CHAPTER XI

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1838-1839.

Abdel Kader now saw himself the founder of an empire. The strength and versatility of his genius had given cohesion and compactness to elements the most adverse and discordant. Hundreds of tribes bowed beneath his warlike sceptre. On all sides were seen the good results of order and good government. His external relations attested the magic of his power, and the splendour of his fame. Sovereigns and Viceroys, from the Emperor of Morocco to those of Egypt, Tunis, and Tripoli, vied with each other in tendering him marks of respect and admiration. The Ulemahs of Mecca and Alexandria watched with holy joy and expectation the career of one who seemed destined to revive the pristine glories of Islam.

Burning to accomplish his secret mission in its fullest extent, Abdel Kader lost not an hour, by day or by night, in planning, arranging, and executing new schemes of progress and improvement. To make the Arabs of Algeria one people, to recall them to the strict observance of their religious duties, to inspire them with patriotism, to call forth all their dormant capabilities, whether for war, for commerce, for agriculture, or for mental improvement; and then to crown the whole with the impress of European civilisation—such was his mighty and comprehensive ideal.

His amazing activity, vigour, and enterprise, had overcome difficulties apparently insuperable. His victorious sword, whether striking down the enemy from without, or his rivals from within, had proved the indomitable energy of a will which had but to conceive in order to accomplish. He was now to show that he could achieve victories without soldiers, and reap laurels unstained by blood.

Warrior, orator, diplomatist, statesman, and legislator, the secret of his force lay in his intellectual grandeur. His letters, his speeches, his conversations, all bear the stamp of their own peculiar freshness and originality. His natural eloquence, enriched by study, matured by meditation, and enhanced by the singular charms and graces of his manner, operated like a spell.

The provinces of Oran and Tittery, the plains of the Sahara, had been won by his military prowess. The grand Kabylia, that superb range of the Djurjura, extending towards the east, from Algiers to Borigia, was now to be the scene of a nobler triumph, one gained by the exhibition of moral power. The hardy Kabyles inhabiting those regions had defied every attempt to subjugate them. As independent republics, bound together by the most exalted spirit of freedom, they had preserved their usages, their customs, their laws, intact amidst the changing governments which had risen and fallen around them.

It was clear that this nursery of soldiers, if once brought under his control, would give Abdel Kader a never-failing element of support, and if necessary, of aggression. Alone, he determined to effect by persuasion what others had failed to achieve by the force of arms. In September, 1839, he suddenly appeared at Borj Hamze, followed by only 50 cavalry. His faithful Khalifa, Ben Salem, was by his side. To the question, what the Sultan proposed to do, the answer was, “To conquer the Djurjura!” The expedition set forth.

The first slopes were rapidly passed. The appearance of the little cavalcade, as it plunged into the deepest ravines and gorges, or ascended almost perpendicular heights, spread surprise and astonishment amongst the mountaineers, gazing from their huts and precipices at the unwonted spectacle.

Presently the rumour spread that Abdel Kader was there. The magic name resounded from rock to rock. From their valleys, their dells, their fastnesses, the Kabyles came streaming forth to hail their famous guest. Thousands at length gathered about his tent. The press of Sheiks and Marabouts blocked up the entrance. The people crowded round, some rudely intruding themselves, by lifting up the folds of the tent to gratify their curiosity. The escort pushed them aside with the words, “Back with you! you are going to smother our master.” Abdel Kader saw their disappointment. “Let them approach,” he mildly said, “let them approach; they are rough and wild like their mountains. Excuse them, you cannot change their natures in a day.”

Abdel Kader now demanded to see the chiefs who commanded them. “We obey our _Ameens_ and our _Marabouts_,” was the reply. The _Ameens_ came forward to pay their respects. “Which of them represents the whole?” “We have no single chief,” responded the jealous republicans, “to whom we delegate our power. Our _Ameens_, chosen by the popular voice, express the general will.” Abdel Kader ordered a space to be cleared, and bade the throng sit down. A large circle was formed. He stood in the midst, with a string of beads in his hand.

And now, in one of those stirring harangues which convinced the understanding, and melted the hearts of all who heard him, Abdel Kader adjured them to rally round his standard. He came not, he said, amongst them, like the Turks, with the emblems of brute force; he came amongst them as a simple pilgrim, relying on the cause he upheld, the cause of God and his Prophet. In a hundred glorious combats, glorious for Islamism, he had defeated the infidels, who strove to subdue their land. All the west obeyed his laws, and if he chose, it would be as easy for him to roll the west on the east, as to roll up the carpet on which he stood.

“If you tell me that the east is stronger than the west,” he continued, “I reply, God sends me victory, on account of the purity of the motives which guide and direct me. You know, besides, what is written in the Koran, ‘Elephants are subdued by flies; lions have been killed by mice.’

