aments of tinsel
manufactured by the bushel-basketful at Birmingham and Manchester.
Choice old silver-ware was exposed side by side with iron saucepans,
tin-dippers, and cheap crockery utensils,--variety and incongruity,
gold and Brummagem everywhere in juxtaposition. There is an abundance
of iron and copper from the Urals, dried fish in tall piles from the
Caspian Sea, tea from China, cotton from India, silks and rugs from
Persia, heavy furs and sables from Siberia, wool in the raw state
from Cashmere, together with the varied products of the
trans-Caucasian provinces, even including wild horses in droves.
Fancy-goods from England as well as from Paris and Vienna, toys from
Nuremberg, ornaments of jade and lapis-lazuli from Kashgar, precious
stones from Ceylon, and gems from pearl-producing Penang. Variety,
indeed! Then what a conglomerate of odors permeated everything,
dominated by the all-pervading musk, boiled cabbage, coffee, tea, and
tanned leather! Everything seemed to loom up through an Oriental
haze, a mirage of fabulous merchandise. In the midst of the booths
and lanes there rose the tall, pointed spire of a mosque, which we
were told was the most northerly Mahometan temple extant. If any
business purpose actuates the visitor, let him keep his wits about
him, and above all remain cool; for it will require an effort not to
be confused by the ceaseless buzzing of this hive of human beings.
Sharpers are not wanting, but are here in force to take advantage of
every opportunity that offers. Many who come hither thrive solely by
dishonesty. It is a sort of thieves' paradise,--and Asiatic thieves
are by far the most expert operators known in either hemisphere. Most
of them are itinerants, having no booth, table, or fixed location,
but yet carrying conspicuously about them evidences of some special
line of trade, and evincing a desire to sell at remarkably low
prices,--all of which is a specious disguise under which to prosecute
their dishonest purposes.

The period of great differences in prices in localities wide apart
has, generally speaking, passed away, and everywhere the true value
of things is known. Circumstances may favor sellers and buyers by
turns, but intrinsic values are nearly fixed all over the world.
Nothing is especially cheap at this great Russo-Asiatic fair except
such articles as no one cares to purchase, though occasionally a
dealer who is particularly anxious to realize cash will make a
special