SPONGES. 281 



sponges undergo a very essential operation. They 

 are placed in large round shallow holes dug in the 

 sand of the coast, and filled with water, where they 

 are trampled upon by the men until they are divested 

 of their gelatinous animal matter and other im- 

 purities. 



Beyrouth, Lattakiek, and above all Tripoli, are 

 the most important sponge markets. Strangers 

 arrive at Tripoli where the fine landscape recalls 

 the beautiful environs of Eden, which is only eight 

 leagues distant from all parts of the Levant, from 

 every point of the Mediterranean, and even from 

 Paris. Nothing can be more curious than this 

 melange of people of every nation drawn to one 

 spot during the sponge season, every individual 

 striving to outdo his neighbour, and competing to 

 his utmost with the commercial dexterity of the 

 keen Greek sponge merchants. 



The market at Tripoli is held about the middle 

 of September, a period at which the sponge fishery, 

 like our work, draws to an end. 



Note. Since this volume was written, I find iii 

 the "Intellectual Observer" for January, 1864, 

 a valuable article upon the Tinnevelly Pearl Banks, 



