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Wallace, Introduction to Information Systems, 3rd
edition
Instructor’s Manual
Chapter 7, Business Intelligence and Decision Making
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
1
Chapter 7
Business Intelligence and Decision Making
Learning Objectives
1. Define business intelligence, and describe the three levels of decision making that
it supports.
2. Describe the major sources of business intelligence, and provide examples of their
usefulness.
3. Explain several approaches to data mining and decision support that help
managers analyze patterns, trends, and relationships, and make better data-driven
decisions.
4. Explain how digital analytics are used as a source of business intelligence and
why they are so valuable for understanding customers.
5. Describe how dashboards, portals, and mashups help visualize business
intelligence, and explain the role that the human element plays in business
intelligence initiatives.
Solutions to Chapter Review Questions
7-1. How do you define business intelligence?
Business intelligence describes the vast quantities of information that an
organization might use for data-driven decision making.
7-2. What are the three levels of decision making that business intelligence
supports?
Business intelligence supports decision making at operational, tactical, and
strategic organizational levels.
7-3. What are the most important sources of business intelligence inside the
organization? What makes them useful?
The major sources of business intelligence are the organizations that own data
repositories and data from external sources. Internal sources include transactional
databases and data warehouses. The company’s own databases are a source of
data about customers, employees, suppliers, and financial transactions. An

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internal transaction system is the source of data to produce a summarized sales
report by region and product.
7-4. What are some examples of external sources of business intelligence?
External sources include data from websites, blogs, wikis and social networks, as
well as publicly accessible and purchased databases. An external database is a
source for demographics, educational levels, income, ethnicity, housing, and
employment information. Information from an external database is useful for
developing targeted marketing campaigns. A publicly accessible website is a
source of useful business intelligence such as competitive pricing.
7-5. How can managers use data mining techniques to analyze patterns, trends,
and relationships? How does this lead to better data-driven decision making?
Approaches to data mining depend on the kind of data and the needs of the user.
Online analytical processing (OLAP) systems allow users to interact with a data
warehouse and perform “slice and dice” analyses to reveal patterns and trends.
Using OLAP, retail managers analyze sales transaction by customer gender and
age group, and find relationships that can guide marketing campaigns. Statistical
and modeling techniques are also used to identify patterns and trends. Market
basket analysis is a type of statistical analysis used by retailers to decide where to
place products in a store. Text mining is an approach to analyzing unstructured
text information such as customer comments. What-if analysis, goal seeking, and
optimizing are Excel spreadsheet data analysis techniques that support decision-
making by enabling the user to build models that establish relationships between
variables. Forecasting tools are used to predict tomorrow’s demand or next
month’s sales by analyzing historical data and seasonal trends.
7-6. What is text mining?
Text mining is a variation of data mining in which unstructured text information
is the source of business intelligence, rather than structured data.
7-7. What are examples of statistical techniques that managers can use to
simulate business situations, optimize variables, and forecast sales or other
figures?
What-if analysis builds a model that establishes relationships between many
variables and then changes some of the variables to see how the others are
affected. In goal seeking, instead of estimating several variables and calculating
the result, the user sets a target value for a particular metric and tells the program
which variable to change to try to reach the goal. An extension of goal seeking is
optimization, in which the user can change many variables to reach some
maximum or minimum target, as long as the changes stay within some constraints
identified by the user. Forecasting tools analyze historical or seasonal trends and

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3
then take into account existing and predicted business conditions to estimate some
variable of interest.
7-8. What are examples of applications that draw on artificial intelligence for
decision support?
Applications that draw on artificial intelligence include robotics, expert systems,
and neural nets. Service robots are appearing in business, government, and other
sectors. An expert system mimics the reasoning of a human expert, drawing from
a base of knowledge about a particular subject area to come to a decision or
recommendation. Neural networks attempt to mimic the way the human brain
works, and are widely used where massive data sets are available.
7-9. How are digital analytics used to assess the effectiveness of websites?
Web analytics describes the practice of measuring, collecting, and analyzing
website clickstream data to produce business intelligence. Website metrics
include visitors, unique visitors, average time spent on the site, new visitors, depth
of visit, languages, traffic sources, and service providers. Web-content related
metrics include page views, bounce rate, top landing pages, and top exit pages.
There are additional measures specifically for social media activities and e-
commerce activities. All of these metrics are a rich source of business intelligence
for understanding customers because they track every single click by every visitor
to an organization’s website. Each measure reveals something a little different
that can help reveal how people are interacting with the site, and how well the site
is meeting the goals set for it.
7-10. How do dashboards, portals, and mashups support decision making?
Dashboards, portals, and mashups are graphical user interfaces that organize and
summarize information vital to the user’s role and the decisions that users make.
Dashboards summarize key performance indicators. Portals are gateways that
provide access to a variety of relevant information from many different sources on
one screen. Mashups are gateways that aggregate content from multiple internal
and external sources.
7-11. How does the human element affect decision making?
Humans are the critical element in decision making, deciding what intelligence to
rely upon, what tools to use, and how to interpret the results. Humans are also
subject to cognitive biases that may lead to poor decisions.

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Solutions to Projects and Discussion Questions
7-12. Why do organizations use external data as a source of business intelligence?
What are examples of sources of external data? How might retail giant
Walmart use external data to make tactical-level decisions? How might its
decision makers use external data to make strategic-level decisions?
External databases that are either purchased or are publicly accessible are
excellent candidates as business intelligence sources. For example, The U.S.
Census Bureau maintains many searchable databases with information about
demographics, educational levels, income, ethnicity, housing, and employment.
Student answers will vary on how an organization may use external data at the
tactical and strategic level. Walmart may purchase new vehicle registration data to
consider which automotive products to stock in stores. Walmart may use publicly
available census data to consider where to locate one of the hundreds of small
stores that it plans to open in the next three years.
7-13. How can an intelligent agent assist with a term paper? Visit your university’s
library home page to locate the “Search Databases” feature. If your library
offers the “ABI/INFORM” database, choose that and enter several keywords
(for example, “social media in organizations”) into the Basic Search dialog
box. (If your library does not offer ABI/INFORM, try doing this exercise on
a different database.) Review the results, then select “Refine Search” to select
additional databases and/or specify additional search criteria. When you
have the results you want, select the “Set Up Alert” option to schedule an
alert. Prepare a brief report that describes the alert options that are
available for your search. How frequently can you receive updates? How
long can you receive updates? Are there options other than frequency and
duration? Would you recommend this intelligent agent to other students
working on term papers?
If a university’s library does not have the “ABI/Inform” database, the student can
use a comparable database such as “Business Source Complete.” Answers may
vary, as the exercise is designed to require the student to interact with an online
database to set up a search alert. One point that could be discussed is the schedule
for an alert, which may be daily, monthly, weekly, or every three months. Another
scheduling option determines the duration of the search. which may be as brief as
two weeks or as long as one year.
7-14. First Class Salons maintains a company website to promote its chain of 12
regional health salons. The website includes links to information about its
locations, special offers, and FAQs about its services, as well as “About Us”
and “Contact Us” links. How can First Class Salons use information from its
website to gain business intelligence? Consider the various visitor-related and
content-related web metrics and suggest at least six specific metrics that First

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Class Salons would want to analyze. Prepare a brief report of your
suggestions.
Answers will vary, as the object of this exercise is to prompt the student to apply
the concept of web analytics to a business situation. An example is to track the
number of visitors to the websites.
7-15. The Springfield Family Community Center has an outdoor pool that
operates May through October. The director is interested to learn if the
Community Center can afford the $57,000 cost to install a pool-covering
dome so that patrons may swim year-round. It will also cost about $200 a
month for power to keep the dome inflated for 6 months each year. How can
the director use forecasting to evaluate the likelihood of selling sufficient
tickets to pay for this improvement? Prepare a brief report to the director
that explains forecasting. Be sure to include suggestions on both internal and
external data that would be useful for this analysis.
Forecasting tools usually analyze historical and seasonal trends, and then take into
account existing and predicted business conditions to estimate some variable of
interest. Using internal historical data and external weather report data, the
Community Center could analyze the correlation between weekly temperature and
sales revenue from pool tickets to forecast ticket sales on a year-round basis.
7-16. Digital dashboards began to appear in the 1990s as organizations looked for
ways to consolidate and display data to make it accessible and useful for busy
executives. Visit www.digitaldashboard.org or www.dashboardsby
example.com or search the Internet to learn more about digital dashboards.
What is the relationship between digital dashboards and key performance
indicators? Work in a small group with classmates to consider how a digital
dashboard can be used by a Radio Shack or other electronics store manager.
What specific daily performance indicators would he or she want to see on a
digital dashboard? What design tips would you offer to the dashboard
developer? As a group, create a hand-drawn sketch of a dashboard design
for the Radio Shack manager.
A dashboard should summarize key performance indicators (KPI). Answers will
vary. This question is designed to require students to incorporate concepts and
information introduced in this chapter to prepare answers. Sample answers could
include (a) daily sales volume by product line and/or (b) sales volume by day of
the week.

