of our visit, in April, it was
harvest-time, and the husbandman was busy gathering in his little store.
The date-harvest, which constitutes the chief wealth of the district,
does not take place till October.

Besides the town proper and the fort, there is at Biskra a negro
village, while scattered throughout the oasis there are numerous
mud-built mosques and cottages, which contrast charmingly with the
tropical vegetation and add greatly to the picturesque beauty of the
scene. In addition to these abodes of the settled population, there are
also groups of real black Arab tents, which form the habitations of the
more nomadic races. These are here to-day and away to-morrow, carrying
all their possessions with them. The troops of Arabs we had met _en
route_ belonged to these wandering tribes, and were going to the Tell
country for summer pasturage. While we were at Biskra there was a
wedding in one of these dingy black tents, and a very queer place it
seemed to us to bring a bride to; nevertheless, she was conducted
thither in triumph, riding upon a mule, while the Arabs in front of the
tent fired _feu-de-joie_ amid the most noisy demonstrations of welcome
and rejoicing.

Within the town there are several streets, some large open places, and a
covered market-hall, where a brisk trade is daily carried on, large
quantities of dates, small quantities of grain, cutlery--knives and
daggers with roughly-hewn wooden sheaths--primitive musical instruments,
embroidered leather caps, straps, tobacco-pouches, etc., being exposed
in the various stalls. Altogether, a singular medley, and quite unlike
any European market.

The wild music of the tom-tom, a primitive Arab drum, seemed to us never
to cease at Biskra. At night, when we retired to rest, it was drumming
in our ears, and in the morning, when we awoke, its monotonous tones
still floated on the air. At all hours of the day and night the cafes
are frequented by pleasure-seekers. Hence the incessant drumming, as the
music of the tom-tom seems to be an indispensable adjunct to Arab
enjoyment.

Once or twice we made a round of the cafes, and very grim and solemn the
entertainment appeared to us. In one, for example, which was crowded
with tall grave men calmly puffing at their pipes and sipping their
coffee, we found a danseuse performing--a tall female figure, who glided
and swayed about in the mazes of a strange dance, while the musician sat
cross-legged in a corner of the ro