“Be assured, that if I had not firmly opposed the invasions of the French, if I had not shown them their weakness and impotency, they would have dashed over you before this, like a raging sea, and then you would have seen what neither times past nor times present has ever witnessed. They have left their own country merely to conquer and enslave ours. But I am the thorn that God has planted in their eyes, and if you will assist me I will drive them into the sea.

“Otherwise they will subjugate and humiliate you. Be grateful to me, then, that I am their mortal enemy. Rouse yourselves, O Kabyles! Awake from your apathy. Believe me, I have at heart no other wish than that of the happiness, welfare, and prosperity of Mussulmans. All I exact from you this day is, obedience and concord, and the strict observance of our sacred law, that we may triumph over the infidel. And to support our armies, I only demand from you what is specified and ordained by God, the Master of the universe.

“I wish not to change your customs, or alter your laws and usages; but the conducting of warlike operations demands a chief. I summon you to join the Holy War. Choose a chief. I recommend you Ben Salem. If you choose him, he will be like a compass for you in the hour of danger and trial. I call God to witness the truth and sincerity of my words. If they do not find their way to your hearts, you will yet repent one day; but that repentance will be too late. It is by reason and not by force that I seek to convince you. I pray God to direct and enlighten you.”

A general shout arose: “Give us Ben Salem, give us Ben Salem. Take the _zekka_; take the _ashur_. Lead us against the infidels. We are your children, your soldiers, your slaves!”

After installing Ben Salem as his Khalifa in the Djurjura, amidst much pomp and rejoicing, Abdel Kader continued his peaceful tour throughout that hospitable land. For thirty days his progress was one continued scene of rejoicing. Whenever it was known that he had halted, the simple-minded and enthusiastic mountaineers poured in with their _diffas_, or enormous plates of rice, sprinkled over with bits of meat: each one placing his _diffa_ before the Sultan’s tent, and insisting on his partaking—“Eat, it is my _diffa_.” To avoid giving offence, Abdel Kader was obliged to taste each plate successively.

This short excursion had been sufficient to make him known and appreciated. The courtesy and affability of his manners, his well-known piety, his fame as an Ulemah, the venerated title of Hadj and Marabout, his brilliant renown as a warrior, his eloquence as a preacher, all combined to make his appeal irresistible. Not one of those fierce and indomitable mountaineers who saw and heard him could escape the influence of this extraordinary combination of advantages. Their poets made him the topic of their songs. Abdel Kader bade them adieu. With difficulty he escaped from their friendly and hospitable importunities; but at length he departed. The Djurjura had been conquered; and Abdel Kader could say, like Cæsar, “_Veni, vidi, vici._”

Unwearied in his exertions to elevate, as well as to mould and direct, the national character of the Arabs, Abdel Kader had early established a system of public education amongst all the tribes. “My duty,” he afterwards said, “as sovereign and as Mussulman was to support and exalt science and religion. In the towns and throughout the tribes I opened schools, where children were taught their prayers, where the first and most important precepts of the Koran were inculcated, and where reading, writing, and arithmetic were fully taught.

“Those who desired to push their education further were sent, free of expense, to the _zouias_ and mosques. There they found _tolbas_ ready to instruct them in history and theology. I appointed the _tolbas_ a salary according to their learning and deserts. So important did it appear in my eyes to give encouragement to learning, that more than once I have remitted sentence of death to a criminal from the mere fact of his being a _tolba_. It requires such a long time in our country to become well instructed, that I had not the courage to destroy in one day the fruit of years of laborious study.

“The occupant of a cot may cut down a palm-tree which incommodes him; but how many years must he wait before he can taste the fruit of one that he plants!

“In order to assist the studies of the _tolbas_, I took the greatest pains to prevent the destruction of books and manuscripts. I had the more reason for being so anxious in this respect, as with us it takes months to make a single copy. I therefore gave strict orders throughout the towns and tribes that the greatest care should be taken of all manuscripts, and that if any person were found destroying or defacing one, he should be severely punished.

“Knowing my wishes on this point, my soldiers even were in the habit of carefully bringing in to me any manuscripts which fell into their hands in a _razzia_; and in order to stimulate their zeal in this respect, I always gave them a handsome reward. By degrees I made a large collection of such manuscripts, and had them safely deposited in the _zouias_ and mosques, and entrusted to the care of _tolbas_ in whom I had confidence.

“In the same way as I provided for a system of public instruction, I established the administration of justice. The _kadis_ had a monthly salary, besides perquisites, for the performance of certain duties. I desired that the representatives of justice should be seen everywhere, and even that they should follow my army on its march. The Turks put to death by caprice and cruelty: I allowed no execution to take place except by virtue of a sentence given according to the law of God, of which I merely considered myself the executor.

