AMONG THE WOMEN OF THE SAHARA.
Among the Women of the Sahara. From the French of Mme. Jean Pommerol, by Mrs. Arthur Bell (N. D'Anvers) 90 Illus- trations. (Hurst and Bleckett. 12s. net.)—Mme. Jean Pommerol writes with the brightness and the boldness of a Frenchwoman, and Mrs. Arthur Bell has preserved the grace and the flavour of the original with even more than her well-known literary skill. It is a charming book, and gives a picture of the women of the Algerian Sahara such as no man, of course, and not one woman in a thousand could have drawn. No little patience and precau- tion are needed to lure these shy birds of the desert to a friendly chat, and how Mine. Pommerol contrived to take so many excel- lent photographs passes our understanding, when we remember the prejudice of all Mahommedans and the terror of most savages at the mere eight of tho camera, which may work more mischief than the evil eye. But these Sahara damsels are far from being savages. According to the author, who really grew to know them well and to become very fond of them, they are perfectly fascinating children who never grow up, and they have all the charm, the wilfulness, and the abandon of a pretty spoilt girl whose brains have not been unduly developed. People who are accustomed to think of Mahommedan women as caged animals will be surprised to discoeer how much liberty these desert ladies enjoy, how ingeniously they evade the rules of seeltision, and what a life they sometimes lead their husbands, whom they torment and manage very much as their sisters do in other parts of the world. There are, of course, wide differences between the life of the towns and that of the camp ; and the different tribes and races—for the book deals with both Arabs and -Berbers—have distinct standards of social decorum and morals. We are not disposed to accept Mme. Pommerol as an authority on ethnology, nor yet as an interpreter of the Koran; but when she describes women's life as she saw it in these little- explored regions we take her word implicitly. Her descriptions are obviously vivacious; nothing so vivid, so quaint, and so delightfully childish could have been fondly imagined; and we can cordially recommend this very attractive volume—well written, well rendered, and well illustrated—to all readers who can appreciate delicate and sympathetic treatment of a fasci- nating and elusive subject.
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