“Violently falls the snow,
  In the mist that precedes the lightning;
  It bends the branches to the earth,
  And splits the tallest trees in twain. 
  Among the shepherds none can pasture his flock;
  It closes to traffic all the roads to market. 
  Lovers then must trust the birds,
  With messages to their loves—­
  Messages to express their passion.

  “Gentle tame falcon of mine,
  Rise in thy flight, spread out thy wings,
  If thou art my friend do me this service;
  To-morrow, ere ever the rise of the sun,
  Fly toward her house; there alight
  On the window of my gracious beauty."[4]

[4] Hanoteau, pp. 348-350.

With the Khabyles of the Jurgura the preceding love-songs are the particular specialty of a whole list of poets who bear the Arab name of T’eballa, or “tambourinists.”  Ordinarily they are accompanied in their tours by a little troop of musicians who play the tambourine and the haut-boy.  Though they are held in small estimation, and are relegated to the same level as the butchers and measurers of grain, they are none the less desired, and their presence is considered indispensable at all ceremonies—­wedding fetes, and on the birth of a son, on the occasion of circumcision, or for simple banquets.

Another class, composed of Ameddah, “panegyrists,” or Fecia, “eloquent men,” are considered as much higher in rank.  They take part in all affairs of the country, and their advice is sought, for they dispense at will praise or blame.  It is they who express the national sentiment of each tribe, and in case of war their accents uplift warriors, encourage the brave, and wither the cowardly.  They accompany themselves with a Basque drum.  Some, however, have with them one or two musicians who, after each couplet, play an air on the flute as a refrain.[5]

[5] Hanoteau, Introduction.

In war-songs it is remarkable to see with what rapidity historical memories are lost.  The most ancient lay of this kind does not go beyond the conquest of Algiers by the French.  The most recent songs treat of contemporary events.  Nothing of the heroic traditions of the Berbers has survived in their memory, and it is the Arab annalists who show us the role they have played in history.  If the songs relating to the conquest of Algeria had not been gathered half a century ago, they would doubtless have been lost, or nearly so, to-day.  At that time, however, the remembrance was still alive, and the poets quickly crystallized in song the rapidity of the triumph of France, which represents their civilization: 

  “From the day when the Consul left Algiers,
  The powerful French have gathered their hosts: 
  Now the Turks have gone, without hope of return,
  Algiers the beautiful is wrested from them.

  “Unhappy Isle that they built in the desert,
  With vaults of limestone and brick;
  The celestial guardian who over them watched has withdrawn. 
  Who can resist the power of God?