LETTER I

LETTER FROM LORD CLARENDON TO SHEIK EL BACKAY.

Praise be to God! May He be glorified!

On the part of Clarendon, Minister to the Queen and Government of England, to the greatly honoured and very noble Sheik, the learned among scholars who shines by his intelligence, Sidi Mohamed El Backay, ben Sidi Mohamed, ben Sidi Moktar El Kounti; to whom we address our thanks and the expression of our consideration. May God reward him! So be it!

Salutation be with you.

May God accord you His mercy and blessing with the purest of His graces!

I would have you know that the Queen of England has heard the report of Doctor Barth (named Abdel Kerim among the Arabs), who visited you at her command, in your country, to renew the friendship existing between you and us, and to make you known to her. Barth has made known to us the goodwill with which you received him and which can never be forgotten. You have protected him from a faithless people who were unable to distinguish good from evil (may God reward you for the good actions His law recommended to you!). He has informed us of your strength and courage, and we have felt great joy thereat.

The letters you sent by him have arrived. We have read them and well understand what they contain. It has been a great pleasure to us. The hopes of the English Government have been understood by you. What we wish is to open the eyes of the Arabs of the south to commerce and all appertaining to it, and we are now aware that you have looked upon our mission with pleasure and have accepted our friendship with joy.

We have given you our word that the friendship binding us shall not diminish through the centuries, and that all that the Arabs require of us we will do, without increase or diminishment. We will assist them in all that they are unable to perform, and as our government is very powerful we will protect your people who turn to us, above all with the aid of your Lordship, who have long shown your power and your friendship for us.

The Queen experienced great joy when she knew the benefits with which you loaded Abdel Kerim, who was enabled to return in peace owing to your reception and the honours with which you surrounded him, and she sends you presents of products manufactured in England.

These presents have been packed in cases and sent to the Consul-general of Tripoli, who will send them on to you. God grant that they may arrive safely and in good condition, and that they may please and rejoice you.

We request and recommend you to say to the chief of the Aoulemidens and the chief of the Tademekkats, that the Queen of England has received the letters sent by them to her through Abdel Kerim. We have all been pleased by them. She begs you to say to these chiefs that she salutes them and sends them a poignard and a sabre, the poignard for one, and the sabre for the other. You will easily recognise these objects, for the name of the recipient is written upon each.

To conclude this letter, we wish to say to you that our joy would be great to see one of your people, above all a child of your own house, whose visit would honour us. We wish to show him our power, our manufactures, and many other things.

May God prolong your life and preserve you to live.

Your friend,

CLARENDON, _Minister of the English Government_.

LONDON, _the fifteenth day of April 1859_.