Page:Littell's Living Age - Volume 131.djvu/509

Rh  as statues. As the procession advanced to the foot of the steps leading to the terrace, Mgr. Lavigerie intoned the hymn to the Holy Ghost, which the clergy took up with fine sonorous voices. Then the archbishop taking holy water, solemnly blessed the building, and turning to the four points of heaven, pronounced the solemn pontifical benediction. Once more the cannon sounded and the church bells joyfully resumed their peal.

Descending from the terrace, the archbishop, followed by his clergy, then advanced to the general with a few words of welcome, who responded in a short but touching speech, which was followed by an eloquent allocution from Mgr. Lavigerie. Then the company were invited to visit the hospital in detail, the simple but beautiful inscription above the entrance Bit-Allah (the house of God) having attracted all eyes. In fact, Protestants as well as Catholics were equally impressed by the ceremony they then witnessed, and the English consul exclaimed: "We have seen another St. Augustine!" After the visit to the hospital, the European part of the company returned to the terrace to see the fantasia, or horsemanship, which the Arabs had themselves prepared in honor of the archbishop. Upwards of twelve hundred men magnificently mounted, under the command of the bachagha, Bou-Alem, the friend and companion of Abd-el-Kader, performed for two hours and a half the most wonderful evolutions and equestrian feats, amidst enthusiastic applause from the Arab spectators. These fantasias are almost always attended with loss of life, but in this instance, though several accidents occurred to the horses, none were hurt, and the Arabs declared it was the result of the baraka, or blessing of the great marabout, which preserved both men and beasts. Then followed the feast, which was Homeric in its character. On the hillside above the hospital innumerable tents were pitched; in the centre, the temporary kitchen was installed; eighty-six sheep and a large number of fat oxen were roasted whole, suspended on long poles: and while one set of Arabs were piling wood on the fires, the women were bearing huge bowls of cous-cous into each tent. Rice for four thousand people, ten thousand oranges, and a proportionate quantity of dates and figs were among the gifts presented to the good archbishop for this impromptu Arab feast. And in an incredibly short space of time the sheep and oxen were cut up, distributed, and devoured by his native guests. Soon music succeeded to the feast; and then an old bard, selected by the Arabs themselves, came forward and sung to the archbishop a ballad composed for the occasion as a surprise to him, and in which, after describing their sufferings during the famine, they drew an eloquent picture of the Catholic charity through which they had been saved. This delicate and touching proof of their gratitude and affection moved the archbishop and those around him almost to tears. But the sun was sinking and the departure of the visitors was at hand. Mme. de Lamoricière had begged to pay a visit to the tent of Bou-Alem (one of the Arab chiefs who had fought under the banner of her lamented husband) and the archbishop and his guests accompanied her. Bou-Alem, surrounded by his sons and grandsons, received them with that grave and gentle courtesy which distinguishes those grave Arab chiefs, and having offered them coffee, which was accepted in the same spirit, turned to his guests and said: "When first my guns echoed through these mountains it was, under the orders of General Lamoricière, to subdue this country. But now that I am old, their echo is repeated to celebrate the victories of the archbishop, who, by his charity, has conquredconquered [sic] all hearts to himself."

A short visit was then paid to the new villages of St. Cyprian and St. Monica. Every one admired the tidiness and cleanliness of the houses, the healthy appearance of the children, and the care with which the gardens and fields were cultivated. And before getting into the train to return to Algiers, the whole company repaired to the church, where the priests sung the beautiful African Ave Maria (composed for the Church of Notre Dame d'Afrique), the whole native population joining in the chorus. Their voices still echoed through the plain as the train sped rapidly back towards Algiers. All of a sudden a bright light was seen on the mountains; the Arab Christians had improvised an illumination in honor of their dear and cherished father; and a huge glittering cross appeared, as if hanging in mid-air, against the dark shadow of the mountains behind. It seemed the symbol of the event which had been that day commemorated; the triumph of the cross of Christ over the darkness which for so many centuries had hung over this land, and an earnest to the faithful and loving pastor of the flock of the conquest which 