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Solutions to Application Exercises
7-17. Excel Application: Analyzing Revenue and Expenses for City Hospital
Seminars
Figure 7-25 shows the Excel spreadsheet that Bora uses to evaluate the variables
relating to the hospital seminar series. She has asked you to use Excel to create a
similar spreadsheet to conduct additional what-if and goal seek analyses. You will
need to use the following formulas:
Figure 7-25
The hospital seminar series data.
Revenue:
Registration Fees = Attendees per seminar ×
Registration fee × Seminars per year
Parking Fees = (Attendees per seminar /
Average number attendees per car) ×
Seminars per year × Parking fee
Expenses:
Speakers’ Fees = Speaker’s fee per session ×
Seminars per year
Tech support = Tech support cost per
session × Seminars per year
Marketing = Marketing cost per seminar ×
Seminars per year
Room rental = Room rental per seminar ×
Seminars per year
What-If Questions
1. What would be the impact on net profit if the average attendance per
seminar increased to 45?
Profit will increase to $6,180 if average attendance per seminar is increased to 45.
2. What would be the impact on net profit if the average attendance dropped to
35?
Profit will decrease to $1,740 if average attendance dropped to 35.

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3. What would be the impact on net profit if the parking fee is reduced to $3?
Profit will decrease to $3,576 if the parking fee is reduced to $3.
4. What would be the impact on net profit if the speaker’s fee increased to $550
per seminar?
Profit will decrease to $3,360 if the speaker’s fee is increased to $550 per
seminar.
5. What would be the impact on net profit of increasing the marketing expense
per seminar to $350, resulting in an increase in average attendance per
seminar to 50?
Profit will increase to $7,200 if marketing expenses increase to $350 per seminar
and attendance increases to 50 attendees per seminar.
6. What would be the impact on net profit of an increase in room rental per
seminar to $300?
Profit will decrease to $3,360 if room rental per seminar increases to $300.
7. If Bora can negotiate a room rental fee of $160 per seminar, how much will
net profit increase?
Profit will increase to $5,040 if the room rental fee is decreased to $160 per
seminar.
8. If technical support is included in the room rental per seminar, what is net
profit?
Profit will increase to $5,760 if technical support is included in the room rental
per seminar.
Goal Seek Questions
1. Given the expenses and variables presented in the figure, how many
attendees per seminar are required to generate a net profit of $5,500?
Given the expenses and variables as presented, it requires 43 attendees per
seminar to generate net profit of $5,500.
2. What parking fee results in a net profit of $4,150?
A parking fee of $600 results in a net profit of $4,150.

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3. What registration fee per attendee results in a net profit of $5,750?
A registration fee of $39 per attendee results in a net profit of $5,750.
7-18. Access Application: Marketing City Hospital Seminars
Download the City Hospital database, Ch07Ex02. Write a query that sorts
registrants by the type of seminar they have attended. Include the session date as
well as attendee information. Modify the query to identify registrants who attended
a Knee Replacement seminar. Use the report wizard to create a report that lists the
session dates and the names and phone numbers of those who have attended Knee
Replacement seminars. This report serves as a “patient contact sheet” that hospital
staff will use to call previous attendees to invite them to attend the new seminar.
How many patients are listed on the report? Review the attendees table. Is there
additional patient information the hospital could collect that may be useful for
future marketing campaigns?
Students should download the Access database named Ch07Ex02.accdb and create a
query that sorts registrants by seminar type. The query should include the session date
and the attendee information. Students should modify the query to list only the
individuals who attended a Knee Replacement seminar, and use the query to create a
“Patient Contact” report that lists 12 patients. Answers will vary regarding other types of
information that may be useful for future marketing campaigns. Suggestions may include
attendee email address or referral information.

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Solutions to Case Study Questions
Case 1— Cracking Fraud with Government’s Big Data
7-19. What are some ways that data mining could be used to detect fraud in health
insurance claims?
The purpose of this question is to help students think about some of the
underlying logic and business rules in data mining. For example, analysts could
look for patterns such as:
• Doctor’s office submits claims for services that exceed the capacity of that
doctor’s office to deliver services
• Claims are submitted for services provided to a non-valid social security
number
• Claims for the same service to the same individual at the same time are
submitted by multiple doctor’s offices
7-20. How could private insurance companies and public government agencies
collaborate to combat insurance fraud?
The purpose of this question is to help students think about common objectives
across organizations, and the manner in which IS can enable collaboration across
organizations. It could certainly be expected that criminals conducting insurance
fraud would target both private insurance companies and public government
agencies at the same time. In order for private insurance companies and public
government agencies to collaborate, the organizations will need to share
information with each other. This information could uncover additional patterns
across organizations beyond what either organization could uncover on its own.
For example, it might be possible to discover that claims are being simultaneously
submitted to multiple organizations for the same service to the same individual at
the same time.
7-21.What types of business skills would be necessary to define the rules for and
analyze the results from data mining?
The purpose of this question is to help students understand the skills and human
capital that accompany the use of IS in business applications. In this case, in
addition to understanding the data mining application itself, analysts would also
need to understand the healthcare industry, insurance industry, and basic
principles of law investigation and enforcement. From a personal skills
standpoint, students would need the ability to collaborate as part of a team on the
investigation.

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7-22. What business processes are necessary to complement the IS component of
data mining?
Continuing from question 3 above, students need to understand the business
processes that accompany IS applications, in addition to the business skills and
business domains that accompany IS applications. In this case, the data mining
application will only be effective if it is accompanied by other processes to reduce
insurance fraud. For example, the insurance firm must have a collections
mechanism to recover funds that have already been paid, an enforcement
mechanism (or the ability to collaborate with law enforcement) so that offenders
are punished, and an advisory mechanism to consult with other members of the
healthcare value chain (such as doctor’s offices and hospitals) to preempt fraud.
Case 2— TV and Twitter: How Nielsen Rates Programs with “Social TV”
7-23. What potential value does Nielsen intend to add to their ratings by data
mining Twitter to analyze social TV patterns?
The focus of this case study is to draw the students’ attention to the business use
of data mining social media to detect patterns, trends, and relationships to enhance
traditional network ratings. Nielsen adds value to their traditional set-top ratings
by providing the networks with reports on programs based upon data from
Twitter. This analysis enables Nielsen to identify which family members are
viewing programs and provides insights into their attitudes. While these analytical
reports do not replace Nielsen’s core ratings basis, the set-top box, they do
augment those ratings for the networks. Business intelligence is used to expand
the scope of the data sources into social media, and this enriches the value of their
services to the networks.
7-24. What are the drawbacks of using Twitter as a rating tool? Do these
disadvantages compromise the value of the Nielsen ratings?
This question helps students understand how bias in the data sampling effects the
results and can change the value to the networks. Two biases influence the reports
from Twitter analysis. First, not all viewers use Twitter, and further those viewers
who do use it may over-populate the sample with their opinions. Secondly, the
age bias of those who use Twitter means the sample does not necessarily
represent the whole audience. These sample biases can be overcome, however, by
making note of them and by correlating the Twitter findings with the traditional
results. Because Nielsen does this and does not discontinue their use of set-top
boxes for sampling, the value of the results is not compromised but enhanced. The
important idea is that sampling bias can be accounted and overcome if the results
are interpreted properly.

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7-25. How might the use of Twitter and other social media be influencing the
viewing habits of the American audience?
Twitter may be influencing the results gathered from the traditional set-tops.
Twitter users could be creating a TV buzz about a program, which in turn gets
more people to turn on the program and join the social TV experience. This is
evidenced by the high correlation between traditionally collected data and Twitter
analysis as a program reaches the end of its season. The key point is that when
analyzing two different samples, as in this case, the analysts need to be alert for
the relationships between the samples and how one may be changing the other.
Analysis of this relationship could have added value for the networks, especially
if data mining identifies which programs and patterns drive the relationship and
behavioral changes.
7-26. If Nielsen extended their data mining of social media to include Facebook as
well as Twitter, what differences might they expect in the audience being analyzed?
Would this analysis have any value to the networks? Why or why not?
The point of this question is to draw attention to the importance of sample
selection to business intelligence analysis. The number of Facebook users is much
greater than the number of Twitter users, which means that this audience would
be larger. Further the demographics for Facebook users include a broader age
distribution than Twitter. Another valuable difference between the two sites is that
Facebook users must provide more biographical details than Twitter users. Data
mining Facebook samples could produce more relationships and patterns because
of this additional profile data. Other differences exist between these two social
media, and when analyzing both, these differences need to be noted and studied.
With the addition of more data from Facebook, Nielsen potentially has the
opportunity for even more pattern recognition and correlations with TV programs
and ads. However much value this added data offers, analysts would have the
challenge of managing and accounting three samples and three sets of biases.
Effort and expense increase as the number of different samples expands. The
value to the networks would be in receiving more meaningful and reliable viewer
analysis, but this value would have to be greater than Nielsen’s investment for it
to be viable.
Solutions to E-Project Questions
E-Project 1—Detecting Suspicious Activity in Insurance Claims
Detecting unusual patterns in drug prescriptions is the focus of this e-project. To
begin, download the Excel file called Ch07_MedicalCharges. The worksheet
contains columns showing a sample of hypothetical prescription drug claims over a
period of years.

