THE PURPLE TRADE. 107 



did not produce ; and thus arose a system of barter and 

 exchange. 



The Phoenicians from fishermen became pirates, and 

 from pirates, traders ; from simple traders they became 

 also manufacturers. Purple was always the fashion- 

 able colour in the East ; and they discovered two 

 kinds of shell-fish which yielded a handsome dye. 

 One species was found on rocks, the other under water. 

 These shells they collected by means of divers and 

 pointer dogs. When the supply on their own coast 

 was exhausted they obtained them from foreign coasts, 

 and as the shell yielded but a small quantity of fluid, 

 and therefore was inconvenient to transport, they pre- 

 ferred to extract the dyeing material on the spot where 

 the shells were found. This led to the establishment 

 of factories abroad, and permanent settlements were 

 made. Obtaining wool from the Arabs and other 

 shepherd tribes, they manufactured woven goods, and 

 dyed them with such skill that they found a ready 

 market in Babylonia and Egypt. In this manner they 

 purchased from those countries the produce and manu- 

 factures of the East, and these they sold, at a great 

 profit, to the inhabitants of Europe. 



When they sailed along the shores of that savage 

 continent and came to a place where they intended to 

 trade, they lighted a fire to attract the natives, pitched 

 tents on shore, and held a six days fair, exhibiting in 

 their bazaar the toys and trinkets manufactured at 

 Tyre expressly for their naked customers, with purple 

 robes and works of art in tinted ivory and gold, for 

 those who like the Greeks were more advanced. At 

 the end of the week they went away, sometimes kid- 

 napping a few women and children to " fill up." But 

 in the best trading localities the factory system pre- 



