The National tribune., 1889-09-12

call you back. Sometimes he does so and some-
times he don't, and it is not uncommon for a
Turk to shop every day for month on GER
tain article before buying. Time is nothing to
the Turk. and he don't seem to be very anx-
ious to make money. If he thinks you want
his goods he will hold out for his exOrbitant
prices, and there is no help but to pay it. The
bigger establishments keep book accounts, but
there are very few clerks, and the whole city
seems to be doing what they call in New Eng
land u whiting business. Some of the stores
are not much bigger than dry-goods boxes !;
others have divans running along in front Of
them, and the merchants squat and smoke and
read the Koran while surrounded by their
goods.
The Persian bazars have the most wonderful
of Persian shawls and Persian rugs The
shawls are covered with delicate embroidery so
neatly done that it takes years to make them,
and so well put together that they appear TO be
woven rather than embroidered. The jewelry
bazaar is a fair indication of the ups and downs
of Turkish fortune. You find the most beau
tiful articles for sale at secondhand. There are
jeweled watches by the bushe. beautifully
carved utensils of solid silver, and daggers with
handles Of silver and gold. There is bazaar Of
arms. where you will find old Damascus blades
and curiously- y-shaped helmets which may have
belonged to the Crusaders. There are old mus
kets of the days of Queen Elizabeth, and coats
of mail and spears which must have come from
Mongolia or Africa. There ia n fcz bazar,
whore nothing but these red fez skull-caps are
sold, and where all of the Government officials
come to buy. There is u bazaar of Spices and
there is bazar where you find tho richest Of
Oriental carpets. The Oriental carpets are
noted the world over. and some of the rugs sold
here are hundreds of years old. If carpet is
in good condition it is worth more after it has
been used so years than when it was new, and
their rich. soft, silky sheen comes only with
age. In some parts of the bazars men do moth
ing but patch up old carpets for sale and the
best Of the old is bought up for the markets Of
Europe and America
Much of the business of Turkey Is done by
combination. There are vast numbers of guilds
and trades unions. The different classes of
merchants have their own organizations, and
the porters have guild. which is ruled by
head. One of these porter guilds has general
division daily of the profits of its members
Each man has his own stand. and whether he
has anything 10 do or not he gets his share of
the days proceeds. If any member of guild
is guilty of theft or an infraction of the pnbic
peace, am told that the head of the guild is.
to certain extent, responsible for bin, and
that the officials go to the head and force Kim
to make the wrong matter right.
Even the dogs of Constantinople seem to
have guilds, and the dogs of this great city are
one of the curiosities Of the Orient. Yon
find thom by the dozens on every block. and
each set of dogs has his own quarter. When
stray dog from q neighboring street gets outside
OF his domain, the dogs who belong to that
territory pounce upon him and drive him out.
Thcy know their own fellows, and they believe
in close communion. The Constantiuople dog
is of the yellow mongrel variety, and the trav-
eler who visits ConstantinOple and does not
write about them Is the exception. He belongs
to the city, and he has no individual home.
The Turks never think of letting the dogs
come into their houses. They consider them
uncleau animals and though Constantinope
has thousands of dogs no man in Constauti-
nople owns dog. They live upon the streets.
and they sleep day aud night in the most
thronged of the highways. They never think
OF turning out for foot passengers, and from the
number of three-legged degs have seen many
OF them must be cut up by the carriages. They
are of n harmless variety. aud they lack spirit,
save when an outside dog enters their precinct,
They are the LATEST animals on the face of the
earth. aud Marx Twain, in speaking of them.
says that he knew he was lazy until be met a
ConstaDtinople dog and then he felt that me
WAS q steam-engine in trousers compared TO
him. These dogs are the scavengcrs of Con-
stantinople. They eat every thing from cow
born to n cabbage. and from potato skins TO
roast beef. They carry on all the ayoeati0ns
OF dog life on tho crowded thoroughfare, and
common sight is the mother sucking her pups.
They are originally OF the long-tailed variety,
but many Of their tails have been shorn of by
carriage wheels, and not n few of them have
skins battered up like the face of \ prize
fighter after MILL. l havo never heard one
bark in tho daytime. but they make tho night
hideoux; and the first sound / heard coming
into Constantinople was chorus of these yell
low dogs on the borders of Pera. There are no
dog laws here. and the dog pound is uuknown.
Mono of these dogs pay licenses. and the mad
dog is almost entirely unknown in Turkey. It
may be that hydrophobia comes from over.
feeding. but no one could call the Constanti-
nople dog ovarfed. The dog whose ribs cannot
be counted is tho exception. and these dogs
probably weigh less per piece In proportion TO
hight and length than any other dogs in the
world. FRANK q. CARPENTER.
A Ea.Ea