Some time before my arrival in the country, his Highness had purchased, of an Italian merchant, for two thousand pounds, a magnificent pearl necklace, for one of his women: The merchant made frequent applications for the money, but was put off with promises, and, at last, began to suspect his Highness meant that the present should be made at his expense. While I was at Alexandria, the lady, who had probably grown tired of the toy, and longed for something new, took it into her head that the pearls were not sufficiently white; and the necklace was, in consequence, returned to the merchant for the purpose of being sent to Italy to be blanched. I saw it in his hands. The pearls were of exceeding beauty, and of the largest size. He smiled with delight, like a man who had recovered a lost treasure:-"I will send them to Europe," said he, “and they shall be made whiter; but, per Dio! she shall never see her necklace again, until I get my money for it."

One of the articles in which the goldsmiths of the East display their taste, is the zerf, or stand, of silver or gold, in which the coffee-cups, among the great, are presented to the guests. Resembling an egg-stand in form, the zerf is frequently ornamented above with the most delicate filigree work, not inferior in elegance of execution to the finest specimens of Malay workmanship. The nose jewels, the earings, the necklaces, anklets, bracelets, the ornaments for the forehead and bosom, the jewelled girdles, the rings, signets, and amulet cases, which are found in their shops, all of native workmanship, are often executed with much taste.

Numerous shops are filled with blue glass beads, which are chiefly purchased by Arab pedlers, who, with

these, and other light wares, travel from village to village, supplying the country belles with finery. Considerable quantities, also, appear to be purchased for the markets in the Black Countries in the interior of Africa, whither the merchants proceed with the slave caravans. The stranger, desirous of beholding the bright eyes of Cairo, should saunter in the morning about the jewellers' shops, and all others where articles of female dress and ornaments are sold :

Thither in crowds they run,

Some to undo, and some to be undone.

In spite of all the restraints of custom and jealousy, those who possess remarkable beauty will contrive some means of displaying it. The ladies of various harems, as many sometimes as ten in a flock, may often be seen in the bazaar, each company under the superintendence of an eunuch. While the Argus is occupied in watching the foremost, or in clearing a way for them through the crowd, some of the others, if they happen to observe a stranger, will turn the mouth veil aside, and exhibit their beautiful lips and chin, the only portions of the face which it is thought necessary to hide, these being the features that distinguish one individual from another. For, in the East, where every woman's eyes are black, there is in the eye much less characteristic expression than is generally supposed. When a lady walks forth, attended only by a female slave, she still more boldly oversteps the laws of custom. She will then even chat and laugh with a stranger, give or take a joke, honouring him from time to time with a revelation of her charms; and, if occasion permit, renew the acquaintance thus formed, as if, in spite of her national prejudices, she experienced a disposition to contract friend

ships beyond the pale of the harem. Instances of this I have myself known.

From an attentive observation of what takes place in the bazaar, it is, in fact, easy to discover that the intrigues described in the Arabian Nights, and elsewhere, as conducted, in oriental cities, by the ministry of shopkeepers and slaves, are not only probable, but in perfect keeping with the manners of the people. Every woman being in perpetual masquerade, disguised so that her own husband could not recognise her in the street, such as are disposed to take advantage of their position find abundant opportunites.

To turn, however, to the other attractions of the bazaar,—there is no place where one can more agreeably sip his coffee or smoke a pipe. Reclined in a cool, shady recess, alone or with a pleasant companion, one may here enjoy a spectacle ever changing: men of all nations, of all complexions, in every variety of costume, are moving to and fro, not with that hurried gait and uneasy manner observable in all European cities, in the resorts of business, but with a calm, composed air, arising apparently from intense self-satisfaction. not buyers and sellers only who frequent the bazaar. Loungers make it their favorite resort, and amuse themselves by taking the air in its cool covered streets, as they would, among us, in Kensington Gardens, or the Parks; for the Orientals are by no means so averse, as has been pretended, to locomotion, and require only shade and a refreshing breeze to tempt them into walking.

It is

Not the least extraordinary among the individuals here beheld, are the Derwishes from different parts of the Mohammedan world. These men, who, in adopting

the Derwish's mantle, profess to forsake the world, appear, notwithstanding, to delight in being constantly before the eyes of mankind; as if desirous that the sacrifices they make and the mortifications they endure should not escape notice. With many, vanity is no doubt the principal, if not the sole, motive for adopting a life of seeming penance and real pleasure; and, even in those whom disappointment, disgust, or religious enthusiasm leads to abandon all secular pursuits, a spice of vanity secretly mingles with their more sombre feelings, and urges them, even while they seem most insensible to all earthly satisfaction, to court, in the bazaars, and other public places, the observation and sympathy of the crowd. Hence we find them constantly flocking to the spots where numerous assemblies, for whatever purpose, congregate together. Admiration, and the wonder of the crowd, are necessary to their happiness. With these they console themselves for what they have lost; for the proud and aspiring consider any species of marked distinction a sufficient compensation for the sacrifice of what are vulgarly regarded as pleasures.

Bustling through the throng is seen, in various parts of the bazaar, an auctioneer, who, holding up a doublebarrelled gun, a sabre, a watch, or an illuminated manuscript of the Koran, offers the article to the highest bidder. Some one begins, perhaps, with a piastre, a second says "two," a third "five," and so on; while the peripatetic auctioneer descants in glowing eloquence on the rare merits of the property for sale. If it be a sabre, why it has belonged to Roostum or Antar, and has shed blood by the hogshead. It has been manufactured of the finest Damascus steel-it was cooled

Perhaps he is agreeable ideas, the spirit-stirring associaWho knows whither

in the Abana-its edge could not be turned by granite -it would cut through the moon. offering a shawl. Imagine the graceful allusions, the rich and tions, connected with a shawl! it may find its way? His imagination penetrates through doors, and walls, and troops of guards, into the harem, and pictures it thrown negligently round the waist of some young sultana. Or, supposing it has been already worn,-for second-hand goods are by no means viewed with contempt in the East, what a field is then opened to his ingenuity !— he will swear it has been at Mekka, that its fringe has licked up the dust of the Kaaba, that it has been sprinkled with the waters of Zemzem, that it has touched, at Medina, the golden railings of the prophet's tomb. Or, Mashallah!-it may have been worn and darned by some pretty favourite of the Shah of Persia, some captive princess, sighing, in a gilded prison, for the liberty and innocent happiness of her childhood. “ Buy this article," says he; "it is as good as a talisman, as you yourselves will admit when you have heard its history. Do you see these spots? Nay, don't be afraid come nearer, and look at them. Aye, they are blood-stains. How they come to be there I shall explain. Many years ago the Shah of Persia, while engaged in hunting, was separated from his companions, and, after wandering several hours among the woods, towards evening emerged into a spacious plain, where there was an Eylât encampment. His Majesty, though he loved not those wandering tribes, and had very little faith in their loyalty,-for, in fact, he had murdered

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