van is composed of a body of infantry; the wings of two squadrons a little towards the rear: the rest of the infantry in two files, with the baggage in the middle; and two squadrons, forming two wings behind, together with a small battalion of foot behind them, make up the rear. When they enWhen they engage, the baggage is left under a strong guard, and a large body of infantry leads the van, with two wings of cavalry, supported by others at some distance. The main body makes the centre, behind which both horse and foot retreat to rally, and out of which fresh men are draughted to reinforce the van. The post of the auxiliary Moors is near the wings, to attack as opportunity offers, or the bey commands. One thing that makes them fight more desperately against the Christians than any other enemy is, that those that are taken by them are never exchanged, or redeemed, but are looked upon as dead to the state; and their effects accordingly seized by it, if they have neither children nor brothers to claim them. The Algerines are still more formidable at sea; and are, indeed, more so than any other power along the coasts of Barbary; and, though they are not allowed any concern in the affairs of state, yet they are held in great esteem, on account of the prizes they continually bring, which are one chief source of the public revenue, and a means of procuring them respect from the Christian powers for the security of their trade.

The following description of a wrestling match, by a resident of Algiers for more than sixteen years, though expressed in homely language, is worthy of insertion :

"In Algiers, as well as in other places, on Friday, their sabbath, in the afternoon, they generally take their recreation. And amongst their several sports and diversions they have kind of wrestling, which is performed about a quarter of a mile without the gate, called bab el wait, the western gate. There is a plain just by the sea-side, where, when the people are gathered together, they make a ring, all sitting on the ground expecting the combatants. One of the wrestlers comes boldly in, and strips all to his drawers. Having done this, he turns his back to the ring, and his face towards his clothes on the

ground. He then pitches on his right knee, and throws abroad his arms three times, clapping his hands together as often, just above the ground; which having done, he puts the back of his hand to the ground, and then kisses his fingers, and puts them to his forehead; he then makes two or three good springs into the middle of the ring, and there he stands with his left hand to his left ear, and his right hand to his left elbow; in this posture the challenger stands, not looking about, till some one comes into the ring to take him up; and he that comes displays the very same postures, and then stands by. his side, in the manner before mentioned. Then the trier of the play comes behind the pilervans (for so the wrestlers are termed), covers their naked backs and heads, and makes a short harangue to the spectators.

"After this the pilewans face each other, and then both at once slap their hands on their thighs, then clap them together, and then lift them up as high as their shoulders, cause the palms of their hands to meet, and with the same motion dash their heads one against another three times, so hard, that many times the blood runs down. This being done, they separate and traverse their ground, eyeing each other like two gamecocks. If either of them finds his hands moist he rubs them on the ground, that he may have a better grasp; and they will make an offer of closing twice or thrice before they do. They will come as often within five or six yards one of the other, and clap their hands to each other, and then put forward the left leg, bowing their body, and leaning with the left elbow on the left knee for a little while, looking at each other with ferocious aspects. Then they walk a turn again; then at it they go; and as they are naked to the middle, so there is but little holdfast; there is much ado before one hath a fair cast on his back; they have none of our Devonshire or Cornish skill. He that throws the other goes round the ring, taking money of many that give it him, which is but a small matter, it may be a farthing, a halfpenny, or a penny of a person, which is much. Having gone the round, he goes to the trier, and delivers him the money so collected, who in a short time returns it again to the conqueror,

and makes a short speech of thanks. While this is doing, two others come into the ring to wrestle.

"But at their byrams, or feasts, those which are the most famous pilewans come in to shew their parts, before the dey, eight or ten together. These anoint themselves all over with oil, having on their bodies but a pair of leathern drawers, which are well oiled too; they stand in the streets near bab el wait (the above gate) without which are all their sports held, spreading out their arms, as if they would oil people's fine clothes, un, less they give them some money; which many do to carry on the joke. They are the choice of all the stout wrestlers, and wrestle before the dey, who sits on a carpet spread on the ground, looking on; and when the sport is over, he gives two or three dollars to each. After which the dey with the bashaw mount their horses, and several spahys ride one after another, throwing sticks made like lances, at each other; and the dey rides after one or other of them, who is his favourite, and throws his wooden lance at him ; and if he happens to hit him, the spahy comes off his horse to the dey, who gives him money. After all which diversions, they ride to the place where the dey has a tent pitched, and they spend the afternoon in eating and drinking coffee, and pleasant talk, but no wine. The dey usually appears in no great splendour at Algiers; for I have seen him oftentimes ride into the town from his garden on a mule, attended only by a slave on another."

