a Spanish monarch’s possession, and the great emerald which had adorned the breasts of the Hassanite Beys of Tunis for more than a century. Mustapha went to Paris, and some months later returned thence. As an active participator in Tunisian events he has disappeared from the scene; but in the privacy of the harem he still rules the Bey who still governs the country precisely to the extent the French Resident is pleased to permit. His constant dream is to become once more Tunisian Prime Minister; adventurers sometimes offer to help him by “moving public opinion in his favour through the press,” but he refuses to pay ready money or do anything but make promises. With all his faults Mustapha did his utmost to keep the French out of Tunis; and to counteract the policy of M. Roustan. His hate for France is doubtless as deep now as it was then, and if any turn in the wheel of fortune weakened her influence or crippled her resources, the Republic would certainly not have a bitterer or more relentless enemy than Mustapha Ben Ismail, ex-Prime Minister of Tunis, and Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour. Mustapha was succeeded by his immediate predecessor, the octogenarian Muhamed Khaznadar, who in spite of his eighty years and a club foot, is almost as vigorous as when Sir Thomas Reade pulled his ear for “neglecting English interests” nearly fifty years ago. Muhamed, in accepting office, openly said that he knew the Tunisian Vizier was now a cypher, and that he should merely try to be an intelligent machine. The state of affairs showed no signs of mending; communications with General Sabatier’s column grew more and more difficult, two entire convoys were plundered, an Italian camp-follower, a boy Odino, was roasted alive, and finally, in spite of the presence of the troops at Zaghouán, the aqueduct conveying water to Tunis was cut, and the metropolis threatened with one of the most appalling of privations. It was only four days later (September 16th), that workmen succeeded in repairing the damage, under the protection of a powerful escort. The day after Mustapha, accompanied always by Mascaro and Volterra, left for Paris, carrying with him the proceeds of most of his real estate, the first symptom of disturbances on the French railway was apparent. After devastating Tabourba and Jedeida, to the rear of Ali Bey’s column near Medjez, the Arabs forced the train to return, firing at the carriages and killing one of the Italian guards. The details of these raids and outrages now become monotonous; but, although troops continued to arrive almost daily, the moment for action was not yet come, and the Arabs under General “Summer” held almost undisputed sway in Tunis.