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7-27. Create a pivot table and chart to show the total amounts paid by year for this
pharmacy, by dragging Year to the Axis Fields (Categories) box and Amount to the
Values box. Be sure you are looking at the sum of Amounts in your chart. Which
year had the highest sales for prescription drugs?
The year 2009 has the highest sales ($1,894) for prescription drugs.
7-28. Change the pivot table to show total sales by month by removing Year from
the Axis Fields and dragging Month to that box. During which month of the year
does this pharmacy tend to sell the most prescription drugs?
This pharmacy tends to sell the most prescription drugs ($1,200) during October.

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7-29. Remove Month and put Prescriber ID in the Axis Field box. Which prescriber
generates the most income for this pharmacy?
Prescriber 52 generates the most income ($2,888) for this pharmacy.

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7-30. Remove PrescriberID and put PatientID in the Axis field box. Which patient
generates the most income for the pharmacy?
Patient 21201 generates the most income ($7,490) for the pharmacy.
7-31. Let’s take a closer look at this patient by filtering the records. Click on
PatientID in the PivotTable Field List and uncheck all boxes except for this patient.
Drag Year under PatientID in the Axis Fields box so you can see how this person’s
spending patterns have changed. Which year shows the most spending?
Patient 21201 spent the most ($1,720) during 2008.

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7-32. Let’s see who is prescribing for this patient. Remove Year from the Axis Fields
box and drag PrescriberID to the box. Which Prescriber has the highest spending
total?
Prescriber 217 has prescribed the most ($2,020) for patient 21201.

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7-33. Now let’s see what is being prescribed. Drag DrugName to the Axis Field box
under Prescriber ID. What might you conclude from this chart?
This table and chart below shows that patient 21201 is receiving prescriptions for
Vicodin from many different prescribers. Further investigation may show that
patient 21201 is receiving duplicate prescriptions for the same medication during
the same timeframe, and that patient 21201 may be taking more than the
recommended amount of this drug.

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E-Project 2—Analyzing Nielsen TV Ratings with Excel
In this e-project, you will explore TV ratings and analyze them with Excel.
Download the Excel file called Ch07_NielsenRatings. This file contains ratings for
popular network programs for two separate weeks in 2013.
(http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/top10s.html). The rating represents the percent of
U.S. households that were watching that channel at the time (of those whose TV was
turned on).
7-34. Calculate three new columns.
a. Percent change (up or down) in number of viewers from the July 4
data to the July 11 data for each show.
b. Percent change (up or down) in rating for each show.
c. Absolute change in the number of viewers for each show.
The spreadsheet will look like this.
7-35. Answer the following questions:
a. Which show gains the largest number of viewers from July 4 to July 11?
America’s Got Talent - Wed
b. Which show is the biggest loser from July 4 to July 11, in terms of change
in ratings?

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America’s Got Talent - Tue
c. Compute the total viewers for these shows for July 4 to July 11. How many
total viewers watched one of the TV shows in this list during the week of July
4?
50,533,000
d. What is the percent change in total viewers for the shows in this list from
July 4 to July 11?
Total viewership for these shows increased by 6.3%.
is the biggest loser from March 25 to April 1, in terms of change in ratings?

Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content

great leniency, especially by Abd-el-Kader, who is neither cruel nor
vindictive.

Introduction to Information Systems People Technology and Processes 3rd Edition Wallace Solutions Manual

CHAPTER IX.
Offers of exchange—Report of the death of the King
of France—Festivities—Sham fight—Two French
soldiers—M. Lanternier—Meurice gets worse—
Baths at Mascara—Lanternier’s prison—His wife
and daughter sent to the Emperor of Morocco—
Little Benedicto.
One evening at sunset, when Meurice and I returned to our tent,
after spending the day in a garden near the camp, Ben Faka told me
that the Sultan desired to see me. I went to his tent, where he gave
me two letters, one for Meurice and the other from General Rapatel
for myself. I opened the latter, and informed the Sultan of its
contents, which were to this effect: General Rapatel offered Abd-el-
Kader the choice of ten Arab prisoners, in exchange for the six
Frenchmen and Italians, and ten others in exchange for Mahomed
Ben Hussein, the ex-Bey of Medeah; adding, that the European
prisoners might be sent at once to some French town, and that Abd-
el-Kader should receive the Arabs in exchange for them immediately
upon their return from Marseilles.
At this sentence Abd-el-Kader smiled, and said “You shall go as
soon as my Arabs arrive at the camp.”
The Bey of Medeah, who was our ally, had been taken prisoner by
the Bey of Milianah, loaded with chains, and thrown into the
dungeons of Ouchda, a town on the frontier of Morocco, where he
still languishes, exposed to the most cruel treatment, and in
constant danger of being starved to death by his inhuman gaolers.

After consulting the marabouts who surrounded him, Abd-el-Kader
ordered me to write word, that he demanded twenty prisoners in
exchange for the six Europeans, and that he would give up the Bey
of Medeah in exchange for all the prisoners at Marseilles. I
remonstrated with him on the unreasonableness of his terms, and
suggested that he should split the difference, and take fifteen Arabs
as ransom for us. To this he agreed, and I wrote to the General and
to my family. As I was sealing the letters, Abd-el-Kader said, that he
hoped I had written all that I wished to say; and that I should not be
deterred by fear of his displeasure from writing anything that I saw,
or from expressing any opinion upon his manner of treating his
prisoners; “For,” said he, “a Sultan so great and holy as I fears no
one upon earth.”
I hastened to take Meurice his wife’s letter, and to inform him of
the favourable dispositions of Abd-el-Kader; and I had the
satisfaction of seeing him fall asleep with a smile on his face. I crept
close to him to warm his frozen limbs; but the night was so cold,
that in the morning when we wanted to rise Meurice’s legs were
benumbed, and he was forced to lie upon the ground. All his blood
had rushed to his head, which caused him the most violent pain. At
about eleven o’clock I carried him out into the sunshine, in hopes
that the warmth might do him good.
On the 28th of October Abd-el-Kader received a letter from
Morocco, announcing the death of the King of France. I believe that
the Emperor of Morocco meant Charles X., but Abd-el-Kader thought
it was Louis Philippe, and immediately spread a report that the King
of the French had been assassinated, that a civil war had broken out
in France, and that all the troops stationed at Algiers were about to
be recalled.
This news excited universal joy; the troops prepared to celebrate
the retreat of the French in a manner worthy of the greatness of the
occasion, and three whole days were spent in festivities, both at
Mascara and in the camp. These consisted chiefly in sham fights, in
which the first division of cavalry, dressed in bluejackets and red

trowsers, and without haicks or bernouses, represented the French,
and were headed by Abd-el-Kader; the second, with their flowing
haicks and bernouses, were the Arabs. The two troops were drawn
up at a considerable distance from each other.
Abd-el-Kader first detached ten of his French corps as skirmishers,
who were met by the same number of the opposite party. The
assailants on both sides started at a foot’s pace, and by degrees
urged on their horses to a gallop. When they were within five-and-
twenty paces of each other, they shouted “Ah! ah! ah!” fired off their
rifles, waved their haicks and bernouses, drew their sabres, and
acted a fight hand to hand. Ten more horsemen were then detached
from each troop, and galloped into the midst of the mêlée,
whereupon the first two bands retreated to their respective posts,
while the others continued the fight. Sometimes the forty horsemen
kept up the struggle, until the arrival of fresh auxiliaries on one side
turned the chances against the other, who then retreated at full
gallop, brandishing their sabres, firing off their rifles, and uttering
loud cries. Then a pursuit was acted, till both parties had galloped
enough, and returned to their stations. At one moment the
confusion became excessive; the mêlée was thick and violent,
bernouses fluttered, sabres flashed, and a cloud of dust concealed
the combatants, whose fierce wild shouts rung in our ears. Suddenly
the drums on both sides beat the recall, and the chiefs restored
order; the horsemen gave a few moments of rest to their horses,
and then the racing and struggling, the strange evolutions and single
combats began again with as much vehemence as ever.
This military spectacle invariably terminates with the defeat of the
French. When Abd-el-Kader thinks it time to put an end to the
exercises, he plunges into the thick of the mêlée; two Arabs then
seize his horse by the bridle, one on each side, and lead the Sultan
away captive to his tent, amid shouts of triumph and enthusiasm.
Abd-el-Kader, casting around him proud glances on his followers
wrapt in admiration of his warlike grace, makes his horse prance and
rear till it stands upright, while the Sultan smiles complacently, as
much as to say “Am not I a horseman indeed?”

