48 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



traflfic that followed. In fact, what occurred then was what occurs 

 now, at the annual Mahometan pilgrimage to Mecca (a very inter- 

 esting account of which will be found in Mr. Oscauyan's late admira- 

 ble work upon Turkey) in connection with which, one of the greatest 

 Fairs in Asia is held, and at Hurdwar, in Hindustan, a most sacred 

 place of Indian pilgrimage, at which, on certain great festivals, a 

 million and a-half of people come together for the united purposes 

 of religion and trade. A gentleman, long resident in the East, has 

 told me that he Avas present on one of these occasions, when the 

 number assembled was estimated at two millions. 



The same causes that led to the annual recurrence of great Fairs 

 at the chief places of pilgrimage, led also to the establishment of 

 local Fairs on Sundays and holidays, in nearly every place where a 

 church was erected ; and the bell, which announced from the stee- 

 ple that the mass was over, was the signal for the market to begin. 

 These Fairs, especially the larger ones, were a source of revenue to 

 the abbeys or great religious houses, a toll being exacted from all 

 who came to trade, and a sum for the use of a stall, from the pro- 

 ceeds of which these establishments were able to entertain the mul- 

 titude of poor pilgrims during their sta}^, as well as to dispense, at 

 all times, those larger charities to the sick, the helpless and the for- 

 saken, of which, in the Middle Ages, they were nearly the only alm- 

 oners. There were about seven or eight of these large Fairs held an- 

 nually in different parts of Europe, to which, at that time, all the larger 

 merchants res jrted ; while the smaller or local Fairs, in the absence 

 of trading towns, were the places to which the people went periodi- 

 cally to supply most of their wants for the ensuing year. The man- 

 ner of conducting these Fairs, whether large or small, was generally 

 the same. The time of holding them, and the period of their dura- 

 tion, being either established by usage or fixed by law. They were 

 usually held in an open plain, the larger ones commonly covering a 

 space of six or seven miles ; and, if it was in the vicinity of a town, 

 all business and trade was suspended there, while the Pair lasted. 

 The manner in which they were organized and carried on was en- 

 tirely Republican, being, in a Feudal age, in strong contrast with 

 the existing forms of government, and furnished a practical lesson 

 which was not lost upon the people. Every one who had any inte- 

 rest in the Fair as a merchant or trader, had an equal voice in de- 

 termining how it should be conducted. A President or head was 

 chosen, with whom was associated a council of select men, in whom 

 all power was vested, as the representatives of the whole. A Board 

 or Court was appointed for the settlement of disputes, and for the 

 punishment of all offences ; and a police established for the main- 



