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He feared that some harm might come to me and for which
he would be blamed.

The next day we roamed about the bazaars again during
the morning, and when among the jewelers and workers in
gold and silver I bought a little silver gilt chain and two
silver receptacles, shaped like egg gups, for holding coffee cups as they
are served during a visit. It seemed as though the rest of our
day would be wasted, as there was nothing more for a stranger
to see, when the idea struck me that a visit to Abdel Kader would
be interesting. He had commanded the native troops in Algeria
for many years during its slow conquest by the French, and
had shown decided military talent, but the large masses of men
and the better system of European warfare practised by the latter
ended in his final surrender about the year 1849. He was then
retained a prisoner in France for a few years and was afterwards
allowed to live in Damascus on parole. He was a great man
in his time and his name was a household word for years in
France before he was eventually forced to surrender. Many of
the great paintings by Horace Vernet at Versailles, especially
the captain of his harem or “Smala” are partly in his honor, and he
was a man whom I much desired to see.

Hambro was quite willing to pay the visit also, although he was not
as well informed about the great man as I was, and we explained
to our dragoman, Abdallah, that he would have to say that we
were distinguished travellers, one English and the other American,
who had come to present our respects to a celebrated warrior
who had for years filled the world with his renown.

Upon reaching his reception room which was about 15 ft square
and opening on a court, one side of which was bounded by the
outer wall of a small mosque, we noticed within a heavily tur-
baned gentleman who was in the midst of his midday prayer.
We waited respectfully at the entrance until this was over, the
performer being a visitor also, and Abdel Kader being in the
adjoining mosque attending to the devotions of the same hour.

When the prayer was concluded we entered the room
and sat on two chairs which are an unusual item of furniture
for a musulman. They proved however that Abdel Kader was
in the habit of receiving many Europeans, and that he realized
the necessity of providing for their comfort. Our covisitor, who
had accommodated himself on one of the divans in the room, im-
mediately commenced a conversation through the dragoman
by asking who we were and whether we had any watches for
sale. To account for this question it must be again explained
that none of those eastern people can understand that any-
one should be travelling for pleasure or information. Their idea
is that a person who is away from his home is a travelling mer-
chant of some kind, and as every European or American generally