It is their custom to go on Fridays at least half an hour before the imaum. As soon as they enter they say a short prayer of two rikats; after this they sit down and continue their prayers, repeating them by heart, or reading in some holy book; chiefly in that which is called Dahil Hhiratz.

A chapter or more verses from the koran is, then repeated in the same position.

2d Position: The whole upper part of the body is inclined, with the hands resting on the knees; they then with a loud voice say, "Allahouakibar! God most great!"

3d Position: Rising again they say, "Semeo Allahou, limann Hamidahhou. God listens when praise is given to him.”

4th Position: Prostrated, with the knees, hand, nose, and forehead on the ground, they say, “Allahouakibar! God most great!" 5th Position: Sitting down on the heels, and with the hands placed on the thighs, they say, "Allahoukibar! God most great!" 7th Position: Rising upon their feet, and, if possible, without touching the ground with their hands, they say, "Allahouakibar! God most great!"

Thus the first tikat is finished; after it a second is begun.

The second rikat is like the first, with the difference, that at the seventh position they sit down on their heels as at the 5th, repeating" Allahouakibar! God most great!"

To which they add, "Vigils are for God; so are prayers and alms. Welfare and peace to thee, O prophet of God; may the mercy and blessing of God be also upon thee. Welfare and peace to us and to all the just and virtuous servants of God. I attest that there is no god but one God, and that Mahomet is his servant and his prophet."

If the prayer is to contain but two rikats, the following addition is repeated in the same posture, after the prayer just mentioned. "And I attest that it was he that called Mahomet to himself; and I attest the existence of paradise, of hell, and of Sirat, and of the balance, and of eternal happiness, which will be bestowed on those who do not doubt it, and that in truth God will raise them from the dead. O my God! bestow thy blessing of peace on Mahomet, and on his tribe, as thou hast bestowed thy blessing on Ibrahim (or Abraham); and let Maho met, and the tribe of Mahomet, be blessed as thou hast blessed Ibrahim, and the tribe of Ibrahim. Grace, praise, and exaltation of glory, are in thee and, for thee."

The sirat is a bridge over hell, as fine as the edge of a sword; the just will passi it with the rapidity of lightning, to enter paradise; the reprobate will fall from it into the gulfs of hell.

The balance is that in which the good and bad actions of inen are weighed.

Conclusion or Salutation.

Sitting and turning the face to the right and afterwards to the left; the salutation is

repcated to both sides: “ Assalamou aaléikom. Peace be with you."

This forms a perfect prayer; but if it is to contain three rikats, the addition and conclusion only are recited at the end of the third rikat, which is exactly like the second. If the prayer is to have four rikats, in this case, after the second and without addition, the two last must be recited like the two first; and afterwards the addition and conclusion follow the fourth.

Before the canonical prayers are begun, they make the following address:

"God most great! God most high! I attest that there is no other god than Allah; I attest there is no other god but Allah; I attest that our lord Mahomet is the prophet of God. I attest that our lord Mahomet is the prophet of God. Come to prayers. Come to prayers. Come to the asylum (or to the temple) of salvation. Come to the asylum. God, most great! God most high! There is no other god than God!"

This address is also uttered five times a day from the minarets of the mosques, to summon the faithful, or to apprise at least the people of the hour of prayer. Every one may say his prayers on the spot where he finds himself, except that of Douhour on Fridays, which must be made at the mosque in public. To the convocation in the morning, after the second a-i-a-el-felah, they add, "És salátou hharoïún minn en náoum. Prayer is better than sleep. Es salátou hharoïún minn en náoum. Prayer is better than sleep."

The man who is charged with these cries is called Elmuedden. Another muedden is in the mosque, who repeats or sings the address, and Allahouakibar at every one of the positions of the rikats, as also the conclusion Assalámou aaléïkom.

of this world, they generally after having honoured the chaplet, fold their hands, and lifting them up like a man who had to receive something from above, pray for any thing they desire; and after having finished this prayer, they pass their right hand over their beard and say, Alhamdo Lillahi! Praise be to God!" This formula finishes the scene. Before the Friday prayers the imaum makes a sermon to the people.

