stage where the results appear; not half-way to that glorious end. We are still, as the old Parsees saw, in the intermediate age of imperfection and struggle. And while we are thus far from the end, we sadly err when we judge as wrongs and ills those things that are the means and ends to the perfect but distant goal. The divine creation is no quiescence, but that eternal' onward march,' that ceaseless development, in which the Divine will is ever 'From seeming evil still educing good, In infinite progression.' If Zoroaster had taught no other truth, this alone would entitle him to be regarded as a worthy forerunner of the Christ, a prophet of the Most High, who sought with all his heart and soul to build up that kingdom of truth, righteousness, and purity which is the very Kingdom of God. SONNET: AT REST. 'They rest from their labours.' DEAR hands, that gave themselves no willing rest; Worker, who still fresh work of mercy sought, Sleep then, beloved, for He gives thee sleep; Rest, toil-worn climber of the heav'nward steep; J. RUTTER. TUNIS TO KAIRWÁN. BY FLORENCE FREEMAN. SUSA. OUR pilgrimage to the holy city of Kairwán, the religious capital of the Regency, as opposed to Tunis, its political seat, was made, not by camel, but by train, boat, and tram. It lasted from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning, giving us one day only in Kairwán itself, so as to suit the return tram and boat. Our French steamer, the Barcelone, in which we set out from La Goletta, was in every way excellent, and we found pleasant company in its captain and Corsican doctor. The voyage proving somewhat rough, we were not sorry to land from the open boat which took us off the following morning to Susa. The ancient Hadrumetum, famous in Phoenician and Roman times, is now the most important station held by the French on the eastern Mediterranean. It was from Susa-Sousse, as the French call it-ten days after the occupation of Tunis, that the column commanded by General Étienne marched to the holy city of Kairwán, which surrendered without a blow. Susa rises on a hill above the sea, surrounded by crenelated walls. Like most Moslem cities, it has its kasbah, or citadel, on the crest of the hill. A series of narrow, irregular streets wind in and out from the hill-top to the water's edge. The whole town struck us as being more purely Oriental than Tunis, and more deserving of the epithet of 'White.' This impression is doubtless partly owing to its walls, which, completely closing in the town, free and unbuilt-against, save only on the sea-side, form one of its most striking features. Clear against the Eastern sky stand out the battlements of pure Saracenic type. Outside the Bab el-Gharbi, or Western Gate, we were able to study Oriental caravan life beneath the city walls. Here were innumerable camels, kneeling or standing, awaiting their burdens from the hands of the picturesque Arabs grouped outside the black tents of the desert. A very soft white camel won our It looked just fitted for a pilgrimage to the special favour. Shrine of the Companion. Having some time to wait in Susa before starting on the desert journey, we were able to see a good deal of the town. A stroll was first made through the narrow Sûks, built in the recesses of the town walls. No very active business was going on, and it was not altogether easy to keep one's footing in the muddy slipperiness of the unpaved ways. One of the most interesting buildings to be seen is the coffee-shop, Kahwat elKoubba, as the Arabs call it. The flutings of the dome are particularly graceful. It was quite a picture to see the Arabs, grave and dignified, wrapped in their burnouses, which they wear with their innate Oriental grace, sitting inside, or rather squatting on ledges covered with matting, sipping coffee and playing draughts. Turning the sharp corners of the narrow crooked streets of Susa, you come constantly upon some amusing sight, generally more strange than beautiful. A veritable hag-not veiled enough-in her very unwashed-looking draperies, would flit past and vanish as a dream (an ugly one) through some mysterious doorway-for 'le Mussulman cache jalousement sa vie domestique.' More pleasing to the eye was here and there some bit of column or picturesque window, or an old fountain at which the beast of burden was quenching its thirst. As we left the town by one of the horse-shoe gates, the arches of which seemed more gorgeous in colouring than those of Tunis, we met a train of camels heavily burdened, and French horsemen on capering steeds-the whole forcibly recalling some illumination of Froissart, so little have the manners and customs of the Saracens changed in the centuries that have passed since the days of the earlier French invasion. Till our arrival on the spot, we all believed that there was a small railway to Kairwán. We had not taken in that we were going to tram across desert plains, and our hearts sank within us at the first glimpse of the car, protected only by cotton curtains, that was to be our shelter for five hours. A railway had existed, but for a short time only, and most of its rails are said to have sunk deep into the Sidi el-Hani marshes. Some Frenchman had an ambitious scheme for running a train which was to arrive at Kairwán as soon as the marching army; but, alas! the little engine-'Le petit Kerouan'-could not be coaxed across the heights of Susa. VOL. 85 (V.