A VISIT TO THE BAZAAR.

Bookseller Published Feby. 20, 1818, by J. Harris, corner of St. Pauls.

A VISIT TO THE BAZAAR: BY THE AUTHOR OF JULIET, OR THE REWARD OF FILIAL AFFECTION; AND THE PORT FOLIO OF A SCHOOL GIRL.

THE THIRD EDITION.

LONDON: PRINTED FOR HARRIS AND SON, CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD; AND MAY ALSO BE HAD AT SEVERAL SHOPS IN THE BAZAAR, SOHO SQUARE.

1820.

H. Bryer, Printer, Bridge-street, Blackfriars, London.

[Pg 8]

THE BAZAAR.

"My dear," said Mrs. Durnford to her husband on his return from a long walk, "I this morning received a letter from poor Susan Boscawen, full of the most lively expressions of her gratitude, for the kind assistance which you gave to her on the death of her father. She has established herself at the Bazaar, in Soho-square, which I understand is a most respectable institution, founded by a gentleman of considerable opulence residing in the place, and by this means, she is enabled to support her aged mother and her two helpless brothers. The one you know is a cripple, and the other was born blind. If you have no objection, I should like to take the children to town some morning, when it would be convenient to you to accompany us, and shew them the interior of our English Bazaar."

"Name your day and I will attend you," replied Mr. Durnford. "The sight will be both novel and pleasing to the children, and I shall feel myself particularly delighted in beholding the amiable Susan, placed in a situation of safety and emolument."

[Pg 9]

"Pray, papa," said Theodore, a fine boy about ten years of age, "what is the meaning of the word Bazaar?"

"My dear boy," replied Mr. Durnford, "the term Bazaar is given by the Turks and Persians to a kind of Market or Exchange, some of which are extremely magnificent; that of Ispahan, in Persia, surpasses all the other European exchanges, and yet that of Taurus exceeds it in size. There is the old and the new Bazaar at Constantinople, the former is chiefly for arms, and the latter for different articles belonging to goldsmiths, jewellers, furriers, and various other manufactures. [Pg 10] Our Bazaar in Soho-square, was founded by Mr. Trotter, on premises originally occupied by the store-keeper general, consisting of several rooms which are conveniently fitted up with handsome mahogany counters, extending not only round the sides, but in the lower and upper apartments, forming a parallelogram in the middle. These counters, having at proper distances flaps or falling doors, are in contiguity with each other, but are respectively distinguished by a small groove at a distance of every four feet of counter, the pannels of which are numbered with conspicuous figures, and these are let

upon moderate terms to females who can bring forward sufficient testimonies of their moral respectability."

[Pg 11]

"It appears to me to be a most excellent establishment," said Mrs. Durnford, "as it enables many a worthy female to dispose of the produce of her labours, without incurring the risk of taking a shop which might prove unsuccessful, and thus she would not only be drained of every sixpence she possessed, but she might be reduced to actual beggary from the failure of her first attempt."

[Pg 12]

"True, my dear," replied Mr. Durnford, "such is too frequently the case. But in this institution no such danger can arise. The person who from strong recommendation obtains a counter in our Bazaar, pays daily, three-pence for every foot in length, and is not required to hold her situation more than from day to day. I have been told, that at present, there are upwards of a hundred females who are employed in these rooms, and a more pleasing and novel effect can hardly be imagined, than is here produced by the sight of these elegant little shops, filled with every species of light goods, works of art, and female ingenuity in general."

"Then you have seen the Bazaar, papa?" said Maria, the eldest daughter of Mr. Durnford.

[Pg 13]

"Yes, my love," replied her father, "I went over it about five weeks ago with Lady Bellenden, who has placed two very amiable young women there, both of whom are the orphan daughters of a country curate, one of them has a counter for all sorts of painted ornaments, the other for fine needle work. But you shall see the Bazaar yourself, Maria, and if your mother is disengaged, I think we will set out to-morrow morning, immediately after breakfast. We shall then have plenty of time to examine the contents of the Bazaar, and return in time to receive our guests for dinner."

To the inexpressible delight of all the children, Mrs. Durnford immediately assented to the proposal of her husband, and it was agreed, that as the young people had behaved themselves lately much to the satisfaction of their parents, they should all of them enjoy the pleasure of a "visit to the Bazaar," except the baby in arms, and the youngest boy.

