atone for a life of sin. Such endowments are held in high repute, being esteemed only less than a pilgrimage to Mecca which ensures to the "hajee” a seat in paradise.

Death is seldom an object of terror to the disciple of Mohammed, who sees in God a being exclusively merciful and assures himself of an eternity of sensual enjoyment. To this view may be attributed the sort of pleasurable feeling with which he regards a burialground. A necropolis in Turkey, unlike the same in Christendom, is anything but a spot set apart for solemn reflection and sad reminiscences here promenades, cafés, sherbet-booths, public thoroughfares, and festive parties intrude on the repose of the dead; and in every direction, whether in the centre of the city, in its immediate suburbs, or in its uninhabited outskirts, the traveller encounters a cemetery. Turkish tombstones are surmounted with turbans of different shapes and sizes, characterizing the trade or occupation of the deceased; some are of white marble, others painted; that of the janissaries is peculiarly high and stately; and those of women are distinguished by trencher-caps, such as are worn in our universities. In Greek and Armenian cemeteries likewise the profession of the deceased is denoted;

386

HALF-WILD DOGS.

not, however, by a turban over the head of the stone, but by symbols on its surface; thus, a shoemaker's grave will be indicated by his hammer and last, and other trades by appropriate emblems; while, occasionally, a gibbet, or a head separated from the trunk, represented in basso-relievo, declares to the passer-by the form in which death surprised the tenant of the tomb. The nearest relative of a deceased Turk plants a cypress by the side of his grave; so that all the burial-grounds become groves of cypresses; and their number, with the tall stately form and sombre hue of the trees, imparts a peculiar effect to the city.

The cemeteries are the resort of multitudes of half-wild dogs who are probably allured there by the odor, but who abstain from disturbing the graves, as if aware that their lives would pay the penalty: an occasional brick-bat from the hand of a Moslim, falling with heavy vengeance on the head of one whose paws have approached too close to the sacred dust, affords a warning to many of his companions, who are thus taught to deny their natural instincts as effectually as a sporting-dog; a lesson the more readily acquired because they find plenty to eat in the city. Though these animals abound in such numbers that it is no uncommon sight

to see groups of sixteen or twenty, and though they are owned by no one, yet they generally appear in good condition, and are less occupied in searching for food than in fighting with one another. In remote parts of the town where Franks are seldom seen, they are sometimes so fierce as to be formidable.

One of the chief objects of interest in this great metropolis is the bazaars, which consist of extensive ranges of stalls, all open in front and under cover of a common roof. Separate lines, or streets, are allotted to the respective trades. Thus, in one part, shoemakers sitting in two opposite rows, expose for sale all kinds of Turkish slippers of various colors, some ornamented with silk, others brocaded with gold; in another, a number of venerable old men are seen, with spectacles on nose, pondering over the Koran or a horoscope, the one conveying to them as many ideas as the other; for, probably, they understand neither these are booksellers, whose piles exhibit sundry beautifully illuminated manuscripts in Persian, Arabic, and Turkish, for which they demand enormous prices. We asked for a Koran, but they refused to allow a "giaour”* even to look at one. It is by no means, however, impossible

* An infidel.

to obtain a copy of the Mohammedan sacred volume, as a Turkish servant will convey it to a private house for inspection, with the secret concurrence of the bookseller, whose conscience will be satisfied, since he does not place it in the hands of an unbeliever. The objection of the Turks to submit the Koran to the perusal of others is a proof, even if history were silent, that their faith was never indebted for its extension to reason or persuasion.

The drug bazaar presents a curious assortment of eastern specifics and cosmetics, of which the principal are rhubarb, henna, and orpiment. Henna is an orange-colored powder used by the females of the country to dye the tips of their nails and fingers: orpiment is a sulphuret of arsenic which they value as a depilatory, forming it into a paste with lime and applying it to the upper lip to remove superfluous hairs.

One portion of the bazaar, said to be the richest quarter of the whole, is appropriated to arms. Here, sparkling with brilliants or devoured by rust, may be seen the long Turkish sword, the Greek yataghan, and the Italian stiletto, ranged side by side with the Tartar matchlock and the Persian bow.

The jewellers, of course, have a row of stalls;

but their assortment is a poor one. A few pairs of ear-rings and other small trinkets are exhibited in glass cases, to be sold by weight at a moderate price; but if the purchaser would see valuables, which are not the less abundant because not displayed, he must retire to the dealer's private residence, where precious stones and diamonds will be exhibited to him in surprising profusion. The reason for concealing these, under such a government as that of Turkey, is obvious: to produce them in public would ensure the loss of property, perhaps of life.

One entire street is filled with saddles and harness; the former are covered with cloth, and furnished with a high knob in front, like those used in the Crimea; the latter is rude in texture and simple in contrivance, but adorned with a profusion of gold and silver wire-work, representing the sultan's cipher or the arms of the city.

Another street contains shops for the manufacture and sale of the chibouque and its component parts, the mouth-piece, stick, and tobacco-holder. The last is formed of red earth and shaped like the bowl of a common English pipe, but somewhat larger: the sticks are about five feet in length, of cherry or jessamine