A VISIT TO THE BAZAARS. 
139 
precious fabrics, totally indifferent to the matter of customers ; 
in fact rather averse to any interruption, for he happens to 
be listening to a story about some ghouls and genii, which a 
neighbor is relating at the time. In the next bazaar every 
body seems to be asleep ; though they are all bright enough 
when they hear the voice of a traveling gentleman; so bright 
indeed, that in a few moments half a dozen sharp-witted 
youths are after you from the immediate vicinity, telling you 
to “Come dis way; no good bazaar dat; bess bazaar dis 
way; plenty nice ting sheep.” This eventually arouses the 
old gentleman, and he looks up, with a patronizing air ; per¬ 
haps he might be prevailed upon to sell you something. 
You are determined not to trust yourself to the sharp-witted 
fellows who are pulling at your elbow. The indifference of 
the venerable gentleman piques you ; besides you know he 
must be honest.— 14 ‘ Kats grosh ?" you ask, taking up the art¬ 
icle carelessly. Something in the shape of an answer is grunt¬ 
ed by the old man; of course you can’t have the faintest idea 
of the meaning, the language being Turkish, or Arabic, or 
some other barbarous compound of guttural sounds. “ Kats 
grosh?" you say again, a little louder. The old man takes 
a puff of his chibouck, and raises up ten fingers, and shakes 
them at you four times. It must be forty piasters, or forty 
dollars. You draw out a piaster, and demand in plain En¬ 
glish if he means to say that it requires forty of these to pur¬ 
chase the article ? The old gentleman nods assent. Two 
dollars seems high for such a trifle. You shake your ten 
fingers at him three times, which means thirty piasters. 
11 Bosh!" says the merchant, with a contemptuous toss of 
the head, and he coolly resumes his chibouck. As you turn to 
walk off he beckons you back, takes up the silk, points out 
all its beauties, grows eloquent upon its peculiar merits, en¬ 
larges in the most barbarous tissue of exclamations upon its 
cost, all of which you have to suppose, not understanding a 
single word he says. Eventually he concludes by shaking his 
ten fingers at you three times and five fingers once, signifying 
thirty-five. You shake back at him three fingers less, upon 
which you are determined to stand. No, it will not do ; the 
