cH. xxii.] A Party of YaJioos. i c^9 



mouy, flimg tliemselves each into his cliair. The 

 dresses, voices, gestures and attitudes of these men 

 and women struck us as not only the most gro- 

 tesque, but the most indecorous we had ever seen. 

 The women were decked out in the most tawdry 

 and unseemly manner, and one girl among them 

 had a quantity of golden hair hanging quite loosely 

 down her back. Some of the men were close 

 shaven on the chin, and others wore spectacles. 

 They threw themselves, as I have said, in the 

 grotesquest attitudes into their chairs, and at once 

 began chaffering with a scoundrel crew of Jew 

 pedlars who had followed them in, and who, while 

 exhibiting their trumpery wares, cast evident eyes 

 of contempt, even they, on the undignified strangers. 

 The conversation, which I am ashamed to repeat, 

 was conducted partly in English, partly in limjua 

 Franca, and consisted principally of insidts ad- 

 dressed to the pedlars, varied with cajoleries yet 

 baser and more odious. The objects chaffered for 

 were sham Oriental weapons, sham turquoise orna- 

 ments and fir-cones from the Lebanon. Wilfrid 

 beckoned a servant, and inquired of him what 

 manner of people these were that had been ad- 

 mitted to the house. " Cook's tourists," we thought. 

 "Their manners are proverbial, and perhajjs they 

 have been dining out." " Oh no," replied the 

 man ; " these travellers are English milords of 

 distinction. They arrived last night in a yacht 

 from Malta." Yes, these were the "asil" of our 



