FOUNTAIN IN GALATA.       38

Here the khamals(1) deposit the heavy bale, which has been slung upon two long poles resting on their shoulders, being secure at once of rest and refreshment; and recover their failing breath ere they venture on the steep ascent, whose rugged paving doubles its difficulty. Here the lounging household servant, a slave only in name, loiters away an idle half-hour, collecting or retailing the gossip of the neighbourhood. Here the crouching Jew offers for sale his paltry mouth-pieces of artificial amber or discoloures ivory; the first of these being made from the dust of the gum, and the fragments of those which break under the hands of the workmen, an accident so common with amber, as considerably to enhance the price of the perfect article. Here, too, the wayfarer and the idler alike linger willingly; and seated upon low wicker stools, not raised more than a few inches from the ground, they form groups of pictouresque comfort in admirable keeping with the locality, as they smoke their chibouques, sip their coffee, and drain deep draughts of the clear water of the fountain. The houses which surround the square give a perfect idea of Turkish domestic architecture: the projecting story above the ground-flour, supported by stout buttresses of timber, and thickly set with latticed windows, is the harem of the establishment; while the owner of the dwelling plies his trade or vends his wares below, squatted on a wooden counter close beside the street, with his slippers lying near him, his pipe between his lips, and his goods hung all round his shop.

Among the prettiest of these small trades is that of the sherbet (2) and mohalibè(3) mechants, whose tinkling fountains of metal, pouring forth streams of lemonade and other cool drinks, are very inviting to the passer by; while the large carefully-kept trays of white wood, with the blancmange covered by a fine cloth moistened with rosewater, are scarcely less enticing. The shops of the boudaka(4) venders are also very attractive, as the forms of most of the bowls are extremely elegang, and the gilding and enamelling of many of the more costly even curious. Near this fountain is situated the street of the pipe-stick makers, a race of men who are sure of succes in their calling, and who are comparatively independent on their manner of doing business; and many a bargain is struck between the itinerant dealer and these worthy perforators of cherry-sticks and jasmin-wood, under the wild vines and acacias of the pretty fountain in the square.

(1) Street-porters. (2) Literally, "cool drink". (3) Blancmange. (4) Pipe-bowls