In their sickness each patient is always attended by persons of the same sex. The physicians are ignorant, indolent and superstitious; at the point of death they have to turn the expiring person with his eyes to the east; repeat a prayer to Mahomet, and after washing the body deck it with a white shirt, a pair of white drawers, and socks, a silk robe, and a turban of the same material. In that dress it is earried on a bier to the burying-place, attended by the relations and friends; the women cover their faces with a veil, which they wear for several weeks and the men suffer their beards to grow unmowed for thirty days. If the corpse be that of a person of distinction, the bier is followed by a retinue of domestics, one of whom carries his sword and another his lance. The bearers are richly dressed; the procession is preceded by monks or marabouts, followed by a concourse of horses and camels bearing the relatives, friends, and dependents of the deceased. The tombs are frequently superb. Among the curiosities in the burying-ground is the tomb of lady Cave, daughter of count Julian, a woman of exquisite beauty, who was ra vished by Roderie the last king of the Visigoths in Spain. In revenge of this injury she united the Saracens with an army of 400,000 men, who soon subdued the whole kingdom, and held it in subjection during many centuries. The tombs of the common people are only stones laid above their graves in the form of a coffin: Those of the dey's and pachas are distinguished by a turban; of the military officers and agas by a pike; and rais, or naval captains, by an ensign staff. The tomb of Hali Teu is a peculiar object of Algerine devotion, for as he died a na tural death, a circumstance unusual among the barbarians, he is worshipped as a saint.

THE history of Algiers is destitute of interest till the accession of Barbarossa. The Greeks, the Romans, the Vandals, and the Arabs were, as we have mentioned, the successive masters of the coast. The Marabouts, or holy men, assumed for a time the government of the country, and the present kingdom of Algiers was divided into four departments, of which Algiers was the principal. The four first monarchs laid so good a foundation for a lasting balance of power between their little kingdoms, that they continued for some centuries in mutual peace and amity; but at length the king of Tremecen having ventured to violate some of their articles, Abul-Farez, king of Tenez, declared war against him, and obliged him to become his tributary. This king dying soon after, and having divided his kingdom among his three sons, new discords arose, which the king of Spain taking advantage of, a powerful fleet and army were sent against Barbary, under the count of Navarre, in 1505. This commander soon made himself master of the important cities of Oran, Bujeyah, and some others; which so alarmed the Algerines, that they put themselves under the protection of Selim Eutemi, a noble and warlike Arabian prince. He came to their assistance with a great number of his bravest subjects, bringing with him his wife Saphira, and a son then about twelve years old. This, however, was not sufficient to prevent the Spaniards from landing a number of forces near Algiers that same year, and obliging that metropolis to become tributary to Spain. Nor could Selim prevent them from building a strong fort on a small island opposite to the city, which galled their corsairs when sailing in or out of the harbour. To this the Algerines were obliged to submit till the year 1516; when, hearing of the death of Ferdinand, king of Spain, they sent an embassy to the famous corsair Barbarossa, who, with his bro

ther, was invited thither to defend the:n from the Spanish yoke, for which they agreed to pay a gratuity answerable to so great a service. These two brothers, named Horuc and Hayradin, were the sons of a porter in the isle of Lesbos. The elder obtained the additional name of Barbarossa from the red colour of his beard; and it afterwards became the common surname of both. The strong bent of their natural disposition led them, when youths, to associate with pirates, among whom they became distinguished by their undaunted courage and spirit of enterprise. After acting with these freebooters for some time, their superior talents raised them to the command of a vessel, with which they proved so successful, that Horuc Barbarossa became the admiral of a considerable fleet of corsairs, and his brother Hayradin bore the second command. With this force they infested the ocean as pirates, and enriched themselves and their followers with the spoils which they procured on the Mediterranean sea, and in the Levant.