[Pg 14]

Early the next morning Mr. and Mrs. Durnford, with Maria and Emily, who were twins, and just turned of twelve years of age, and Caroline, a sweet little girl about seven, accompanied by Theodore, proceeded with light hearts and buoyant spirits to town, which was only two miles from the residence of their father, a gentleman of large independent fortune. They had frequently visited the metropolis, had been once to a play, and had seen several other places worthy of their inspection, but they all felt their curiosity strongly excited to view the Bazaar, as well as to behold once more Susan Boscawen, who was a daughter of a deceased tradesman, long a resident in this village, and for whom they all entertained a sincere regard.

[Pg 15]

On arriving at the place of their destination, the young people were surprized to see the square filled with elegant equipages, some of them belonging to our first nobility. "I believe, my dears," said Mr. Durnford, "that this is the first time any of you have seen Soho-square."

"Yes, papa, it is," cried Theodore, "pray whose statue is that which I see placed in the centre of that large area, and what are those figures at the feet of the statue."

[Pg 16]

"It is, as you may observe, a pedestrian statue of King Charles the Second," replied Mr. Durnford, "and those wretched mutilated figures are emblematical of the rivers, Thames, Trent, Severn, and the Humber. The Square was formerly called King-square, and I believe some efforts have been made to have that name revived. It has been greatly altered since the original disposition of the ground: then a fountain of four streams fell into a basin in the centre; where now stands the worn out statue of King Charles. It was once also called Monmouth-square, the Duke of Monmouth then residing in the second house; and tradition says, that on the death of the Duke, his admirers changed it to Soho, being the word of the day at the battle of Sedgemoor. [Pg 19] The name of the unfortunate Duke is, however, still preserved in that of Monmouth-street, long celebrated for old shops, old clothes, and shop cellars. That house, my dears, is celebrated as being the residence of the venerable and worthy Sir Joseph Banks, whose whole life has been devoted to science, and the

diffusion of every branch of useful knowledge."

THE JEWELLER.

Jeweller

[Pg 20]

They now walked towards the Bazaar, and in a few minutes entered the first room, which is sixty-two feet long, and thirty-six broad. The walls were hung with red cloth, and at the ends were large mirrors which reflected the surrounding objects.

"Oh, dear mamma!" exclaimed Emily, "let us stop a moment to look at these beautiful ornaments, what a pretty gold cross and pearl chain; I should like to buy it for baby, only that it would come to more than all my pocket money."

"I think, papa," said Maria, "that I have read that pearls come chiefly from Ceylon, and are taken from a particular species of oyster."

[Pg 21]

"You are right, my love," replied Mr. Durnford, "there are too seasons for pearl fishing. The first is in March and April, and the last in August and September, and the more rain there falls in the year, the more plentiful are the fisheries. The method of procuring the pearls is rather singular. The diver binds a stone six inches thick, and a foot long under his body; which serves him as ballast, prevents his being driven away by the motion of the water, and enables him to walk steadily under the waves. They also tie a very heavy stone to one foot, by which they are speedily sent to the bottom of the sea; and as the oysters are firmly fastened to the rocks, they arm their hands with leather mittens, to prevent their being bruised in pulling the oysters violently off. Each diver carries down with him a large net, tied to his neck by a long cord, the other end of which is fastened to the side of his bark. The net is to hold the oysters, and the cord to pull up the diver when his bag is full. Thus equipped, he sometimes flings himself sixty feet under

water, and when he arrives at the bottom, he runs from side to side, tearing up all the oysters he can meet with, and puts them into his net as expeditiously as possible."

[Pg 22]

"Oh, papa! how frightened I should be of the enormous great fishes," said Caroline.

"They are certainly to be dreaded, my love, but the diver no sooner perceives one of them approaching, than he pulls his cord, and the signal is attended to immediately by those above. Look, Emily, at this diamond, can you tell me from whence they come?"

[Pg 23]

"I believe from the East Indies, papa, and South America."

"Yes, my dear. This object of human vanity was formerly called Adamant, being the hardest body in nature. In the East Indies, there are also two rivers, in the sands of which are diamonds. The miners frequently dig through rocks, till they come to a sort of mineral earth, in which the diamonds are enclosed, and to prevent their concealing any of them they are obliged to go naked. The largest diamond ever known to have been found, was that in the possession of the Great Mogul, which weighed two hundred and seventy-nine carats, each carat being four grains."

