Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-25

shawl and all kept their fez caps on during
the service. The rabbis, who occupied a
pulpit in the center of the synagogue. read
the Scripture in a nasal twang from parch-
ment scrolls, land the worshipers followed
them with their Hebrew Bibles. Every man
and boy had little velvet bag decorated
with Hebrew characters in gold or silver,
for carrying his books of worship, and as
far as I could see the books themselves
were well thumbed.
A Business City.
The Jew stores are shut today, but the
Arabs are carrying on business as usual.
This is one of the industrial centers Of east
ern Algeria, and the native quarter fairly
huns with men working at their trades.
Constantine is famous for its leather work
1t makes shoes, saddles and harness, and
also leather bags and cushions, beautifully
embroidered. Each trade has it's own street
One will be filled with shoemakers, another
with blacksmiths and another with weavers.
About hundred thousand haicks and bur-
houses are made here yearly, and also
great deal Of cloth for the tents used by
the Bedouins. This work is all done upon
hand looms, in rooms which look more like
stables or cellars than factories.
Among the Blacksmiths.
spent some time this afternoon in the
street Of the blacksmiths. watching them
making hoes and plowshares. The latter
are for all the world like the long sharp
trowels used by our masons, save that they
are about quarter Of an inch thick. They
are of wrought iron and are so bent at one
end that they can be fastened by an iron
band to- the forked stick which forms the
rest Of the pillow.
The blacksmiths were Arabs, dressed in
enormous trousers and jackets. Their
sleeves were rolled up and they pounded
away at the anvils Just like our black
smiths at home. The average shop OF this
kind is only big enough to hold the anvil,
q sort of a hole in the wall about six feet
wide, twenty feet long and perhaps twelve
feet in, height. At the back Is rude bel
lows and furnace. In the center the men
work at the anvil and at the front Is
counter upon which the pillow points are
displayed for sale.
cobblers making red slippers for women.
In another street 1 found scores of Arab
and in another place men sitting cross
legged, who were embroidering leather in
gold.
Boiled Sheep Heads.
There were many restaurants and coffee
houses in these localities. The coffee Is al
ways made to order; it costs about cents
a cup. The restaurants are usually In or
back Of the kitchen. The latter faces the
street. and the cooking goes on while the
customers eat.
One of the oldest Of these establishments
sold nothing but boiled sheep heads. Right
next the sidewalk was an oven, In the
brick top of which was set kettle as big
around as cider barrel. The kettle was
filled with boiling water. and in 1T sheep
heads were bobbing up and down, their
glazed eyes staring at the passersby. The
skin had been taken of of the heads, and,
as looked in, the long white teeth of the
sheep appeared to grind themselves to-
gether in rage. On the floor were a num-
Der of heads still unskinned. They had just
come from the butchers. and the blood
from them ran out into the street. Ny
dragoman told me that the cooked heads
were delicious; he begged me to step in
and try one, saying that We could get a
whole head for IL cents
Many OF the cooked heads are sold to be
carried home, and l find that sheep head is
frequently on the bills of fare at the hotels
After what l saw today 1 shall eat them
no more. This cook shop reminds me of a
dcg-and-rat restaurant of Canton in South
China, and of horse-meat restaurant
which 1 visited in Berlin. Both of them
were clearly in comparison with this.
In the Palace Of the Bey.
have spent some time this afternoon in
the palace of the hey. 1t is now the head
quarters of the French army officers, but
for long time it was the residence of the
Turkish rulers of Constantine From the
outside it looks like an ordinary two-story
building, but its interior is wonderfully dec
GRATED and rich in marbles mosaics and
carvings. The palace consists of an acre
or so of buildings. with galleries above and
below running around beautiful gardens
The walls of the galleries are of porcelain
tiles and their roofs are upheld by marble
pillars, beautifully cut.
The old hey who built the palace Is said
to have gotten much of the material from
Carthage. The porcelains came from Genoa,
and the carvings from the houses OF the
wealthy residents nj psfa Mir
was noted as having an especially fine door
or window the hey ordered him to send II
to his new palace. and If there was any
furniture that he especially desired he got
1t in the same way.
One of the oldest features of the arcades
looking out upon the gardens Is a series of
paintings of Mohammedan Cities These
are spread upon the walls without regard
to harmony or art. The colors fairly swear
at each other. and the drawing is faulty
and the perspective everywhere lacking AS
1t Is contrary to the Koran to make pic
lures of men. there is no sign of human
life in the paintings. This work was done
by a French shoemaker who was in prison
In Constantine when the palace was build
ing The hey said he wanted some pictures
on the walls. and that the dog of a Chris
tan might do the work. The shoemaker
objected saying he was not painter, Dut
the bey's official replied:
Every Frenchman Is an artist, and you
must paint. II you do not, you will be
fogged with twenty-five lashes for every
day you are Idle"
The result was a series of remarkable
representations of Aigiers Cairo, Jerusalem
and Constantinople. When the hey saw
them he was delighted. He paid the man
we'll and sent him back to Paris loaded
with presents.
A Mohammedan Eve.
1t was this same hey. Ell Hadj Anmed.
who punished one of his wives for pluckihg
the forbidden fruit of the palace garden. It
was his custom to sit every afternoon in