ad nothing French besides his name about him; he being a mongrel of
mongrels, with a large dash of Portuguese, and perhaps some African and
Arab blood. Whatever his other qualifications, he had his eye open to
the main chance.

Murray having now to order some stores, directed Hamed to lead him to
the house. With pocket-handkerchiefs at their noses, the party
proceeded along one of the narrowest and most dirty of the streets till
they arrived before a stone edifice in a most dilapidated condition--
such, indeed, is the normal state of all the buildings in the city. The
main door opening into the street, they immediately entered the store,
having to pick their way amid casks and huge coarse sacks filled to
bursting, piled up to the ceiling; the dirty earthen floor full of holes
more or less deep, while countless ants, cockroaches, spiders,
centipedes, and other reptiles, crawled in all directions. On one side
through an archway was seen a second apartment, in which, round a large
table covered with tumblers, jugs, and flat round bottles, were seen
seated a dozen or more merchant seamen of various nations, those from
Yankee-land predominating, with an equal number of half-caste females
gaudily dressed in Oriental costume, the whole party by their attitudes
and looks already more than half-seas-over; some shouting and singing at
the top of their voices, others attempting to sing, but uttering only
spasmodic sounds, as the fumes of the liquor they were pouring down
their throats mounted to such brains as they might possess.

Murray turned from the disgusting scene, and, passing on, was met by
Monsieur Charlie, who, order-book in hand, with his dark-skinned,
woolly--covered cranium and squat figure, resembled more a toad than a
human being. "Anything, Senor Captain, you vant?--me got in my store,
all so cheap and so excellent," he said, making an attempt to bow, his
keen, twinkling eyes fixed on his visitors, while he waited eagerly to
note down the orders he might receive. "You will take vun glass, sare,
of something cool? I have Bordeaux just arrived; and de young
gentlemen, dey surely like something--and my goot friend Hamed, we know
each oder, and surely de Prophet not object to him to take just a little
vine for him tummuck."

Murray, who had no wish to inhale longer than necessary the ill odours
of the place, declined his liberal offers for himself and his
companions, and, examining his list, gave an order for