The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-05-06
THE GRAND TURK.
Oriental Kiosk on the CentenHiaf Grounds
Lazy WOrkme,.

THE GRAND TURK.
Oriental Kiosk on the Centennial Grounds-
Lazy Forkmen.
The Philadelphia Times says: Curl
| osity-seekers on the grounds have their
| attention divided mainly among three
objects: The japanese dwelling, the
japanese bazaar, and the Turkish car
penters. There are five of the latter
engaged in erecting structure fourteen
by eight in size, the general appearance
of which will be that of the oriental
| shops in Jerusalem.
They sell here, during the exhibition,
chess boards, paper-weights, napkin-rings,
and innumerable other fancy articles
manufactured in Jerusalem of wood from
the Valley of Hebron, Mount of Olivet,
Nazareth, the banks of Lake Tiberias,
and other places sacred in the regards of
Christians. The "boss" is David Jamel,
who speaks excellent English, having
been educated in Bishop Samuel Gobat's
Episcopalian school on Mount Zion.
The bishops mission is the conversion of
Jews and Acknowledgement both his
church and school are we'll patronized-
90 Mr.. janet says. The latter's COM,
panions are Greek Christians, but can.
twist their tongues around little but
Arabic. The man who walks up to the
party determined to have some fun at
their expense turns away disappointed,
for they are intelligent, agreeable and
sagacious. Several of them were at the
Vienna exhibition, and Mr.. janet as
serts that that affair wasn't "coDti-
mental" to what the centennial is and will
evidently be. "Why didn't you decide
to exhibit in the Turkish building going
up here beside you, Mr.. Jamel?" go
you see, the Turkish commission wanted
to skin us by taxing us forty or fifty per
cent. on the profits, and SO Mr.. Smith"
John Smith, presume "No, Mr..
Richard Smith, of Mcclellan, Smith &
Jordan, this city, whom 1 met in Jerusa-
lem and guided to the sacred spots there
about, acted exceedingly kind toward us,
and was the means of securing us this
pretty littly grass plot from your COM
mission"
They are all in native Syrian costume.
The trowsers are of wooden or cotton
cloth, and look like potato bag with
two round holes cut in the bottom for
the feet to pass through, the mouth being
fastened around the waist with many
cnlored wooden sash. A waistcoat decked
with large round buttons covered with
black cloth, an overcoat of Occidental
style, red skull cap (the fey, with a
large black tassel hanging from the CEN
ter of the crown, and shoes and stockings |
of the same familiar make as that of the |
overcoat, comprise the remainder of their
fantastic costume, which attracts such a
crowd about the wearers that, were they
not so lazy, their work would be greatly
delayed. Mr.. Jamel's person derives an
air of majesty from an additional gar
ment covering it cap-a-pie. 1t is a
yellowish wooden cloak, with remnants |
of gold embroidery about-the shoulders,
and might pass for resurrected robe of
Beneath the fez-cap
is worn a second skull cap of white linen. |
This is kept on when the outer one is |
taken off for the sake of comfort or |
peliteness. 1t would doubtless require |
a longer time for these Syrians to erect |
the main building than for SO many |
Yankees to do it.
The F" boss" does nothing but smoke a |
short wooden pipe and act as cicerone
to the curious gazers standing around.
As to the four others, while two of them |
are lounging in a little tent near by,
erected for shelter against the April
breeze, another squats on his launches
at the foot of the planning bench, smoking
a cigar and looking dreamily into the
clouds which he pufs forth, and the
fourth, after making three or four feeble
shoves of his plane, pulls out bag of
Turkish tobacco with packet of rice
paper and proceeds to manufacture a
cigarette. 1t is safe to say that for every
half dozen movements each Turk gives
his tool he smokes cigarette, cigar, or
a pipe of tobacco. Mr.. janet expects,
that the little shop will be
completed before things are ready in
machinery hall for the opening day.