264 WITH THE CAMEL CORPS UP THE NILE.

or entreaties could make him go on with it till next day. He took at least a fortnight to do the smallest thing. When it was done, however, the result was often pretty ; a quaint sort of filagree work was his forte, and how he managed to do it with his thick fingers and clumsy tools was always a mystery to me.

The prices were terribly high ; at least they were to all the English. Acting on the old assumption that we were sent for their benefit, they charged us in dollars instead of shillings, and piastres instead of pence. If we would not give what they asked, somebody else would it was all the same to them, and they made their profits accordingly. One particular scoundrel whom we patronised, by name AH Shami, had a monopoly of fairly good European articles all the others were trash and bled us to such an extent that I expect by this time he takes his constitutionals in a carriage and pair of his own.

It was a quaint sight watching the natives in the bazaar. I used sometimes to spend the cool of