CHAP. III. DESIGNATION OF THE SHOPS. 55 



some with considerable pretension and display, especially 

 those of the chemists and druggists, which, considering the 

 size of the place, appear to be very numerous. Most of the 

 craftsmen and skilled workmen of the place are Creoles, or 

 ex-apprentices, with the exception of the cabinet-makers, of 

 which a large proportion are Chinese, who are industrious 

 and frugal, though said to be addicted to gaming. It was 

 strange to a European to notice, in the shops of the Indians, 

 the shopman or master seated cross-legged on the counter, 

 with his goods piled on shelves on each side and behind him, 

 so that he could exhibit his wares, serve his customers, 

 and keep his accounts, without rising from his seat. The 

 effect of climate, to which it is probable this habit is to be 

 ascribed, would seem not confined to Asiatics. I heard a lady 

 say she was on one occasion inquiring for a certain article, I 

 think worsted or Berlin wool, when the shopkeeper replied 

 he believed he had some, but it was " up there," pointing to a 

 shelf near the ceiling, and that it was too hot for him to get 

 the parcel down then. 



In numbers of the small shops the articles are both made 

 and sold in the same place ; and in some parts, especially in 

 the Malabar or Asiatic quarter, both these proceedings are 

 more frequently carried on in the open air than within doors. 

 Many of the persons of colour seem fond of giving names to 

 their shops, and these were at times somewhat amusing. I 

 saw written over a cigar and tobacco shop which I frequently 

 passed, "Au petit Fashionable;" over others, " Au petite Ele- 

 gance," '• Au petit Cosmopolite," &c. A little tinsmith's shop, 

 scarcely more than a couple of yards wide, and in front almost 

 all window and door, had wi'itten over it, " Au petit Espoir." 

 Over a confectioner's shop was written, "Au Temple des 

 Douces." Other names were more strange and unexpected, 

 as, " A bon Diable," and " A pauvre Diable ; " "A la Sainte 

 Famille " over a haberdasher's shop, and " A la Grrace de Dieu " 



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