[Pg 24]

"Diamonds are beautiful, and so are all the precious stones, but they are too dear for me at present," said Theodore; "but with your leave, papa, I should like to buy each of my sisters a little gold heart to wear with their gold chains."

The hearts and some other trifling ornaments were accordingly selected; and they next stopped to look at the contents of a

LINEN DRAPER'S

Linen Draper

[Pg 27]

counter. Maria called the attention of Emily to a short fat coarse looking woman, who was enquiring the price of some muslin which the owner was shewing her. "Five shillings a yard!" said she, in a shrill voice, at the same time enlarging her eyes and stretching out her hand, "Why, I can buy as good as this at any shop for three. Surely you must take me for a ninny, to ask so much money for your muslin." So saying, away she walked highly offended, although the article which she had rejected was offered to her at its fair price.

Mrs. Durnford desired to look at some Cambric, and while the man was searching for it, she asked Caroline if she remembered from what country the finest was imported. The little girl hesitated, and her mamma requested Maria to give her the necessary information. "Cambric is made in several parts of France and Flanders," said Miss Durnford. "That from Cambray is, however, esteemed the best. We imitate it in Scotland, but have not brought it to the perfection of the foreign Cambric."

[Pg 28]

"Very well! Maria," said her father, "I am pleased to find that you remember so well what you are told, and now Emily, can you inform me what that fine cloth is made of, which your mother has just bought for your brother's shirts?" "It is made of flax, papa, which in Latin is linum, from whence the word linen and linon is derived."

[Pg 29]

"You are a good girl," said Mr. Durnford, "and I mean to reward each of you according to the knowledge which you display during our visit to the Bazaar. Flax grows in many parts of England, and still more in Scotland and Ireland. When fit to gather, it is taken by the flax dressers, who pass it through water, strip the slender stalks of the rind; and then it becomes fit to split, and again undergoes a process to prepare it for the wheel. It is then spun into thread, more or less fine according to the purpose it is intended for. The very finest is as minute as the smallest hair, and is used by the lace makers. That is, of course, a very fine sort of which the Cambric is made. It is a singular thing that the Romans, who in consequence of their extensive conquests, became the most luxurious people on earth, never discovered the art of making linen from flax, or hemp, which is a coarser plant of the same kind. Their cloathing, though extremely magnificent, being embroidered [Pg 30] with purple, and often with gold, was woven only of wool, and Voltaire, a celebrated

French writer, makes Tullia, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of Cicero, the greatest orator the world ever saw, admire the superior elegance of the toilet of an English lady. They had neither stockings nor linen, for which we should think the finery of their sandals attached with gold cords, or their embroidered vests fastened with diamond lockets, made but a poor compensation."

"Oh! what a beautiful shawl, papa," cried Caroline, "I wish my sisters had each one."

"That is very expensive, my sweet girl," said her father, "it is made of the fine wool of the Angora goat, a native of [Pg 33] the warm regions of the earth, and is manufactured in India. We vainly attempt to imitate them here, but cannot succeed. But come, let us turn to the

TOY SHOP,

Toy Shop

as I perceive that your mamma has concluded her purchases."

They now advanced towards the counter, before which some children were standing. A fine little boy, the picture of health and happiness, was delighting himself with a cart, while his elder brother, with a less satisfied look, was listening to the advice of his sister. "I want that drum, and I will have it, Sophy, you know I may buy what I like."

[Pg 34]

"Yes, my dear Charles," replied his sister, mildly, "but pray do not buy the drum, as it will increase poor mamma's bad headache."

"Don't have it, Charles," cried a pretty rosy cheeked little girl, "don't have it, if Sophy says not. You know I mean to lay out my money just as she pleases."

"So you may," said Charles, grumblingly, "but I shall lay out mine as I please, and the drum I will have."

The drum was accordingly handed over to the young gentleman, and when his sisters had bought their toys, they gave them to a female attendant, and moved onward.

"What a disagreeable rude boy that was," remarked Caroline, "how unlike his sisters."

[Pg 35]

"Quite so, my dear," said Mrs. Durnford, "I am afraid he is badly managed at home, and that, joined to a bad disposition, will make him a very unamiable character as he grows up. He should have listened to the gentle advice of his eldest sister, who from her dutiful attention to the health and tranquillity of her mother, gave evident proofs of a kind and feeling heart."