“And so you are, my fine Sultan,” said I to myself; “but you would
not be quite so cock-a-hoop on an English saddle, for all that.”
On the third and last day of this warlike exhibition Ben Faka came
to me with a swaggering air and said, “There has been a battle at
Tlemsen; the Kalifah has beaten the French, and taken a great
number of prisoners, whom he is going to send to the Sultan, so you
will soon have plenty of companions.”
“I believe,” said I, “that you are as much deceived now as you
were when you told me that Ahmed Bey had taken Bona.”
Meanwhile, poor Meurice got worse every day, and I spent most of
my time in rubbing his aching limbs, and in endeavouring to warm
his frozen legs and feet against my breast, and to relieve the burning
pain in his head, by wetting my hands, and then laying them on his
forehead. I was thus occupied when Ben Faka returned to the tent,
and said to me with an insulting laugh, “Come and look at the
Christian prisoners whom the Kalifah took at Tlemsen, and has sent
to the Sultan.”
I left the tent without answering Ben Faka, and saw two
unfortunate soldiers, half naked, barefooted, and in a state of
indescribable wretchedness, whom the chaous were driving along
with their sticks, just as a butcher goads the tired beasts to the
slaughter-house. They halted before the Sultan’s tent, and I
attempted to approach, in order to question them, but was
immediately driven away by the chaous.
I went back to Meurice, and was telling him what had passed
when Ben Faka brought the two new prisoners into our tent, and
gave each of them a haick. I beckoned them to draw near, and
asked them their names, the regiments to which they belonged, and
where they came from.
“My name is Bourgeois,” replied the first; “I am an old soldier in
the eleventh, and my comrade Fleury is an ex-soldier of the sixty-
sixth; we both belong to the battalion at Tlemsen.”
“Has there been a fight there then?” said I.

“None whatever, Sir. I will tell you how it was. The Bedouins had
pressed hard upon the town for some time, and no provisions could
be brought to market, and so you see the garrison was put upon
short commons. One’s appetite grows with eating, they say; but I
assure you it grows much faster with an empty stomach; and one
morning, when Fleury and I were more sharp set than usual, we
bethought ourselves that we would go and forage like the Bedouins.
There were plenty of fruit trees outside the town, and so, without
more ado, we went out to make a meal off them. After eating our
fill, we were going back to the town again; but we had reckoned
without our host. The Bedouins caught us like larks in a snare; and
not content with having taken us prisoners, they have given us the
strappado the whole way. They say, to be sure, that Abd-el-Kader
has given orders to take as many prisoners as possible, and not to
cut their heads off, and I suppose that is the only reason why ours
are still upon our shoulders; but they have treated us brutally.
However, now that we are come to Abd-el-Kader’s royal palace, as
you may say, I hope we shall not be quite so ill-used. But,
Lieutenant, if you write to the Governor please don’t forget just to
speak a word for Bourgeois and Fleury, for these quarters are not at
all to our liking.”
I assured my fellow-sufferers that I would not forget them; and
that very evening, with Abd-el-Kader’s permission, I wrote to inform
General Rapatel of their arrival, and to ask for six Arab prisoners in
exchange for them.
Our new companions fully sympathised in my anxiety about
Meurice’s health, and forgot their own sufferings to assist me in
nursing him.
On the next morning Ben Faka, in the same conceited and scornful
tone in which he had announced the arrival of the prisoners from
Tlemsen, informed me that another prisoner was being brought
before the Sultan.
We went outside the tent, where we saw a French prisoner led
past us. He was about fifty years of age; a long beard and thick

moustache of a light colour hung dirty and matted over his naked
breast; a ragged shirt covered his shoulders, which, with a pair of
soldiers trowser’s full of holes, and a grey hat all crushed and
battered, completed his costume. The blood which dropped from the
wounds on his feet and legs marked his path. A noisy and cruel
escort of children, which had followed him from the outskirts of the
town, never ceased from tormenting him with blows, or with
throwing stones: clotted black gore dropped from several deep cuts
in his head. I endeavoured to get near him, for Meurice, whom we
had brought out in front of the tent, had recognised M. Lanternier,
but the chaous drove me back with their sticks, and the prisoner was
hurried past us, and dragged before Abd-el-Kader, amid the
acclamations of the crowd.
At the sight of this unhappy man Abd-el-Kader was touched with
pity, and ordered Ben Faka to give him a haick and a pair of slippers,
and to conduct him to our tent. But the chaous who had escorted
him exclaimed, that the Christian dog had refused to obey their
orders, and that he ought therefore to be sent to prison. In vain did
the unhappy man implore Abd-el-Kader’s mercy, and lament his
separation from his wife and daughter in the most heart-rending
words. Abd-el-Kader, unmoved by his anguish, commanded the
chaous to take him to the prison at Mascara, but to keep him
separate from the Arab prisoners, who might otherwise ill-use him.
The unfortunate man was about to renew his entreaties for mercy,
but his mouth was stopped by a blow. He passed before our tent,
but we were not allowed to address to him a single word of
consolation. As he passed us his eyes filled with tears, and anguish
and despair were painted in his countenance. He slackened his pace
for a moment to look at us; but the chaous beat him, and the
children attacked him with abuse and with stones, one of which
made a deep wound in his head—the blood gushed forth in a
torrent, and the poor victim staggered; but his pitiless tormentors
drove him on before them. I withdrew into the tent to hide my tears,
and was soon followed by the other prisoners: we all wept together.

Meurice’s state became more alarming every day. Bourgeois and
Fleury chafed his limbs, and laid rags soaked in cold water upon his
burning temples, whilst I went to the tent of Ben Faka’s coffee-
maker, where I heated his slippers and some of his rags, which I
placed upon his legs and feet while still hot. With inconceivable
difficulty we made him some barley-water, but he drank it with
disgust, because it was not sweetened. He wished to go to Mascara,
to take a vapour bath, which he fancied would cure him; and I
accordingly obtained an interview with Abd-el-Kader, and asked his
permission to allow me to accompany him thither, which he granted
for the next day. I then asked him for some sugar for Meurice, which
he immediately ordered Ben Faka to give me.
Next morning Abd-el-Kader lent us one of his baggage mules and
a negro called Hassan, to take Meurice to Mascara. I led the mule by
the bridle, and Hassan got up behind the sick man, and supported
him in his arms. We were also accompanied by the army surgeon,
called Tussis, who had studied medicine at Tunis, though not to
much purpose, for he was extremely ignorant.
I went into the bath with Meurice, and undressed him, for he was
unable to move. I had intended to take a bath myself, but the dirt
and stench of the place made it impossible to me. I then went to the
Kait of Mascara, and asked leave to see M. Lanternier, which the Kait
refused. On hearing my disappointment, Hassan told me that he
would go and find out his prison, and conduct me to it. I returned to
Meurice in the meantime, and found him in a state of perfect
despair, as the Arabs had refused to shampoo him, for fear of
defiling themselves by touching a Christian. Fortunately Jean
Mardulin, a French deserter, came to his assistance, and shampooed
him as well as he was able: he then dressed him, and wrapped him
in two or three rugs, which the Sultan had given him for the
purpose. Meanwhile I went to fetch Tussis, who was to bleed the
sick man; but Tussis referred me to a barber, who spoke pretty good
Spanish. When I had explained to him what I wanted, he took his
basin and razor, a glass, fire, and paper, and followed us to the
baths. He first shaved the back of Meurice’s head, made several