On Barbarossa's approach to Algiers, he was met by prince Eutemi, attended by all the people of that metropolis, who looked for deliverance from this free-booter, whom they accounted invincible. He was conducted into the city amidst the acclamations of the people, and lodged in one of the noblest apartments of Eutemi's palace, where he was treated with the greatest marks of distinction. Elated beyond measure with this kind reception, Barbarossa formed a design of becoming king of Algiers; and fearing some opposition from the inhabitants, on account of the excesses he suffered his soldiers to commit, murdered Eutemi, and caused him self to be proclaimed king; his Turks and Moors crying out as he rode along the streets,

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Long live king Horuc Barbarossa, the invincible king of Algiers, the chosen of God to deliver the people from the oppression of

the Christians; and destruction to all that shall oppose or refuse to own him as their lawful sovereign." These last threatening words so intimidated the inhabitants, already apprehensive of a general massacre, that he was immediately acknowledged king. The unhappy princess Saphira, poisoned herself, to avoid lavishment by this new king, whom she unsuccessfully endeavoured to stab with a dagger.

Barbarossa was no sooner seated on the throne, than he treated his subjects with such cruelty, that they used to shut up their houses and hide themselves when he appeared in public. In consequence of this, a plot was soon formed against him; but being discovered, he caused twenty of the principal conspirators to be beheaded, their bodies to be buried in a dung-hill, and laid a heavy fine on those who survived. This so terrified the Algerines, that they never afterwards durst attempt any thing against either Barbarossa or his successors.

In the meantime, the son of Eutemi having fled to Oran and put himself under the protection of the marquis of Gomarez, laid before that nobleman a plan for putting the city of Algiers into the hands of the king of Spain. Upon this, young Selim Eutemi was sent to Spain to lay his plan before cardinal Ximenes; who, having approved of it, sent a fleet with 10,000 land forces, under the command of Don Francisco, or, as others call him, Don Diego de Vara, to drive out the Turks, and restore the young prince. But the fleet was no sooner come within sight of land, than it was dispersed by a storm, and the greatest part of the ships dashed against the rocks. Most of the Spaniards were drowned; and the few who escaped to shore were either killed by the Turks, or made slaves.

Barbarossa now acquired the city of Tremecen; defeated an effort of the young king to take the place, and sallied out to chastise his insolence. But the inhabitants, exasperated by his cruelties, determined to prevent his re-entrance, and acknowledged their lawful prince. In this distress he retired to the citadel outside of the town, resolving to sustain a vigorous defence till he should be able to escape with his dependants

and his treasure. In this attempt he for a while succeeded, but his flight was discovered, and he was so closely pursued, that to amuse the enemy he caused the most valuable articles of his treasure to be scattered along the road, expecting that they would retard or stop their pursuit to gather up so irresistible a temptation. His stratagem, however, was defeated by the vigilance of the Spanish commander, who obliged his troops to march on till they pursued him to the banks of the Huexda. Barbarossa had just crossed the river with his vanguard, when the Spaniards came up with his rear on the other side, and cut them all off; and then, crossing the water, overtook him at a small distance from it. Here a bloody engagement ensued, in which the Turks fought like lions; but, being overpowered by numbers, they were all cut to pieces, and Barbarossa slain, in the forty-fourth year of his age, and four years after he had raised himself to the royal title of Jigel; two years after he had acquired the sovereignty of Algiers, and scarcely a twelvemonth after the reduction of Tremecen. His head was carried to Tremecen on the point of a spear; and Abuchen Men proclaimed king, to the joy of all the inhabitants of that city. He was succeeded at Algiers by Hayradin who possessed neither the talents nor the vices of his brother; and after a mild but inglorious reign, the government devolved on Hassan, a Sardinian renegado. He had scarcely ascended to the government when Charles V. of Spain, at the instigation of the pope, and attended by a superb retinue of courtiers, sailed with a fleet consisting of one hundred and twenty ships, and twenty gallies, having on board 30,000 chosen troops, and every requisite for assault. The greater part of the Algerine forces were at this time dispersed in various parts of the kingdom for the purpose of enforcing tribute, and the whole garrison consisted of 800 Turks, and 6000 Moors.

Charles, resolving upon a general assault, kept a constant firing upon the town; which, from the weak defence made by the garrison, he looked upon as already in his hands. But while the dowan, or Algerine senate, were deliberating on the most proper means of obtaining an honourable capitulation, a mad