-NEW SERIES). 20 NO. 505. Five hours in a tramcar, when a cruel north-wind is blowing that pierces you through and through in spite of any amount of wraps and rugs, is no joke. Add to the discomfort that you are jammed together on the four seats of the car with a sardinelike tightness which recalls the inside of a well-packed Sicilian diligence. Nevertheless, we pluck up our spirits, and are determined to see everything couleur de rose. Was it not a most novel experience, and could we not study with interest the Saracens who were our fellow-travellers? Surely Tartarin would have trammed to Kairwán if he had the chance? Away galloped the horses up the Susan hillside, turning somewhat to the right past the Arab caravanserai and the quarters of the French soldiery. Here from the top is a fine view of the blue Medi terranean waters. But soon the fierce wind and occasional rain, the hard seats, the incessant Arabic chatter of our snuff-taking companions, added to the increasing monotony of the landscape, made us decide that, under such conditions, we could never have made the seven pilgrimages to Kairwán that are accounted equal to one to Mecca. At any rate, it might be better 'next time' to drive from Susa-if not from Tunis itself. Our only diversion by the way was the occasional passing of a caravan and the flocks of sheep and goats that sometimes strayed upon our tramway. We witnessed an amusing incident in connection with these fourfooted trespassers. A shepherd, not having kept his flocks well off the line, our driver stopped the tram, sprang out, slashed the unhappy Arab with his whip, seized a fine lamb, and added it to the passengers who were already too many for comfort. All were, however, entertained by this display of summary justice. The lamb was taken to Susa to ensure the payment of a fine. About five o'clock, after many weary miles over the immense bare plain, enlivened only by a view of the great salt lake, Sebkha Sidi el-Hami, and a great fragment of Roman masonry not far from our track, there is a shout of 'Kerouan,' and we know that we are drawing near to our destination. A white streak against dark-blue mountains becomes more and more clearly defined, and soon the many towers and cupolas of this Western Mecca rise up distinctly, the high minár of the Great Mosque rearing its head above all. KAIRWÁN. For centuries Kairwán has been the religious centre, not only of the nomadic tribes which surround it, but also of the whole kingdom of Tunis. It was founded by Okba-ibn-Nafa, in 678. Tradition tells how Okba led his troops to the swampy marsh beset with wild beasts and serpents :-'We must build,' he said, 'a city which will serve as the camp and the ramparts of the faith of Mohamed.' Then, gathering about him the eighteen companions of the Prophet who were in his army, he called out in a loud voice, 'Serpents and savage beasts, we are the companions of the blessed prophet, retire! for we intend to establish ourselves here.' Whereupon they all retired peaceably; and at the sight of the miracle many of the Berbers were converted to Islamism. Okba then planted his lance in the ground and called out, Here is your resting-place'-in Arabic, Kairwán-thus giving the name to the new city. He himself traced out the Governor's Palace and the Great Mosque; the true position of the kiblah, or direction of Mecca, is believed by Mohamedans to have been miraculously commended to him by God. One is at once struck by the likeness of this legend to those of St. Patrick and St. David. The site of the new city was consecrated by the presence of Abdullah, the Saheb Ennabi, or Companion of the Prophet, who died and was buried at Kairwán. Okba himself was slain and found his final resting-place in Algeria. In the greatest days of Kairwán its rulers had a share in the wars of Europe, and it is said that Obeid Allah ravaged Lombardy, took Genoa, and ruled in Sicily. But from the eleventh century its power has been gradually merged in the Beylik of Tunis. The peculiar sacredness of the city, however, remained to it, and no Christian might pass within its gates. Only of late years have a few visitors been allowed to enter with special permission from the Bey, and even then they were always hurried through the streets and saw but little. We owe it therefore to the French occupation that we saw the inside, not only of the town, but also of its mosques. The tramway comes to an end at a short distance outside the walls, and the traveller then walks along a path bordered with prickly pear here one should rather call it the Barbary Figwith the French barracks on a slight rising to the left. Rooms can be found in the small inn which calls itself the 'Grand Hôtel |