The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-19 00:00:00

BAZAARS AT BAGDAD.

It was curious to observe how the different characters
of the various nationalities around betrayed themselves at
once. The Persian and Christian shopkeeper, the instant
any one stopped for moment in front of his goods, became
excited at the prospect of a customer, and manifested his
eagerness to sell by a ready obsequiousness and profuse
civility ; while, on the contrary, the stately and turbaned
Turk seemed to consider that it was he who conferred a
favour on his customers by allowing them to purchase
his wares. As usual in the East, each trade has its
separate bazaar. Some of the silk manufactures that
were shown to us were especially fine, and the colours
most vivid and brilliant. Some abbas, of thick blue silk,
in which arabesque patterns of gold were woven, were re-
markably beautiful, and were intended as presents from the
Sultan and governors of provinces to such Arab chiefs as
they wished to honour. The passages through the bazaars
are of clay, which, from the constant traffic, is as hard as
stone, and being kept moist, cool in summer. Many of the
bazaars are in a half ruinous condition, and some are alto-
gether shut up. Though the trade of Bagdad is still so
brisk, it has very much declined from its former importance,
and probably the amount of commerce which enlivens its
busy marts is not now the fourth of what it was when, in
the palmy days of the Khalifs, the residence of the succes-
sors of the Prophet, frequented by merchants from all parts
of Persia and Arabia, boasted a proud pre-eminence over
the other cities of the East.
We must linger no longer, however, over these
pleasant pages, which we may safely commend to
the lovers of traveller's tales. Among the illustra-
tions there is a brilliantly-coloured sketch of a
" Circassian dance," together with others of " Geor-
gian costumes," and of " Circassian marauders,"
as well as admirable views of the gate of the Yezeedi
temple, of the tomb of Cyrus, and of other scenes
equally well worthy of being thus pourtrayed in a
series of gorgeous embellishments.

The Three Watches. By W. G. Wills, author of
"'The Wife's Evidence," &c. Three Vols. Hursi

and Blackett.
We cannot but think that Mr. Wills has been
unfortunate in the theme he has selected for his new
work. He tells us in his preface that " in the
persuasion that the veneer of manners in the upper
classes tends to conceal true nature," be has taken

his types " from somewhat lower strata, as pre-sent- I
ing more robustness, freshness, and origi-
nality." With this object in view, he has
fallen into the error common to some of the
pre-Raphaelites who, in their aversion of the ideal,
descend to the common-place, and provided they
actually represent nature, prefer her in her least
attractive or even in a repulsive guise. So the author
of " The Three Watches," believing the rank to be
but " the guinea stamp," and wishing to portray to
us " a man for a' that," has chosen for his hero a
one-eyed, rough, and reckless sailor, whom he styles
" an humble Mark Antony," who is, to all intents
and purposes, a bigamist and a murderer,
being only accidentally rescued from the
consequences of these crimes. We should
be as loth to regard the " fashionable novel," with
its elaborate descriptions of " rose-coloured boudoirs'
and flowing draperies, as a correct picture of " na-
ture" in high life, as we are to believe that Tom
Frompton and Mary Gowan are correct types of their
class, however powerfully their individual charac-
ters are worked out. There is a marked indivi-
duality in Mr. Wills' impersonations, and there
is great vigour in many of his descriptions.
The same excellencies which gave a charm to the
thrilling story of " the Wife's Evidence" are to be
found in his new novel, we could wish they had
been exerted to more interesting effect. As a spe-
cimen of the vigour of some of these rough sketches,
let us take his portrait of " The Stoker," a wealthy
engineer, a self-made man, who still labours at the
anvil, like another Vulcan. This " Stoker," as he
is surnamed, is, Mr. Wills tells us, a study from
life. Here is the Stoker on the hero's first introduc-
tion to him :