“Thus, wherever my columns went, they were accompanied by a _kadi_ and two assistants, one of whom (the chief of the police) carried the judgments into execution. He was not looked upon with aversion on that account, since it is not the executioner who kills, but the law. No doubt many have suffered by my order, but never without a legal sentence. All had committed crimes of some sort, or betrayed their religion. Now, according to our books, whoever aids the enemy with his goods, forfeits his goods; and whoever aids him with his arms, forfeits his head.

“Thanks to the vigilance of my khalifas, of the agas and the kaids, and to the responsibility which I had attached to the tribes for all crimes or thefts committed on their territory, the roads had become perfectly secure. The vigilance of the police left nothing to be desired. In a word, amongst a people living under tents, and consequently difficult to manage and control, owing to the vast spaces over which they were dispersed, I had arrived at such a point that horse-stealing by night was no more known; and a woman could go about alone without fear of being insulted. When comments were made on this great result, and the reason asked, the Arabs replied, ‘The Sultan’s nets are there, we need not use our own.’

“The public morals were equally stimulated by my reforms. Prostitution was severely repressed, and if God had willed it, I should have ended by restoring the Arabs to the path of the Koran, from which they had so widely deviated.

“I had totally forbidden the use of gold and silver on the clothes of the men, for I abhorred the prodigality and luxury which enervates. I only tolerated such ornaments on weapons and on harness. Should we not cherish and adorn what so much contributes to our safety? The women were not included in this prohibition. The weaker sex requires compensation, when man has all the excitements he can desire—war, the chase, mental occupation, government, religion, science.

“I was the first to set an example, by wearing clothes as simple as the meanest of my servants. If I did this, it was certainly not in the fear of being a mark for the balls of the enemy, but because I wished to be able to exact from the Arabs nothing but what I practised myself, and to show them that in the eyes of God it was better to buy arms, ammunition, and horses to make war, than to be covered with fine and expensive, but useless, ornaments.

“Wine and gambling were severely interdicted. Tobacco was likewise prohibited. Not that the use of tobacco is forbidden by our religion, but my soldiers were poor, and I was anxious to keep them from a habit which has a tendency to increase, and which sometimes reaches such a pitch that men have been known to leave their families in misery, and to sell even their clothes, to gratify their passion for it. There was smoking still, but it was only occasionally, and even then in secret. This was already a great step gained. As to the Marabouts, the _tolbas_, and all who were attached to the government, they renounced the practice of smoking completely. This fact shows, at all events, in what a measure I had succeeded in being obeyed.

“Such was already the extent and success of my organisation; and considering the short space of time which had as yet been allowed me, the reforms were not inconsiderable. They proved, at all events, what I should have ultimately effected. But the son of the French king came with an army from Constantine, and without giving me the slightest notice, traversed the territory which was incontestably mine by the Treaty of the Tafna, fought with the contingents of my Khalifa Ben Salem, at Ben-Hinny, and was thus the cause of the renewal of hostilities.”

It was only by his own constant and unremitting personal supervision that Abdel Kader was enabled to carry forward and complete his extensive plans of reform and amelioration. Ever on the move, reviewing his troops, visiting his arsenals, examining his schools, administering justice, the young Sultan of the Arabs seemed to embody the principle of progress, and, like a beneficent genius, to scatter the blessings of knowledge, security, and contentment through the land.

As soon as it was known that he had arrived in a district, the tribe all hastened to pay their visits of ceremony and respect, vying with each other in their profuse and generous hospitality. Each tribe was preceded by its Kaid on horseback. Then came the men, women, and children, walking two and two, bearing on their heads plates of the national dish—the _couscoussia_. The more wealthy Arabs formed a procession apart, carrying whole sheep, spitted and roasted on a stake.

On reaching the Sultan’s tent, before which thirty negroes always stood in attendance, the plates were ranged along the ground, and the stakes stuck in a row, until the Sultan had signified his acceptance of the offering, when they at once became the perquisite of his train and escort. The sheiks then entered and kissed hands. Each brought the tribute of his tribe, or produced receipts for its payment, from the khalifa within whose jurisdiction his tribe resided. The commonalty were then admitted and did obeisance. If the day was a Friday, Abdel Kader came forth and preached.

As long as the Sultan remained in any place, he was the sole dispenser of justice. The tent door was the “King’s gate.” There he heard complaints and redressed grievances. In criminal cases he decided without appeal. The Koran always lay open before him. His condemnations were motioned rather than delivered. If he elevated his hand, the prisoner was carried back to prison. If he held it out horizontally, he was led out to execution. If he pointed to the ground, he received the bastinado. Civil cases were referred to the Ulemahs. All decisions were made according to the Koran, to the text and spirit of which Abdel Kader bowed with undeviating reverence and submission. The Koran, in fact, was the guiding star of his public and private life.

