swarms of locusts arrived and devoured every green thing. The Caid watched the locusts eating, and improvised a poem, without trying to drive them away. When my friend saw him he asked the Caid if it were true that the field had been planted with wheat.

"Yes," answered the Caid, "but swarms of locusts arrived, armed with pitchforks (legs) like the gleaners. They have gleaned everything and have not left a thing. Praise be to Allah, who permits such a small and feeble animal to destroy everything!"

IV

IN TRIPOLI OF BARBARY

Tripoli of Barbary has an area of about 400,000 square miles. The capital, Tripoli, is one of the most Oriental towns on the Mediterranean, and combines a mixture of Moorish and Turkish architecture.

The low, flat-roofed houses resemble those of Tunisia, but, instead of being creamy white, the Turkish population have painted them red, pink, orange, or blue. The numerous minarets of the mosques are round and have graceful, pointed spires, covered with copper, that glisten in the sun.

Before the Italians took possession, the population consisted of about 1,200 foreigners, including Italians, Maltese, Greeks, French, English, and Germans, and over 36,000 native Turks, Arabs, Berbers, and Sudanese.

An extremely high stuccoed wall of stone and cement, many feet in thickness, encircles the town of Tripoli like a half-moon. It was built to keep out the wild tribes of the Sahara and has aided the Italians in protecting the city on three sides. The wall only stops on reaching the emerald and sapphire waters of the Mediterranean. (Compare page 2.)

Tripoli lacks a natural harbor, but there is a series of great boulders and rock islands that would enable the government to build, for less than $1,000,ooo, a splendid harbor where the largest steamers would be safe. Now when Neptune is angry all sailing ships and steam

93

ers have to leave the harbor and put out

to sea.

Small craft, with raking masts and huge lateen sails, anchored in the harbor, remind one of the Barbary pirates that less than a century ago were the dread of all Europe.

Other picturesque boats are those of the Greek sponge fishers, that under full sail resemble huge "Portuguese men-ofwar" or Physalia, a curious species of jellyfish that floats on the water and raises at will a thin membrane that acts as a sail. One sees them in summer near the coast of North Africa and in the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean near the Canary and Cape Verde Islands. Their iridescent colors make them a thing of beauty, but their sting, which is like an electric shock, often proves fatal to the swimmer.

THE GREEK SPONGE DIVERS

The sponge divers come from Greece and are men of superb physique. Their calling is a difficult and dangerous one. In civilized countries the limit of depth for diving is placed somewhere around 130 feet, but here it is not unusual for them to work at from 180 to 200 feet under water, and the pressure is, of necessity, enormous.

The sum paid to each diver on his arrival from Greece is 60 pounds sterling ($300). After he has gathered enough sponges to pay for the money advanced him, he works on a commission, and each sponge that he brings up nets him a few

cents.

After toiling weeks and accumulating a large quantity of sponges, it behooves the diver to have a brother or friend to manage the pump for him on the diving boat; otherwise the captain has been known to pinch the air tube. Pressure for a few seconds suffices, and the diver is pulled aboard, dead.

The commissions and the profits in the sponges go into the pocket of this unscrupulous Shylock, and another "accident owing to tremendous pressure" is reported to the authorities of Tripoli!

These divers are a jolly. happy-golucky set of young men, hardly more than boys, who spend their money freely. "Let