage of surviving times of trouble and civil strife, without losing any portion of its high consideration, and without a century. Men of extraordinary merit changing either its character or its language.

have occasionally co-operated, either as men of letters, or as philosophical writers, or as publicists, in the editing of this remarkable journal. We have already cited the Duke of Bassano, who was rédacteur en chef, to the end of the Constituent Assembly. Berquin, the author of 'L'Amie des Enfans,' succeeded him at a time when Rabaut de St. Etienne, La Harpe; Laya, the author of 'L'ami des Lois;' Framery ; Guinguené, author of a Literary History of Italy; Garat, who was minister and senator; Suard, of the Academy, of whom we have before spoken; Charles His, Gallois Gran

The founder of the Moniteur' was a great and enterprising bookseller, of the name of Charles Joseph Panckoucke, father of Madame Suard, and celebrated by the publication of the Encyclopédie Méthodique. Panckoucke had, in a journey to England, been struck with the immense size of the London journals. He resolved to introduce a larger form into France. This was the origin of the Moniteur Universel,' which first saw the light on the morning of the 24th of November, 1789. | But the Moniteur,' in its infancy, did not, ville, Marsilly, La Chapelle, and others, as the reader may well suppose, possess its present organization. A very small space was alloted to the report of the proceedings of the National Assembly, and the debates were often incorrectly given. Shortly after this period, M. Maret, afterwards Duke of * Souvenirs du Duc de Bassano, par Mde. CharBassano, and who was editor of the 'Bulle-lotte de Sor. Bruxelles, 1843.

enriched the very same pages with their united labors. Under the Convention and the Directory, M. Jourdan performed the duties of rédacteur en chef, and was assist