incisions in it with the razor, and then covered it with a glass, under
which he placed several pieces of lighted paper. The blood flowed
freely, and Meurice found himself somewhat relieved. Tussis watched
his proceedings with great attention, and seemed to me to be taking
a lesson in practical surgery, whilst he affected to consider the
operation of too little importance for the exercise of his own skill.
We were now ordered to leave the bath, as the time appropriated
to the women was come. Mardulin and I wrapped Meurice in the
rugs from head to foot, and carried him to the hospital, where we
left him to sleep till it was time to return to the camp. I had been
very hot in the bath, and on leaving it I felt a chill. As soon as
Meurice was asleep I went out into the public square, and laid
myself upon the ground in the sun. Before long I saw Hassan, who
beckoned to me mysteriously to follow him. We crossed the square,
and stopped before a house, the door of which was open. “That,”
said he, “is Lanternier’s prison; but take care you are not caught, or
you will be beaten.”
I have already said, that the door of the house was open; within it
was an iron grating. At the distance of about two feet (i. e. the
thickness of the wall) was another door, with a second iron grating,
within which were crowded the Arab prisoners with no air or light
but what the grating admitted. Between the two gratings, like a wild
beast in a cage, was Lanternier, crouching on the ground, covered
with rags, pale and emaciated. The dirt and disorder in his person,
and the expression of stupid despondency in his countenance,
showed what he must have endured. His eyes glared with a sort of
feverish brightness.
I drew near, and told him who I was. He described to me his
misfortunes, the sufferings of his wife and daughter, the ill-usage he
had received from the chaous. He said that his prison was horrible;
that it was only cleaned once a week; and that at night, when the
outer door was shut, he was almost suffocated by the stench of the
inner room, from which he was only separated by the grating; that
he received no food but a bit of barley cake in the morning, and a

handful of boiled barley at night; and that he must have died of
hunger, but for the kindness of Mardulin, who brought him a bit of
white bread and some snuff every morning. He implored me to
intercede for him with Abd-el-Kader, that he might be allowed to go
to the camp to the other Christian prisoners.
The sentinel now began to look at me suspiciously, and I
departed, overwhelmed with grief. My mental sufferings, combined
with the chill which had seized me on coming out of the bath made
me ill, and I followed the mule, on which Hassan had placed
Meurice, with tottering steps. When I awoke next morning, I was as
ill as Meurice; my legs were frozen, my head ached violently, and I
was unable to stand. Bourgeois was indefatigable in rendering every
assistance in his power to both of us.
On the 2nd of November some Arabs brought from Mascara three
of the frames upon which are stretched the haicks which hide the
Moorish women when they travel in panniers on the backs of mules.
We heard that these were intended to conceal Lanternier’s wife and
daughter and the two German women, whom Abd-el-Kader was
going to send as a present to Muley Abd-el-Rachman, Emperor of
Morocco. These three frames were each balanced by chests,
destined to contain five wild beasts, which, together with the
women, some ostriches, and some carpets, constituted the Sultan’s
present to the Emperor.
One morning, when Abd-el-Kader returned from his wife’s tent,
which he visited every night, he brought back with him Benedicto,
the little Italian sailor-boy, who had been living among the women
for several months. The poor child was very beautiful, and
remarkably intelligent. The Arab women had been very kind to him,
in spite of which he had been left without any other covering than
the shirt he wore when taken prisoner. He had entirely forgotten his
mother and his country, and already spoke Arabic better than Italian.
When we asked him where his mother was, he pointed to the
women’s tents; if we enquired what was his religion, he said he was
a Mahomedan; he recited the Mahomedan prayer perfectly; and the

Arab soldiers, who petted him very much, often made him repeat it
fifteen or twenty times in succession.
I had heard that the Sultan intended to remove his camp on the
26th to the neighbourhood of Tlemsen, I therefore asked leave to
speak to him, and, on obtaining it, was carried into his presence. I
again besought him to send Meurice to Oran, and assured him that if
he did not, the unhappy man would be dead in a week. Abd-el-Kader
replied with his usual smile, “If he is so ill as you say, the journey to
Oran would kill him; but, instead of following my camp, you shall
remain at Mascara, where you shall be lodged in a comfortable
house till you can be exchanged.” He then ordered Ben Faka to give
each of us a haick, and a little vest for the child. I returned to the
tent overwhelmed with grief, and poor Meurice, who had flattered
himself with the hopes of returning to Oran, read the cruel
disappointment in my face, and began to bewail his misfortunes, and
to inveigh against Abd-el-Kader’s barbarity. I tried to comfort him
with the prospect of being sheltered, warmed, and fed at Mascara,
and protected against the brutality of the Arabs; but he answered,
“It is all too late!” hid his head under his haick, and lay on the
ground stupified by misery.

CHAPTER X.
Prison at Mascara—Death of Meurice—Lanternier
joins us—Four new prisoners—Their adventures—
Our way of passing our time—Conversation of the
prisoners—Fourteen heads—The Italians.
During the afternoon of the 5th a mule was brought to convey
Meurice to Mascara, and I asked for another for myself; but in spite
of my illness it was refused me. I revenged myself by pouring
several pitchers of water into the chests containing cartridges which
stood in our tent; and I flatter myself that I watered them so
thoroughly as to prevent their ever being of much use to my
persecutors.
I had no sooner accomplished my revenge than Ben Faka returned
with the Kait of Mascara who was to escort us to the town, and we
immediately started, accompanied by Fleury, Bourgeois, and little
Benedicto. I was so overpowered by illness and fatigue that at
length even the Kait took pity on me, and seeing that I was totally
unable to walk, ordered Bourgeois and Fleury to lift me up on the
mule behind Meurice.
The Kait conducted us to a small house next door to that in which
he administers justice, and informed us that this was to be our
dwelling. It consisted of two small rooms on the ground floor, and
one above which was accessible only by an external staircase in the
court. We took up our quarters in the upper room, as it seemed
rather less damp than the others. It was quite bare of any sort of
furniture, and received a little light and a good deal of cold wind

through two loop-holes looking into the court. A plank about three
feet wide, fixed against the wall, seemed intended to serve as a bed.
The Kait gave us a piece of an old camel hair tent and two rugs to
cover us. The two soldiers had the tent, and Meurice and I the rugs.
The Sultan’s artillery was just passing through Mascara on its road
to Tekedemta, and Jean Mardulin who belonged to it, came to visit
us; he found us so ill and miserable that he proposed to stay and
take care of us,—an offer which we accepted with joy and gratitude.
He had scraped together a little money, which he generously placed
at our disposal.
Meurice begged for an interview with Lanternier, but the Kait
replied, that he had received strict orders from Abd-el-Kader not to
allow him to communicate with the other prisoners. We, however,
sent him a share of our rations every day by Mardulin.
So far were we from recovering our health that I had now entirely
lost the use of my legs, and my headaches daily increased in
violence. I begged the Kait twenty times to let me be bled; and at
length he sent me the same barber who had operated on Meurice.
The barber cupped me on the back of my head, which relieved me
very much.
On the morning of the 12th the weather was detestable, the rain
fell in torrents, and we suffered even more than usual from cold and
damp. Meurice stretched out his hand towards me, as we lay side by
side; I took it, and asked him how he felt. He replied that he was no
better and felt very cold. I crept closer to him and offered him my
haick; but he refused it, saying that he did not suffer more than the
day before, but that he felt he had not long to live. “You,” said he,
“are young and strong; you will return to Algiers, where you will see
my wife—poor Clarisse! tell her how much I loved her, and that my
last thought was of her.” He then covered his head with his haick,
and for half an hour uttered not a single groan. At the end of that
time I took hold of his arm and asked him how he felt: he made no
answer, and I uncovered his face—he was dead.

I will not attempt to describe the feelings which crowded upon me
as I lay with Meurice’s body by my side. Night was come, and I
called the other prisoners, and bade them examine whether our poor
companion was really dead. They went to fetch the Kait, who, now
that it was too late, ordered a fire for us. Had this been granted us a
few days earlier, Meurice might have been saved. Bourgeois and
Mardulin undressed the body, rolled it in a rug, and laid it in the
opposite corner of the room. They gave me his clothes. The vermin
on the haick were so thick that it stood on end; but misery by
degrees blunts all our sensibilities, both moral and physical. I rolled
myself in his clothes, and at least was warmer.
The next afternoon Mardulin and Bourgeois, assisted by a couple
of Jews, whom the Kait had appointed for the purpose, removed the
body. They dug a hole just outside the wall of the town, on the road
to El Borgj, sewed the body in a ragged piece of old haick, and
buried it there.
The weather that night was terrific; the rain fell in torrents, and
the wind blew a perfect gale; nevertheless, at sunrise an Arab came
to inform the Kait that the corpse of the Christian was half out of the
earth. In spite of the weather the Arabs had dug up the body, in
order to steal the ragged piece of haick in which Mardulin had sewn
it. The Kait affected to be very angry, and promised us that he would
punish the thieves; but he made no attempt to discover them.
Mardulin immediately went to the spot where he had buried Meurice,
enlarged the hole, and replaced in it our unfortunate companion,
whom these barbarians would not suffer to rest in peace, even after
death.
When Abd-el-Kader heard of Meurice’s death, he sent the most
positive orders that we were to have everything we might want; and
the Kait asked me what I wished for. I asked for three fowls, and for
permission for Lanternier to join us. As the Kait wished to keep me
alive, I obtained both my requests. It is impossible to describe the
joy of poor Lanternier, who immediately set about curing me by
continued and violent friction and the application of red-hot bricks to

