out of these waters of Gafsa, that well up in a river of warmth and
purity, only to be hopelessly contaminated! The French tried the
experiment, but the natives objected, and they gave way: these are the
spots on the sunny ideal of "pacific penetration." Any other
nationality--while allowing the Arabs a fair share of the element--would
simply have rebuilt this _termid_ and put it to a decent use, in the name
of cleanliness and civilization; the natives acquiescing, as they always
do when they recognize their masters. Or, if a display of force was
considered inadvisable, why not try the _suaviter in modo_? Had a couple
of local saints been judiciously approached, the population would soon
have discovered that the _termid_ waters are injurious to health and only
fit for unbelievers. What is the use of a _marabout_, if he cannot be
bribed?

I am all for keeping up local colour, even when it entails, as it
generally does, a certain percentage of local smells; yet it seems a pity
that such glorious hot springs, a gift of the gods in a climate like this,
should be converted into a _cloaca maxima_, especially in Gafsa, which
already boasts of a superfluity of open drains.

But my friend the magistrate showed me a special bathing room which has
lately been built for the use of Europeans. We tried the door and found it
locked.

Where was the key?

At the _Ponts et Chaussees_.

Thither I went, and discovered an elderly official of ample proportions
dozing in a trim apartment--the chief of the staff. Great was this