At last, Abdel Kadir had succeeded in establishing a machinery of government, which, by the harmonious relationship of its various parts, gave fair promise of success and durability. The simple hierarchy he had created was exactly conformable to the administrative wants and hereditary sentiments of his people. The public functionaries were few, their salaries moderate, their spheres of action well defined. If their power was absolute, and their sway over the public revenues extensive, the lynx-eyed vigilance of the Chief of the State precluded the possibility of tyranny, corruption, or abuse.

With a just appreciation of the beneficial effects resulting from a due regard to the natural gradations of society, and with a thorough knowledge of the instinctive deference paid by the Arabs to blood and descent, he filled all his more important posts with men of noble birth. But those thus selected were, at the same time, men of good character and spotless reputation—examples to be followed, as well as rulers to be obeyed. A high and lofty sense of duty and self-respect thus came to pervade all ranks, from the apex to the basis of the social pyramid; and religion, virtue, honour, and morality, which had been blighted by the withering dominion of the Turks, revived.

Abdel Kader had now performed his task. He had beaten the French. He had signed a glorious peace. His kingdom was a model of order and regularity. He trusted he might now be allowed to lay down the sceptre. He had come forward at his country’s call. He had vindicated its choice. He now sought permission to return to that seclusion and retirement, that life of study and devotion, which he had so reluctantly abandoned. With this view, he wrote to the Sultan of Morocco.

After the usual titles due to sovereignty, the letter thus proceeded:—

“The people of Algeria are now united. The standard of the Djehad is furled. The roads are secure and practicable. The usages of barbarism have been abandoned and obliterated. A girl can traverse the land alone, by night and by day, from east to west, without fearing obstruction. A man even meeting the murderer of his brother dares not retaliate, but appeals for justice to the authorities.

“The book of Almighty God and the law of His Prophet are the only rules of adjudication. Provisions for the support of our army abound, as well as men to fill the ranks. All this must be attributed to the blessing of God, obtained through your prayers and approbation. Otherwise, we should have been the weakest of men for such achievements.

“We did not come forward and assume the task of government from ambitious motives, or a desire for exaltation and power, or a love for the vanities of this world; but (and God knows the secrets of my heart) to fight the battles of the Lord, to prevent the fratricidal effusion of the blood of Moslems, to protect their properties, and to pacify the country, as zeal for the faith and patriotism require.

“We have been ever on the alert, night and day, moving through the length and breadth of the land, in mountains and in plains; sometimes leading forth to battle, and at other times regulating affairs. We now beg your Highness to send one of your sons, grandsons, or servants, to assume the reins of government; for now there is neither trouble nor opposition from any quarter. I will be the first to serve under him, and to exert my poor abilities to the utmost, to counsel and advise him.

“I trust to that consideration and indulgence which distinguishes you, to accept this my prayer to be relieved from the charge which is weighing on me.

“I send your Highness some presents which have been sent me by the King of the French, from which I have only retained a pair of pistols. Also some of the best mules in Algeria. Their number, together with that of the other articles, are detailed in the account enclosed in this letter.

“We beg you to accept our excuses, and hope for the expression of your pleasure and approbation. The presents will be delivered to you by my brother, whom I have deputed in my place, to seek the honour of an interview with your Highness, and to convey to you the dutiful regards and assurances of devotion of your son and servant,

“ABDEL KADER IBN MEHI-ED-DEEN.

“_October_, 1838.

“_Moharrem_, 1254.”

The words written by Brougham on Washington might, indeed, have been admirably applied to Abdel Kader at this remarkable juncture of his life:—“A triumphant warrior, where the most sanguine had a right to despair; a successful ruler in all the difficulties of a course wholly untried; but a warrior whose sword only left its sheath when the first law of our nature commanded it to be drawn; and a ruler who, having tasted of supreme power, gently and unostentatiously desired that the cup might pass from him, nor would suffer more to wet his lips, than the most solemn and sacred duty to his country and his God required.”

Sultan Abderahman, in a highly complimentary reply, refused even for a moment to hear of such self-renunciation on the part of one who had shown himself so eminently fitted to command, to organise, to renovate, and to save his country. He called on Abdel Kader, in the sacred name of Islamism, to stand forth, as ever, the champion of the Djehad, to complete his noble work, and to extend and accomplish his victorious career. Finally, he begged the young Sultan to send him his shirt, that he might hang it up in his private mosque as a saintly relic!

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