my legs, which were so completely benumbed that even when the
skin was burnt I did not feel it.
All this time the Sultan was encamped to the south of Oran, at a
place where there are several marabouts and some mineral springs.
He had sent Milud-ben-Arrach with the cavalry to Milianah to collect
tribute from the Hadjutes of the neighbouring tribes. He was to have
gone among the Hadjutes himself during the month of September,
but had been prevented by the revolt of the Beni-Flitas.
I heard one day that a courier had arrived with letters from
Algiers, which he had delivered to the Kait. I got Bourgeois and
Mardulin to carry me to his house, though certainly nothing of less
importance would have induced me to be thus dragged across the
public place of Mascara. The Kait was touched with pity at my
deplorable condition. He told me that the courier brought a letter
from Algiers, which, no doubt, would effect my deliverance. I asked
to see it, and my joy was inexpressible on beholding General
Rapatel’s seal. Guess, then, what was my disappointment when the
Kait told me that he dared not open it, but would send it at once to
the Sultan, and that Fleury should accompany the courier in order to
read it, as I was too weak and ill to bear the fatigue of the journey.
Just as the courier was about to start, four new prisoners arrived;
these were Monsieur Pic a settler, his German servant formerly a
chasseur, a disciplinaire, and Madame Laurent a cantinière. M. Pic’s
servant, who had received a ball in his hip, was left at Mascara,
while the Kait sent his three companions to the Sultan with the
courier and Fleury. I especially charged the latter to ask the Sultan
to exchange the four new prisoners against the four Arabs who were
to have served as ransom for Meurice.
On the 18th thirty Beni-Amers,—men, women, and children,
arrived at Mascara, loaded with chains. They had been taken on the
road to Oran, whither they were going to place themselves under
the protection of the French. Abd-el-Kader ordered the two chiefs to
be hung as an example to others: the rest were thrown into prison.

Fleury returned to Mascara with the other prisoners and a soldier
called Devienne, who had been taken by the Arabs near Tlemsen.
The Arabs who escorted them told them that they must take off the
haicks which had been given to them by the Bey of Milianah, and
appear before the Sultan in their Christian dresses. The prisoners
obeyed, and the haicks disappeared.
After questioning the prisoners, and rewarding the Arabs who had
brought them, Abd-el-Kader gave each of them two bits of money,
and bade them fear nothing. Fleury then read the letter in which the
Governor agreed to give fifteen Arabs in exchange for the six
Christians, and the Sultan promised to send us all to Algiers at once.
He also sent his command to the Kait to clothe us all afresh with red
trowsers and new haicks, which the latter executed as far as he was
able, but the Sultan’s store contained but one piece of cloth, which
was only sufficient for three pairs of trowsers.
The Kait promised that we should set out for Algiers as soon as
the two Italian prisoners, Crescenso and Francesco, had arrived from
Tekedemta, whither he had already sent to fetch them. That
evening, when we were all assembled, I begged the four new
prisoners to tell us how they had fallen into the hands of the Arabs.
M. Pic and his servant were going towards Buffarik with a cartload
of sand, when some Arabs rode towards them, crying “Run! run!”
Thinking that the Arabs meant this as a friendly warning to them to
escape from some impending danger, the servant took to his heels,
and M. Pic was about to follow him when the Arabs fired at them,
and wounded the servant in the hip. They then took the horse out of
the cart, mounted their two prisoners upon it, and carried them to
the Bey of Milianah.
The disciplinaire was returning rather drunk, from a merry-making
at a blockhouse near Buffarik, when he was surprised by some
Arabs, who took him to their tribe near the Queen’s Tomb.[6]
Madame Laurent, in company with Madame Lafôret another
cantinière, was going to Mahelma to see her husband, when they

were seized and carried to the tents of the same tribe; where for
two months they were subjected to every sort of horrible ill usage,
under which they both fell sick, and Madame Lafôret soon perished.
Madame Laurent got worse and worse, and at last her master sold
her to another Arab, who kept her for two months, at the end of
which time, finding her as ill as ever and utterly unable to work, he
took her to the Bey of Milianah.
The disciplinaire with whom she had never been allowed to have
any communication, had also fallen sick and was carried to the Bey.
On their arrival at Mascara, these prisoners were in the most
abject state of misery and dirt. Fleury cut off Madame Laurent’s long
hair which was covered with vermin, and she bought a comb with
the money the Sultan had given her. The Kait lodged her with his
women, but she soon returned to us in a rage, as the Arab women
had struck and insulted her, and she was forced to take refuge from
their malice with us.
Our days were passed in the following manner. At daybreak
Mardulin woke us, lighted the fire, and went to market to buy with
his own savings figs, eggs, and white bread for us, and snuff for M.
Lanternier. We then breakfasted; after which we cleaned the house
by turns. When the weather was fine we went to sit upon the
terrace of the Casabah, and hunted the vermin on our clothes: only
M. Pic’s servant, whose wound did not heal, stayed within.
One day, while I was discussing with Mardulin how to obtain from
the French Government his pardon and permission to return—a
favour he so well deserved for his devotion and kindness to us, we
overheard the following conversation among the other prisoners.
They were talking about their return to Algiers: and in spite of their
rags and vermin they had forgotten their miserable condition, and
already fancied themselves free. “I hope, gentlemen,” said M. Pic,
“that when you pass through Buffarik on your return to Algiers, you
will do me the honour of stopping to breakfast with me. Madame Pic
will be extremely flattered by the compliment, and should any

confusion reign in the meal, be so good, gentlemen, as not to
attribute it to the slightest indifference on our part to the comfort of
our guests, but to the joy which will no doubt disturb my wife, who
of course believes me to be dead, and will feel considerable emotion
at our meeting.”
“Gentlemen,” began M. Lanternier, “I will not be outdone; you
must all give me the pleasure of your company at dinner at my
village of Adel-Ibrahim. It is true, I am old, but to celebrate the day
of our release I will take care that not even the youngest among you
shall eat and drink more than I.”
“Ah ça,” broke in Madame Laurent; “I trust, gentlemen, that I
need not put up with the disgrace of being unable to offer you any
civility. But first, I wish to know if there is a carriage road from
Buffarik to Algiers.”
“Petite mère,” answered the deserter, “you shall have a car
whereon to make your triumphal entry into Algiers.”
“Be quiet you rogues,—I shall have the honour of receiving you at
my canteen, and of offering each of you a glass of wine. The
celebrated and unfortunate captives of the Bedouins shall have the
privilege of drinking whatever they please gratis, like in the Champs
Elysées on the birthday of Louis XVIII. I shall have the honour of
waiting upon you myself, gentlemen; and I beg you to believe that
my dress will be more carefully arranged and composed of better
materials than it is at this present, most amiable and unfortunate
captives of the barbarians.”
“Long live Madame Laurent!” exclaimed all the prisoners at once;
“the amiable captives will all assemble at your canteen at Algiers.”
“And at night,” added M. Lanternier, “we will all sup together with
due honours.” “And you, Lieutenant,” said Madame Laurent turning
to me, “will you do us the honour to be of the party?” “Certainly,
petite mère,” replied I; “and long live Madame Laurent.”
This is but one specimen of the conversations which continually
arose on this subject.

After taking a few turns on the terrace we returned to our house,
and as soon as the evening began to close in, Bourgeois brought the
kitchen fire into our room in a chafing dish, and one of the soldiers
went to fetch our supper and oil for our lamp at the house to which
he was directed by one of the Kait’s slaves; for the inhabitants of the
town were forced to supply us by turns: meanwhile some of the
party smoked, and others played at cards or chess with those I had
manufactured. When we had eaten our kuskussu we called on M.
Lanternier for a story, and listened with the deepest interest to Tom
Thumb, Little Red Riding Hood, the Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, or
some other fairy tale, which he told with great fluency and grace.
The disciplinaire, who had a very fine voice, sang Provençal songs
with great taste and feeling. One by one we fell asleep, and thus
ended our day.
One afternoon our talk was interrupted by the noise of cannon
and muskets, and of tumultuous voices. We went out to discover the
cause, and were shocked at seeing the heads of fourteen
slaughtered Spahis which the children were kicking about before the
door of our house. They were afterwards put into a sack and sent to
adorn Abd-el-Kader’s tent. This hideous spectacle made me sick.
On the 24th, two of the Italian fishermen, Crescenso and
Francesco, arrived from Tekedemta: Berthoumiau had died of cold
and ill usage, and had been buried there. The account of their
sufferings was terrible. Their first enquiry was after little Benedicto,
but the boy did not remember his friends or his country; only when
they mentioned his mother Maria he seemed to feel some emotion
and his memory to revive. “My mother,” said the boy, “is there,”
pointing towards the tent of Abd-el-Kader’s wife; and away he ran to
play with the Arab children.
[6] Vide page 73.

