wo-year-old bulldog, which one day was to claim
the proud title of champion, on the leash, she wended her way through
the narrow streets in which two camels may scarce squeeze past each
other and where the _masharabeyeh_ of the harems almost meet overhead.

Water-carriers, camels, sweetmeat-sellers; lowly women in black gown
and _yashmak_; coffee-sellers; donkeys which continually bray and dogs
which unceasingly bark; cracking of whips; shrill cries of "_Dahrik ya
sitt_ or _musyu_," ("Thy back, lady, or sir"); shouts of _U'a u'a_;
clashing of bronze ware; snarls of anger; laughter; song; dust and
colour, all the ingredients which go to the entrancement of the bazaar.

And the odours?

Scent and perfume, aroma and odour; cedars of Lebanon and _harem_ musk;
tang of the sandy sea, fume of the street; the trail of smoke and
onions; the milk of goats; the reek of humanity; the breath of kine.
Make a bundle of that, and tie it with the silken lashes of women's
eyes; secure it with the steel of a needle-pointed knife--and leave it
at that.

There is _no_ describing the smell of the East.

The sale of really good animals--the other kind you can buy by lifting
a finger in the streets--takes place twice a month in a small square
near the Suk-en Nahlesin; but as the way to it leads through many dirty
and twisting lanes, few Europeans ever get so far.

The stock is tethered to iron rings in the ground, the vendors squat
near by, but at a safe distance from teeth, claws or hoofs; the
purchasers stand still farther off; there sometimes occurs a free
fight, when the length of the chain that tethers the jaguar next the
hunting cheetah is too long by a foot or so; and the noise is always
deafening.

Abdul, falconer of Shammar--which district is to be found on the holy
road to Mecca--being of that locality specialises in the _shahin_,
which is a species of hawk; visits the market by appointment only, and,
being independent and a specialist, does not always keep that
appointment.

Damaris turned suddenly into the market and hurriedly looked round for
shelter, which she found in an arched doorway leading to the usual
court of the native house.

Zulannah the courtesan peered down upon her from between the silken
curtains of her balcony, and clapped her hands twice so that her
woman-slaves ran quickly to watch and whisper about this white woman
who stood unattended in the open market. They giggled in the
insufferable Eastern way