“We shall in vain attempt to raise our praises to the height of his merit; we must lower our brows before him and pay him homage, so long as the benevolent shower fertilizes the soil, so long as the moon illuminates the night, so long as the clouds come to temper the heat of the sun.
“Written by the slave of God,
“Ali-Ben-el-Hadji Moussa.
“Pardon us for presenting thee with,” &c. &c.
Then follow the seals and signatures of the chiefs of the tribes.
After the ceremony was over, and the Arabs had left us, the marshal-governor, whom I had not seen since my performances, being desirous to give me an idea of the effect they had produced on the minds of the natives, quoted the following incident:
A Kabyle chief, who had come to Algiers to make his submission, was taken to my first performance.
The next day, at an early hour, he went to the palace, and asked to speak with the governor.
“I have,” he said to the marshal, “to ask your permission to return immediately to my tribe.”
“You must be aware,” the marshal replied, “that the forms are not yet filled up, and the papers will not be in order for three days; you will, therefore, remain for that period.”
“Allah is great,” the Arab said, “and if it pleaseth Him I shall go away before, you will not be able to stop me.”