“‘MY GENERAL,—I had the honour to report to you in my despatch of yesterday the arrival at Mater of the English and Italian Consuls of Bizerta, as well as the almost arrogant attitude of Mr. Smith, an English subject and a large landowner of Mater. The relations between these three persons are a mystery to no one here. I learn to-day that Mr. Smith has supplied powder and bullets to the Arabs who fought against you on the 18th. He possesses within about three kilometres to the north-west of the camp, in the midst of a _douar_, a residence which is said to be a meeting-place of Arab emissaries and others, and a centre of intrigues against us. Perhaps he keeps our enemies informed of all our movements, and it may be that it is to him we owe the shots which are fired at our patrols. The presence of such a person close to Mater is really intolerable. But for his being an English subject I should have already taken rigorous measures against him, and I cannot leave you in ignorance how much this situation adds to the difficulties which I have already to overcome here, in order to rally by degrees the mountain Sheikhs, and I hope, that in concert with the Minister of France at Tunis, you will find means to secure us against his proceedings. I have just learnt that Mr. Smith has left for Tunis. (Signed) MAURAND.’ “I had no sooner arrived at Tunis than M. Roustan made an official complaint against me to the British Consul-General, but very fortunately he enclosed the above copy of General Maurand’s report. The Italian Consul at Bizerta turned out not to have been at Mater for eight years, while his colleague of England, a timorous mortal, had never quitted his house since the taking of Bizerta! The other charges in the letter are not less apocryphal. Even M. Roustan was obliged to declare that he would not support the accusation, and after a fortnight I returned to my farm. Of course I duly made a claim for all my losses, but I have never heard anything more of it from that day to this, and I suppose it is peacefully reposing in some pigeon-hole in Downing Street. General Maurand was, I believe, severely reprimanded, but he took his revenge. I was boycotted at Mater, and no Frenchman was ever allowed to hold any communication with _Smeet le Kroumir_. My punishment extended even to Bizerta, where a month later, the hotelkeeper told me my polluting presence would lose him the custom of _MM. les Officiers_, and begged me to decamp. I am not sorry, however, that I was the means of preventing a great loss of life by a little good advice given in season to the brave but ignorant natives of the Mater district.” CHAPTER XXIV. THE CHASSE AUX KHAMÍRS.