CHAPTER XI.
Departure from Mascara—Striking scene—Milianah—
Moussa the renegade—His letter—The Rhamadan
—Delays—The Bey of Milianah—Setting out for
Algiers—The Bey’s daughters—First sight of Algiers
—Fresh delays and disappointments—The Hakem’s
hospitality—Arrival at Algiers—Benedicto—The Arab
prisoners at Marseilles.
The next day the Kait of Mascara announced to us that we were soon
to proceed to Algiers, and that he had received orders from Abd-el-
Kader to clothe us, which he accordingly did. The following morning
we started amid the threats and insults of the women, children, and
inhabitants of the town, and took Benedicto with us by force. The
Kait had the cruelty to send Mardulin out of the way, so that we
could not press the hand of one who had been our benefactor
during our stay at Mascara.
We had scarce left the town when the Kait ordered a halt and
counted us over three several times: we were twelve Christian
prisoners and three deserters: four of the prisoners were compelled
to walk for want of mules, but were to ride by turns with the others.
Together with several Jews and Arabs who had joined our caravan,
we formed a body of forty, conducted by a Kait from the
neighbourhood of Mascara, and guarded by one of Abd-el-Kader’s
horsemen. The Kait then left us after having enjoined upon the chief
of the escort to treat us well.
Soon after mid-day we saw the village of El-Borgj, but we made a
detour to avoid it, as it was market day, and the Kait feared we

might fall victims to the hatred and fury of the assembled Arabs: as
it was, the women and children came running towards us, and
loaded us with threats and abuse. Towards night, after travelling
over various hills, rocks and brushwood, through a savage and
uncultivated country, we reached a little village at a few leagues
from the falls of the Ouet Mina. The situation of this village at the
foot of a mountain near several streams is delicious; rhododendrons,
poplars, almond, fig, peach, and apricot trees, cover the whole plain,
and the gardens are kept fresh and green by a plentiful supply of
water.
After some delay we were ushered into a sort of stable, and when
the marabout had recited a prayer some excellent kuskussu was
brought to us. We passed a bad night owing to the smoke. On the
following day, in about four hours, we reached the village of a tribe
on the banks of the Ouet Mina, where we procured some food: we
then continued our journey towards the Schellif, avoiding the
mountains inhabited by the Beni-Flitas who had shaken off Abd-el-
Kader’s authority. After several days’ forced march over a rough
country, the tired mules stumbling at every step and the men on foot
suffering acutely, we reached a small village governed by an Aga of
the plain of Milianah: we entered a large house in the public square,
the inside of which was one vast hall, evidently intended for the
reception of travellers.
At one end mats were spread on the ground for our
accommodation, at the other several Arabs sitting cross-legged on
rich carpets were preparing coffee. Presently the slaves brought in
some splendid cushions and a handsome divan, more magnificent
than those belonging to Abd-el-Kader. The Aga, sumptuously
dressed, entered, accompanied by our Kait, the young marabout,
and several chiefs, and they began to drink coffee and smoke long
pipes.
I went towards him and said that I was ill, and also a woman who
was with us, and begged him to give us some coffee; upon which he
not only ordered his slaves to bring us two cups, but sent Madame

Laurent and Benedicto to his wife, who treated them with the
utmost kindness.
The hall which we occupied presented a most picturesque and
striking scene. In one corner were the Christian prisoners sitting
round a large fire, talking over their miseries and their sufferings,
their livid faces plainly telling the torments they had endured: many
were occupied in dressing their wounds and sores; occasionally
plaintive murmurs and confused groans were audible from among
them. A few paces from us, on gorgeous silken cushions, the Arabs
reclined in a circle round the Aga, who looked like a Sultan in his
splendid dress: these were drinking coffee and smoking. The
flickering light made their pale faces look fiercer and wilder than
usual. They were discussing the projects of Abd-el-Kader, and
occasionally, when the conversation turned upon the Christians, their
eyes flashed, rage deformed their countenances, and one might
fancy that one saw before one some of those nomade tribes who in
former ages overran Christian Europe, defiling the churches and
monasteries by planting the crescent on their steeples and towers.
At the hour of prayer the young marabout rose and recited it: the
Arabs listened with deep devotion; and from my corner I gazed upon
the strange and imposing scene. We then had some kuskussu and
half a roasted sheep.
This delicious repast and a good night’s rest greatly restored our
exhausted frames, and we quitted with regret a village at which we
had been so hospitably treated. Next day we reached Milianah. We
received the usual treatment from the Arab populace, but were at
length safely lodged in the house in which the Bey delivers
judgment. The house consisted of three small rooms on the ground
floor: in one of these the slaves prepared the Bey’s coffee; the
second served as a prison for those Arabs who had taken arms for
the French, some of whom were in irons, and others confined in
circular blocks of wood which prevented them even from rising; the
third room, which was dark, cold, and damp, was our prison. Our
food was bad, and we suffered much from the exposure to damp

and cold. Bourgeois, who until now had been in good health, fell ill,
and our days were passed in rubbing him. The long journey too had
irritated the wound of M. Pic’s servant, which began to be most
offensive.
We had been assured that we should start for Algiers after three
days’ stay at Milianah, and this had kept us from giving way to
despondency. But when the time fixed for our departure went by,
the future appeared to us in the most gloomy colours, despair seized
upon our minds, and disease and misery wasted our bodies.
The Kait affected not to understand Abd-el-Kader’s directions, and
ordered me to write to Algiers to announce the death of Meurice and
Berthoumiau, and that two other Christian prisoners would be
liberated in their stead. These delays drove us to despair, and we
looked forward with impatience to the arrival of the Bey of Milianah,
who might perhaps hasten our deliverance: but, he never came.
In the midst of these torments we one day received the visit of a
deserter, whose life and position among the Arabs are too curious to
be passed over.
I had seen this man before, but have delayed until now to
mention him, in order to present this episode as a whole. While Abd-
el-Kader was encamped on the borders of the Ouet Mina, a
handsome man, dressed in the uniform of the Spahis, and without a
bernouse, passed our tent, making his horse prance. The Arabs
pointed him out to us, saying, “He is a Christian.”
Shortly afterwards a negro came and told us that Moussa, the
Christian, desired to speak with us. As we did not wish to have any
dealings with deserters we told the negro that if Moussa wished to
speak with us he must come here, as we were not free to go where
we liked.
Scarce had the negro left us, when a tall man with a long flowing
beard and an insolent bearing came to us, saying, “I am amazed
that dogs of Christians such as you refuse to come when one so
great and powerful as Moulin sends for you. Has not my fame

reached you; and know you not that your fate is in my hands?” On
my assuring him that I did not know him, he replied, “I am Moulin:
four years ago I quitted the French, and I now command the armies
of the Sultan. It is I who lead them to victory and carry terror and
destruction into the ranks of the Christian dogs. I am he who returns
from every battle with the heads of four Frenchmen whom I have
killed with my own hand hanging at my saddle-bow.”
“My dear Sir,” replied I, “you must imagine, to judge by your style
of conversation, that you are talking to idiots.” “What do you say,
you wretch?” “I say that our soldiers still believe in the existence of
Moulin whose name even now inspires them with terror, for after an
infamous desertion he was distinguished for courage. But he has
been dead for years, and we do not believe in ghosts.”
“I tell you, dog of a Christian, that I am Moulin; I have taken the
name of Moussa since I have become one of the faithful, and my
power and authority know no bounds. I am now going to the tent of
my friend Abd-el-Kader to determine your fate.”
While this conversation was going on my poor friend Meurice, who
was then alive, told me that he had attentively observed the
deserter’s features, and that they were familiar to him at Paris. He
begged me next time he came to turn the conversation to Paris, in
order that he might observe the impression this produced.
Next day Moussa presented himself with the same presumptuous
assurance; and after a great deal of vapouring on his part I asked
him if he still persisted in passing for Moulin. “Dog of a Christian,
you are most obstinate. Have not the French soldiers after a battle
related that the Arab battalions were commanded by the terrible
Moulin?” We then began to talk about Paris, in praise of which
Moussa was most eloquent. “Do I know Paris?” cried he; “it is the
place where I was born: and the theatres! I went to them every
night, more especially to the Odeon.”
“The Odeon!” said Meurice, with more heat than I had ever seen
him exhibit. “The Odeon! You are an impostor; you are neither

