"SOLD!" 361 



nous skirts, and then quietly removed his pipe-stem from 

 his mouth and pointed with it to another man, who was 

 the real owner of the bazaar, and to him my friend re- 

 peated the mystic monosyllable. The owner slowly arose, 

 got the article and handed it to the purchaser with a 

 salaam, and then extended his hand for pay. My friend 

 pointed to the Turk to whom he had given the half- 

 medjidji and prepared to leave. This individual sat im- 

 perturbably there, as if unconscious of what was going 

 on. The bazaar owner shook his head and went and 

 stood athwart the door. My friend strode upon the de- 

 linquent to make him disgorge ; but the Turk quietly 

 looked up, again removed his pipe-stem from his mouth, 

 and calmly enunciated " backsheesh." " You have made 

 me a present ; Allah will reward you !" he meant. My 

 friend stood for a moment in doubt whether or not to 

 clean out the whole crowd, as, being a big fellow rather 

 handy with his mawleys, he might easily have clone. 

 Then the ludicrousness of the whole affair came over him, 

 he burst into a loud laugh, gave the bazaar-owner another 

 half-medjidji, and retired, the wiser by quite as much as 

 he had lost. Like the open-sesame of the shilling in Eng- 

 land, coin as backsheesh is acceptable and accepted in 

 every part of the Orient. 