Theodore and his sisters now selected a variety of toys as well for themselves as for their little brother, William. A composition doll was bought for the baby, and a very pretty white dog with a gilt collar round its neck. The young ladies had each a curious puzzle, and Caroline took a fancy to an ass with its panniers loaded [Pg 36] with vegetables. This toy her papa gave her, as well as a nice painted box full of sheep, trees, shepherd's hut, and a shepherd and his dog, telling her at the same time, that most of those kind of toys came from Holland, and that they were sold here much cheaper than we could make them.

They next stopped at the

PASTRY COOK'S,

Pastry Cook

where a young lady was eating a jelly, and laughing archly at a little boy who greedily endeavoured to force a whole cake into his mouth at once.

[Pg 39]

"Why, you silly little fellow," said she, "what are you stretching your mouth so wide for? Why don't you eat it properly. You might choke yourself if you did get it all in at once. Bite a piece off, and don't do as you did the other evening at tea, fill your mouth so full that you would have been suffocated, had not Sally relieved you by turning out the toast as fast as you had put it in."

"Dear mamma," said Caroline in a low voice, "what a sad thing is greediness. I dare say that little boy would not give his sister a morsel for all the world, and I should not enjoy the finest thing that ever was made, unless my brothers and sisters shared it with me."

"That I will answer for, Caroline," replied her mother. "And now my dear children take whatever you please, as it is necessary that you should have some refreshment after your walk."

[Pg 40]

The attention of the young people was now drawn towards a counter of

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS,

Musical Instruments

at which a young lady was trying the tones of a Guitar, while her brother ran his lips over a Syrinx. Theodore told his father that he should like to have one. "Your wish shall be gratified," replied Mr. Durnford, "provided that you can tell me the origin of its being so called."

"I think," said Theodore, "that the god Pan fell in love with a nymph called Syrinx, in the train of Diana, who, when pursued by Pan fled for refuge to the river Ladon, her father, who changed her into a reed. Pan observing that the reeds, when agitated by the wind, produced [Pg 45] a pleasing sound, connected some of them together, and formed them into a rural pipe, and named it Syrinx."

"Have the goodness to hand me over that Syrinx," said Mr. Durnford, "this young gentleman has won it, by being able to account for the cause of its bearing that name." He now presented it to his delighted son, who received it with a double pleasure, as it was accompanied by the praise of his beloved father, and the smiles of his equally beloved mother. A couple of Tambourines were ordered to be sent home for Maria and Emily, and a triangle for Caroline, and they next proceeded to the

MUSIC SELLER,

Music Seller

to examine the contents of his collection.

[Pg 46]

This did not occupy much of their time, as the two eldest young ladies, who were tolerably advanced in music, had a large assortment at home, part of which had belonged to their mother when a girl. Mrs. Durnford, however, purchased some pretty airs for the piano, and a few of Moore's sacred songs, which she knew were extremely beautiful; and which she wished Maria and Emily to learn, that they might sing them to their grandpapa, when he next paid them a visit. She was just quitting the counter, when Caroline burst into a loud laugh, pointing to the opposite counter, which was occupied by a

HATTER,

Hatter

[Pg 49]

Mrs. Durnford instantly saw the cause of her risibility, and though a smile, which she could not repress, dimpled her face, yet she cautioned her little girl not to give way again to her demonstrations of merriment in so public a manner, especially as by so doing, she might inadvertently wound the feelings of an individual.

The objects which had excited the laughter of Caroline, were a short thick made vulgar looking woman, and a tall thin boy who stood as stiff as a poker, with his hands fixed to his sides, while his mother tried to force a hat on his head, evidently too tight for him.

"It is too little for me, mother," cried the boy, pouting out his lips which were none of the thinnest, "and it won't do: besides, I want one of them there new fashioned caps, which all gentlemen's sons wear now."

[Pg 50]

"And what have you to do with gentlemen's sons," said his mother, trying to get the hat a little further on his head, "You know, Tommy, that your father is only a tailor. He only serves gentlemen, he is no gentleman himself. The hat is a nice hat, and a good one for the money, so you shall have it, Tommy. No new fangled frippery for my money."

"But it won't come on my head, mother," exclaimed the boy, half crying for vexation, because he was not to have a cap like a gentleman's son.