138 CIVIL HISTORY AND 



song in loud chorus. When the dowlah reined up 

 at the gateway of his residence, the military ranged 

 themselves on one side of the square, and fired 

 three volleys in the air, retiring every time to the 

 wall to load. The only thing remarkable in their 

 exercise was their address with the lance, and the 

 extremely small space within which the combatants 

 wheeled their horses. 



The streets of Mocha present a motley appear- 

 ance, both as to the dress and character of the in- 

 habitants. Under the coarse awnings of its narrow 

 bazars are to be seen brown and black complexions, 

 half-naked peasants, and richly-attired merchants, 

 in robes of woollen cloth, with a red woollen cap, 

 and a tassel of purple silk, peering above the folds 

 of their snow-white turban. There is the Jew, 

 the Banian, the Persian, the Egyptian, and the 

 jetty Abyssinian, straight as the young areca, and 

 having his short curled hair died with a reddish 

 yellow, — the foppery of his country. There is the 

 stout Arab porter in his coarse brown garment, 

 bowing under a heavy load of dates, the matting 

 all oozing and clammy with the luscious burden. 

 Lastly, there is the Bedouin, with the hue of the 

 desert on his cheek, the sinewy hmb, the eye dark 

 and fiery, his legs and arms bare, sandals on his feet, 

 and his bronzed bosom open to the sun and wind. He 

 walks erect, and moves onward giving place to none ; 

 — a broad, straight, two-edged sword in his hand, 

 and a long poniard in his girdle. Other objects in 

 these bazars attract attention : — extended rows of 

 camels and asses, the large coarse sheep of Abys- 

 sinia, the small thin species of Arabia, the tall brown 

 goats ; — the shops of the armorers, with their long 

 polished swordblades, daggers, spears, matchlocks, 

 and here and there the half- worn shield of other 

 days ; — then there are the cooks' shops, with their 

 hot cakes of bread, and their large coppers with 

 portions of meat and fowls swimming in ghee, and 



