* * * * *
ALGIERS.
Continuing our voyage, we passed Trafalgar Bay and Gibraltar, where we
reviewed some Scouts.
On arrival at Algiers, the chief seaport and capital of Algeria, the
first thing that struck us was the strange mixture of people we met in
the streets.
There were Arabs, in their flowing white garments, brushing shoulders
with smartly dressed French officers and ladies, and picturesque
native soldiers and Turks and Italian peasants all busy at their
different pursuits.
Algiers is now a modern French town, though formerly it was the
headquarters of the Algerian pirates. The native quarter of the city
is still a network of narrow streets and alleys, made quite dark by
the houses that almost meet overhead.
Above the town stands the old fortress, called the Casbah. This was
the stronghold of the Turkish Corsairs and it was here that they kept
the prisoners which they captured from various vessels at sea.
Those of the captives who were Christians they treated with unusual
severity, and a large number of British sailors suffered torture at
their hands.
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