Frank profited by the advice, but carried the lesson too far. When he went the next day to the post-office to send some letters to America, the clerk weighed the letters, and told him the postage amounted to two francs and a half. The youth offered one franc and a half, and on the clerk refusing to accept it he turned to walk away. Suddenly realizing the mistake he had made, he returned, bought the necessary stamps, affixed them to the letters, and dropped them in the letter-box.
The journal kept by the youths contained the following record of their adventures in the bazaars:
"In the bazaar of the jewellers, or rather of the gold and silver smiths, we saw the men at work with implements as primitive as those of the jewellers of India. The bellows of the silversmith was nothing more than a conical bag of goat-skin open at one end, where the air was pumped in by a skilful manipulation of a pair of handles. At the other end was an iron tube, which carried the air to a lump of clay supporting a charcoal fire. A few hammers and pincers constituted the entire 'kit' of the workman, but with them he managed to turn out articles of many different shapes. We were told that strangers are liable to be swindled, as the dealers often sell plated-ware and declare it is solid, and the government stamp to indicate its genuineness cannot be relied on. When a wealthy native desires an article of fine gold or silver he buys the metal, and then has the jeweller go to his house and work directly under his eye, so that there can be no cheating.
KITCHEN UTENSILS.
"From the jewellers' bazaar we went to the 'Sook-en-Nahhasin,' or bazaar of the coppersmiths, where we saw some trays of copper and brass, and a great many pots and utensils for the kitchen and domestic use generally. We bought a couple of ink-and-pen holders, such as the Arabs write with: there is a long handle for containing the little reeds which they use as pens, and a bottle at the end for holding ink. The apparatus is stuck into the waist-belt, and you see it worn by a great many people.
BASIN AND EWER.