The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-06-18
A HOME IN ALGIERS
A GLIMPSE OF QUIET COUNTRY
LIFE AMONG THE MOORS.

flirting with Haudsome Kabyle Girl.
Tea and Cake.
The road TO 1Yksesisn winds over tho
smiling green hills Of the Sahcl. among
fields and vineyards and white Arab
houses. and descends at last through q
deep rocky ravine to an old Moorish aque
duct. thrown boldly with gray arches
across the bottom of the valley. We pass
under the aqueduct with its moldering
round arches, on one Of whose grim stones
some Spanish Christian slave carved long
ago the dim and half obliterated inscrip
ton, "Ano 1885," we turn aside for mo
ment 10 the gray Moorish village that
clinQs to the hillside. with It's tumble
down houses and its open cir cafe, where
Arabs loll at ease in picturesque attitudes
dropped on bare elbows. and discuss our
personal appearance with evident frank
ness: we drink from the cool water OF the
ancient marble fountain. that invariablo
commandment of oil North African ham
let's; and then we continue our way on
foot by rocky path. bordered with as
phodel and the tiny blue Sicilian iris TO
the Arab house itself. Ia whose hospitabIe
courtyard we mean to drink the national
beverage under q cool portico The villa
belongs. In fact, to q rich old native gen
tlenan In Algiers, who comes out here
only for his summer villeggiatura, aud
we have obtained his leave today to de
scend upon it in force, to the evident sur
prise delight and amusement Of its ami
able little horde of Kabyle caretakers
Nothing we have seen in Algiers has
been quito so genuinely native as this,
and nothing at first sight has so unre
servcdly charmed us We enter the villa
through an outer farm yard, which leads
by an arched doorway TO the actual arcaded
court yard Of the house Opening this
door. a delicious native picture bursts at
once upon our sight. Through the half
circle Of the arch we see in front OF us a
tiled floor, overshadowed by ancient.
Cnarled orange trees; central marble
fountain. bubbling up and overfiowlng
with limpid water into cool basin; an
Arab home of antique, fiat rooted archi-
lecture, set on one side. with It's open
colonnade of daintily sculptured pillars
occupying the other. and in the midst OF
all. lighting il up with their graceful
presence and free ease Of movement,
pretty group Of five assorted kabyle peas
nnts Two were old women, still 1.-THE
and active, with uncovered faces and
tattooed foreheads One was mother III
the prime of life. with her 2-year-old baby
In her brown arms and one was u young
girl of extraordinary beauty. well built
and high stepping. round of arm and rich
of bosom as Greek statue. 1t was the
Orient at home we paused and looked and
admired ii silently. The men were absent;
cannot honestly say We missed them.
That Kaoyle baby. in particular, was
perfect little model lie toddled about
the court ward in his naked feet. he bad
shutfled of his wee slippers in a far cor
ner, with tiny burnous thrown around
his fat. small body and miniature cowl
over his round little head. as quaint and
comic human figure as ever have seen
in the course of many wanderings We
asked leave by pantOmime to light our
etna and make our tea under the shade of
the colonna1e and our Kabyle hostess,
catching readily at our meaning, accorded
her permissi m with friendly smile The
handsome girl. going out into the frrSa,sf
yard. lighted fire of sticks hastiss III
y Ss.rs.vif .ssIu pf. -~n,,d "a. sutr'i! WI"
ner beautiful. hands, ahu sec 10 Work III
tny little cabin of kitchen TO prepare us
sort Of grrddle cake in round pan,
while the baby stood by with his big,
grave eyes. and seemed no more afraid of
the Christian intruders than of his own
friends in the court yard close by. Mean
while the old women also busted them
selves to make us q bowl of the national
dish, CONSCIOUS, a sort of porridge pounded
from the senolina of hard wheat
The Kabyle women do not veil Their
faces, like the Arabs. nor are they afraid
of strangers; on the contrary, our beauti-
full friend who was making the griddle
cake seemed distinctly to understand the
civilized European art of flirting. She
blew the fire from time TO time with her
own pretty Ups, and then turned round TO
US those languid large eyes of hers as II
to demand our instant admiration; she
allowed the wind to rustic open the haik
that covered her full neck and then gath
cred it together coquettishly with twist
Of her fingers yet not 50 tight "a quite to
prevent II from revealing to rs every now
and again the statuesque perfection OF her
lovely shoulder She was light as a
Christian and almost blue eyed. Gen
seric and his vandals, said the ethnolo
gist Of our party | don't know myself; /
only know for certain she was well
favored and bonny lass of whatever ex
traction. Aryan or Semitic.
By and by the kettle boiled, and we sat
down on the edge of the old tiled floor,
with the water gurgling at us III the
marble basin, and drank our four cups Of
5 o'clock tea under archways that then,
for the first time, no doubt. made ac
Quaintancc with the SAVIOR of our British
Beverage Our Kabyle baby friend tod
died up and eyed our cake askance with
curious and eager eyes, we gave him a
piece and ht ran back to the house
with 1t. but. whether on religious or di
gestive grounds | know not. a loud cry,
exceedingly western i'll note, shortly an
nounced that his cruel mother had taken
It AWAY from him We appeased him
with small bit of bread and ham which
no rule Of the Prophet seemed to forbid.
After tea we held high palaver at the
door, the Kabyle women displayed their
jewelry. and took us over their house, from
the porch with its look out. where the
Moorish women made sure they might
venture forth unveiled into the court. to
the Hat roof with its splendid view over
hill and ravine and aged cluster Of waving
palm trees
The pretty Kabyle girl followed US tim
Idly up the stairs, but fled coquettish,