And calls the floods from high to bless his bowers,
And feed with pregnant streams the plants and flowers;
Soon as he clears whate’er their passage stay’d,
And marks the future current with his spade,
Swift o’er the rolling pebbles, down the hills,
Louder and louder purl the falling rills.
I had not to wander far to find a subject for painting, and lost no time in getting to work in the lane. A bewildering number of interesting groups kept passing; women and girls bearing pitchers, classical-looking herdsmen, driving sheep and goats, little kids, calves, and heifers; and husbandmen would go by with mules and donkeys, on their way to till the land, or to hew and collect firewood.
Soon the path was blocked with people declaring that I was in everybody’s way, and that I could not remain there painting; for the women said (so I gathered from a man who spoke a few words of French) that they were afraid to pass, being especially alarmed at my umbrella. This was too ridiculous; though the umbrella was certainly large, I considered it too useful to be put on one side, or indeed to be treated slightingly.
One morning, when passing through the market-place in Algiers, I had noticed a man selling jewellery under an enormous umbrella; it struck me that such a one would suit me exactly for painting. Admiring its noble proportions, I went up and spoke to the owner, who obligingly left his stall in charge of a friend, and introduced me to the maker. I forthwith ordered another. It was made to take to pieces—each rib about four feet long, and practically, it was more serviceable than a small tent. It had a big iron spike, which could be rammed into the ground almost anywhere; it could besides be steadied with guys; it was large enough to shade me and my work, and it had a cover impervious to light; moreover, I could unloop the cover from the ends of the rods, and roll it up, so that without difficulty I could let in light in whatever direction I pleased. I was determined not to desert such an umbrella for all the women of Kabylia, so I let the men talk and gesticulate, and went on painting as if I heard them not.
