The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-26

the very heart OF the oldest part of Al
giers- In spite of the changes that have
quest in 1880 enough of the Arab city has
kept unchanged its ancient characteris-
tics 10 constitute it still a thoroughly
eastern town. Although much OF il has
disappeared before the encroachments Of
the modern French city. and more is be-
ing demolished every year, the Arab quar-
ter is still a vast maze of narrow. crooked
streets that as likely as not end in an
impasse and frequently are built COM
completely over from side TO side. The
steep slope of the hill 10 which the city
climbs Is densely packed with flat-rOofed
WhiteWashed houses which. viewed from
below, extend tier above tier to the top,
apparently without break in their con-
tinuity.
TO the uninitiated. all Of the crooked
streets, with few exceptions, and almost
all of the houses which line them, are so
nearly alike as to be indistingushable one
from the other. The front of a house Is
straighI blank. and unbrOkeA except
FOR two or three narrow apertures in lieu
of windows, irregularly placed, irOn-bar-
red. and unglazed. The arch of the door
way is of sculptured stone. but thickly
WhiteWa Shed 20 the usual tone. The heavy
implanted wooden door is furnished at
its center with massive brass ring and
pendant knocker Ii is no wonder that the
thlef in the Arabian Nights" sent ont
to find the house of the murdered Cas-
sim, was obliged to mark the door with
chalk in order to find it again. or that the
clever Morgiana' S ten other marks led to
the desired confusion
The house TO which our guide by agree
ment conducted us was, so far as the eN-
terror was concerned, exactly like its
neighbOrs. The performance was held in
the inner court, whittier we were imme-
diately conducted and where we found
actors ana audience already assembled
Like all Of its kind in Moorish houses
the court was square and open at the
top. across which a curtain was now
drawn so as nearly to cover it, Around
the four sides, a step or two above the
lhed center OF the court, ran, as usual,
an arcade whose stone pillars supported
an upper gallery over the wooden rail-
lngs of which a number of women veil
ed TO the eyes in the ordinary Out-of-doors
IaShlOn, were leaning. The remainder OF
the audience. consisting of a score of
Arabs and negroes and the members of
our own party, were given standing places
under the arcade, which was lighted up
by a number of brass lamps which flick
cred and fiared i'm the eastern way
The center of the court was given up to
the AissaOua. These were twelve hollow.
checked men, some old and some young
VINO sat crOSs-legged in an irregular semi
circle on the floor Six Of them had inn
mense fiat drums, or tambOurs. which
they presently began to beat noisily In
'front.' of them charcoal fire burned in a
brazier and into it one of them from
time to time threw bits of some sort of
incense, which gradually filed the place
with thin smoke and mildly pungent
odor
For a long time-it seemed a long time
this went Oh with nothing to break the ST.
lence but the rhythmical beat of the
come quicker, and now grew wild and al
most deafening, and the men bagan a mo-
notonous chant which soon was increased
TO shouting. Suddenly one of the men
threw himself, with a howl, to the ground,
when he was seized by another, who
stripped him of part of his garments and
led him to the front of the fire Here
while the pounding of the drums and the
shouts of the men became more and more
frantic, he stood swayng his body back
ward and forward almost touching the
ground In his fearful contortions and
wagging his head until il seemed as il
he must diSlOcate ii from his shoulders
All at once he drew from the fire a red
hot bar of iron and with a yell of horror,
which sent shiVer down ones back held
1t up before his eyes. More violently than
ever he swayed his body and wagged his
head, until he had worked himself up to a
cllmaX OF excitement, when he passed the
glowing iron several times over the palm
or each hand and then licked it repeatedly
with MS tongue. He next took burning
coal from the fire, and, placing il between
white heat He ended his part of the per-
Torrance by treading on red-hot Goals
scattered on the floor, after which he re-
sumed his place with the rest. The next
performer, with yell, as before, then sud /
denly sprang to his feet and began again /
the same frantic contortions, in the midst
OF which he snatched an iron rod with a
ball on one end from the fire and after
winding one of his eYelids around ii until
the eyeball was completely exposed, lie
thrust its point in behind the eye, which
was forced far out on his cheek. 1t was
held there for moment, when it was