Moulin nor Moussa, but M——. I know you well. You used to come
every evening to the director’s box at the Odeon: many’s the time
you have sat on my knee as a child, and your sister was then a
charming actress. My name, Sir, is Meurice.”
Moussa was struck dumb at this vehement apostrophe, and
Meurice continued, “I have never seen you since, but I have heard
of you; you grew up a good-for-nothing fellow, and entered first the
cavalry and then the infantry: in each your restless temper drew
upon you the reprimands of your superiors; till at length you
engaged in the Bataillon d’Afrique, and then in the Spahis, whose
uniform you still wear. I heard of your desertion in the prisons of
Mascara. You may call yourself Moussa, but your name before your
infamous apostacy was the one I pronounced: I do not repeat it out
of regard to your family.”
“I can deny nothing, Sir,” said Moussa, with despair painted in his
face. “I am miserable; but believe me that it was only the vexations
I endured which determined me to desert. I long resisted the
unfortunate idea, but I could not bend to injustice; and if I have
done amiss I now expiate my faults most cruelly.”
We talked in this strain for some time, and Moussa appeared truly
penitent, insomuch that we forgot his crimes and his impudence in
our interest in his regrets and sufferings. From this time forward I
did not see him again, as Abd-el-Kader presented him with a horse,
a sabre, and a rifle, and sent him to the Hadjutes, among whom he
had lived since his desertion.
One day during my captivity at Mascara, Moussa came to visit me.
I felt some pleasure at seeing him, and told him how miserable we
were. He promised to do everything in his power, telling me that he
commanded the cavalry of the Hadjutes, and that he was then on
his way to Abd-el-Kader, whom he would press on the subject of our
exchange. He added that he had saved some money, and hoped to
escape to the coast of Spain. Meanwhile he sent me some bread and
a shirt, which I accepted, as I imagined that he was still repentant.
It so happened that during his absence a Hadjute had told me that

he himself had, in the affair of the 3rd November, cut off the heads
of three French officers of the Spahis, which I must have seen at
Mascara. At this moment Moussa came to take leave of us, saying he
had been able to do but little for us, but that on his return he would
give us everything we could desire, as Abd-el-Kader would pay him
handsomely for the three French officers whom he had killed, and
whose heads he had sent him, adding that we should hear of him at
Algiers, as he had written his name with the point of his sword on
the back of one of the officers whose head he had cut off.
We could not restrain our indignation on hearing this wretch
invent lie after lie, and boast of the mischief he had done to our
countrymen. After loading him with opprobrious epithets, we called
back the Hadjute, and told him that Moussa boasted of having cut
off those very heads which he, the Hadjute, claimed as his prize.
“What!” exclaimed the Hadjute; “you say you have cut off the heads
of the three officers? Moussa, you lie in your throat. You cut off the
heads of Christians; you are a coward and a braggart. You fled when
we encountered the Christians. You fled, dog that you are, although
before the battle you boasted of your courage and prowess: you are
a thief and a rascal.” Then turning to us, he said—“What! did he say
he was going to the Sultan, to his friend Abd-el-Kader? His friend,
indeed! The Sultan has sent for him, not to load him with favours,
but to call him to account for the horse, the rifle, and the bernouse
which he gave him, and which this fellow sold at Blidah, and then
got drunk with the money.”
“Sooner or later I will have my revenge,” said Moussa, as we
forced him out of our prison. A few minutes afterwards a negro
brought me a letter from Moussa to the following effect:—
“As I do not choose that a dog of a Christian, such as you, should
keep anything that once belonged to so great and powerful a
Mussulman as myself, I herewith command you to return by the
bearer the shirt which I gave you yesterday. I am going to my friend
Abd-el-Kader, and shall do my best to have your head cut off. At any
rate, if I arrive too late to prevent your being exchanged, you will

never see your friends, as I have given orders to have you all seized
as soon as you have passed Buffarik.
“Upon which I give you my word of honour.
“Moussa,
“Commander-in-Chief of the Sultan’s armies.”
This letter excited the laughter of my companions, and we burnt
the shirt which the rascal demanded in such insolent and haughty
terms.
We never saw the rogue again, but heard that the Bey of Milianah
had sent him to Abd-el-Kader, under the guard of two soldiers,
charged with several offences, and with having sold the horse, the
bernouse, and the rifle, which had been given him by the Sultan,
who, doubtless, condemned him to that death he so richly deserved
for his various crimes.
The fast of Rhamadan at length induced the Bey to return to
Milianah; but his presence brought no alleviation to our sufferings.
Our jailer made the fast a pretext for depriving us of our daily
allowance of boiled barley, and giving us nothing but half a barley
cake each. The weather continued bitterly cold, with continual snow
and sleet; and our dungeon was so dark that we were unable even
to catch the vermin that infested it. We at length grew quite
desperate, and most of us felt convinced that the Sultan had sent us
to die of cold and hunger in the prisons of Milianah, and that he had
never intended to release or exchange us. Fleury, Bourgeois,
Crescenso, M. Lanternier, and the German servant, lay on the cold
bare earth sick of the fever, and their groans and delirious ravings
sounded most horrible in the darkness of our dungeon.
One morning a canopy was raised in front of our prison:
magnificent carpets were spread, upon which were laid cushions
covered with gorgeous brocade; and before long the Bey came and
seated himself upon them, in order to distribute the pay to his
soldiers. Some slaves spread a large round skin of morocco leather
at his feet, and emptied several bags of money upon it, after which

the soldiers were called up by name, and each in succession
received his pay.
Mahadin-el-Hadj-el-Schir-ben-Moubarek Bey of Milianah, is a man
of about forty. He is taller than Abd-el-Kader; his face is long, his
eyes small, his lips thick, and his beard grizzled. He wore a haick,
and a bernouse of beautiful crimson and azure cloth, embroidered
with silk and gold, and ornamented with gold tassels. A superb
yataghan glittered at his side. His officers, who stood in a row on
either side of him, were all dressed in red vests and trowsers and
white bernouses.
When I perceived that the Bey did not cast a single glance upon
our prison, and appeared to have forgotten our very existence, I
came before him, with General Rapatel’s letters in my hand, and
represented to him the misery we endured, and how opposed his
cruel treatment of us was to Abd-el-Kader’s generous intentions. The
Bey answered me with plenty of fine promises: he then departed,
and we heard no more of him. At length a Hadjute came to
announce that we were to start for the place at which the prisoners
were to be exchanged, and in less than half an hour the list of
names of those selected to leave Milianah that very day was brought
to us. It included Madame Laurent, M. Lanternier, Crescenso,
Francesco, Benedicto, and myself.
The weather was terrible; a thick snow was continually falling. M.
Lanternier was so ill that he was unable even to stand, and must
infallibly have dropped dead from his mule in a few hours. We
therefore resolved to leave him, and to take M. Pic’s German servant
instead, who, though exceedingly ill from the effects of his wound,
was able to sit upon his mule. We started amid the groans and
lamentations of our fellow-prisoners, and the frantic complaints of
Lanternier.
A few days after our departure M. Lanternier sunk under his
illness, and was buried outside the gates of Milianah.

We stopped before the palace of the Bey, who was sitting in the
court. He called me to him, and desired me to press General Rapatel
to hasten the exchange of the other prisoners at the rate of three
Arabs for every Christian. “If,” said he, “these terms are complied
with, I will leave your outposts alone for a time; if not, my Hadjutes
and I will not suffer them to rest in peace a single day.”
Madame Laurent and Benedicto were waiting for us before the
Bey’s palace: their condition had been very different from ours. They
told us that the Bey had two charming daughters, whose kindness
was equal to their beauty, and who had never ceased from paying
them every sort of attention. At Madame Laurent’s request these
amiable girls had frequently sent us provisions, but the slaves who
were ordered to take them to us had eaten them themselves. We all
mounted our mules except Crescenso, who was obliged to follow on
foot, and we quitted the town amidst the jeers and yells of the
populace, who shouted after us “There go the Christian dogs.”
At length we were on our way towards home: the day of our
release drew near; but this moment to which we had looked forward
with so much impatience failed to excite in us the joy we had
expected to feel. Sickness and misery had so completely exhausted
our strength and spirits, that we could think of nothing but the
sufferings and fatigue of the present moment. We travelled the
whole of the day over mountains covered with ilexes, gum trees, and
cypresses; the roads were detestable, and it never ceased from
snowing. We made no halt until evening, when we arrived at a tribe
in the mountains to the west of the plain of the Metidja. The
Commander of our escort, one of the officers of the Bey of Milianah,
conducted us to a mud hovel. A large fire was lighted, at which we
dried our clothes, which were completely wetted by the snow. The
Arabs of the surrounding tribes crowded to look at us, and to
torment us with blows and abuse. They forced little Benedicto to
repeat the Mahomedan prayer to every new comer, and the poor
child had to say it at least two hundred times that night: they then
commanded us to do the same, and beat us violently when we
refused.

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