On Mediterranean Shores—I. The Bazaar at Tunis [In this series
of articles Herr Ludwig describes his impressions of a tour in the Near East. Further articles to appear during the following weeks will be entitled " The Sphinx," In a Balloon over Byzantium," " Jewish Pioneers of Palestine; and " Smyrna." The book from which these articles. are excerpts will be published by Messrs. George Allen and ibiwin, Ltd., early next year.—En. Spectator.] ,A WHITE gate, Moorish in design, separates the solidly built and commonplace European colony from the exhalations of the old walled town of the Arabs. This is a symbol of spiritual enmity. :Here in Tunis, and here almost alone, are- thest for ever alien elements thus literally sundered. Only at intervals do the young Arab dandies, walking with a fine swing, give decorative touch to the sober streets where dwells the so-called intelligentsia of the West. Passing through the aforesaid gate, with one stride I find myself in the Eait.
The houses are white, and almost windowless. , Their upper storys are the closely barred cages of women with a slave mentality. The doors of the courtyards are decked out with beautiful ironwork. When (as rarely happens) one of these doors is open, I catch a glimpse of a garden, where palm trees grow.
Here is the bazaar. The alley-ways are roofed in, narrower than those in Stamboul, of heavier construction, and more elaborately barricaded. In the alley of the tailors, two young fellows come to one of the booths, godlike in their poise, not touching the ground with their heels—though they wear heeled slippers. The shopkeeper shows them gandoras of the latest design. In solemn silence, they finger these wares, pondering their choice. Nor has the vendor much to say ; barely a word now and again, in praise of his goods. He disappears within, to return with fresh miracles of colour : maize- yellow and grey ; scarlet and emerald-green ; silk stock- ings to match.
The next alley is that of the jewellers, where precious stones, unmounted, are placed in shells to tempt the purchaser. If a passer-by points to one of the shells the salesman picks out two or three of the gems and holds them exposed upon the brown palm of his left hand ; then he takes one of these stones between thumb and forefinger of the right hand, and holds it up for the customer to see the sparkle. Both seller and buyer are chary of speech.
The perfumers ! They steal away our senses. Here is one, squatting like an idol, made drowsy by the reek of his own essences ; cross-legged, slender of limb, yellowed with age, on a high divan behind a trestled table ; looking as if he had sat there for ages without ever leaving his place. Dignified in mien, proud of his calling, he motions with his eyes to divans right and left, let into the walls at a lower level. When his customers sit there, they are in the posture of worshippers adoring the Buddha. Three walls of plank enclose the whole of his kingdom ; from where he sits he can reach every one of his phials, stretching out his arm to it like a dumb sorcerer. He feels behind him without looking round, and brings forth a bottle. Withdrawing the stopper, which is prolonged within the phial into a glass rod that dips down into the contents, grasping my hand and softly pulling it towards him across the table, he now traces a line on the palm with the end of the glass, rod. Then he lifts my hand to my face that I may smell. Jasmine ! All this without saying a word. When I nod approval, he smiles with the wisdom of old age, detached, aloof.
Next, with a repetition of the same series of movements he gives me a whiff of another perfume, a golden-yellOW_ oil ; rosemary. Then a green essence ; cypress. Now a whitish one, ylang-ylang, followed, in turn, by narcissus, lilac, clove. After this, he opens a &Mall, round, inlaid box, and -takes out a pinch-Of the. .Powder it contains, musk ; the. same with opopanax. Now come crystalline substances ; ambergris, myrrh, frankincense: This last he turns in a•tiny censer, -which he-has placed and lighted with much ceremony, -as if wishing to dispel the gathering darkness, though darkness, in- troth, befits him and his slumbrous, essences. My senses. are by now- -confused, and I no longer know how to choose whit I will buy. Whoever might -wish •to do so could 'rob - me ; I would pay any pride ; follow any leader. The 'old man with the yellow fingers-. is well aware 'of this, and knows how to turn it. to account ; but he does not unstopper anymore bottles. for me to sample, no longer smiles at me question- ingly; Selecting certain flasks, he decants some of their contents into -delicately made little-- cylinders -of.. fine • glass, and seals them one after another. Not until he hands them to me do,I realize that they-are the perfumes to which I had nodded approval. Not .seven, but a hundred, are these spices. of Araby-narcotizing; one and all, fcir they are not diluted like those- Of -the West ; they are pure and concentrated essences, - With a mist before my eyes, I steal back through the alley-way of the perfumers. The bazaar is almost empty now ; -the last customers are streaming out through the huge gateway: The janitor, a powerftilly built, elderly man,- with-a shock Of grey hair and a visage -Which arouses thoughtS of .Jererniah the prophet, clOsei the heavy gate behind us. –He locks tip- for the night. : I hear creakings and groaning- s as he turns the key, and the reluctant bolt shoots into its socket. - • The East- -is now left- to its private meditations. If the Orientals- put their - heads together and discuss the ways of the white lords, they may well smile. They have venerable souls ; we, at best, have a youthful spirit.
(To be continued.) Emu., Lunwm
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