THE TUAREGS 221 hand, she is a model of discreet behaviour. The Tuaregs do not brook any tampering with their honour, and a deceived husband will never hesitate to wash out his shame in blood.

Still the Tuareg woman is allowed to have friends of the opposite sex, and, as in the days of the Troubadours, her praises are sung in many a charming rondeau. These male friends, who correspond to the Italian cicisbeos draw their swords in honour of the fair lady of their choice, and shout her name as a war-cry as they fling themselves upon the foe in the clash of combat. The woman, in her turn, celebrates the exploits of her cicisbeo in verse, and she adorns his leather shield and the scabbard of his sword with the work of her hands. All, however, ends there, and we are irresistibly reminded of Petrarch's songs in honour of his Laura when she was a stout, middle-aged woman, the mother of seven children.

Alas ! we must tell the whole truth, and this reference to Petrarch brings me back to my subject : Tuareg women in general. What a pity that after all I have said about their lofty spirit, their manners, and the good influence they exercise, I am obliged to own that I cannot admire their figure, which resembles that of a Durham cow ready for a prize show, or of a moulting goose more than anything else.

Their faces are pleasing, sometimes even very pretty. Delicate features, big eyes full of expression, and very long black hair parted in the middle and plaited together at the back of the head, give them a charming appearance, but they have absolutely no figures, they are just one mass of fat ; their arms are like the jellies exposed for sale in porkbutchers' shops, and the less said about the rest of their bodies the better.

In striking contrast to their wives, Tuareg warriors are generally very lean, and their figures are well knit. Their