"We went through the bazaars, but did not find them very interesting. The shops are small, and the best goods are hidden from sight; at all events we were not able to see anything of great value, and we had neither time nor inclination to compel the merchants to display their wares when we had very little thought of buying anything. We did not find the streets particularly clean in the native quarter, and a short stay among them was quite sufficient. There was some very pretty brass-ware in a few of the shops, and they showed us a lot of handsome filigree work in silver, which was said to have been made at Trichinopoly. The latter place is famous for its silver work, and the result is that a good deal of what is made in other places is sold for the genuine article. [Illustration: NATIVE MERCHANT OF MADRAS.] "There are many natives of Madras engaged in business with Englishmen, and they have a considerable amount of the import and export trade in their hands; and nearly every European house has one or more natives attached to it, somewhat after the manner of the compradores in China and Japan, as they save the manager a great deal of trouble in dealing with the inhabitants of the country. These native merchants are said to be very shrewd in their operations, and anybody who supposes they are verdant would find out his mistake as soon as he began to bargain with them. "The natives of Madras are said to be of darker complexions and smaller figures than the inhabitants of the country farther north; some of them are almost as dark as negroes, but their features do not resemble those of the African in any way. They are very picturesque in their gay-colored robes and large turbans, and as you see them with their vast head-coverings you wonder how they can endure so much weight on their heads in this hot country. The turban, as it is worn here, contains many yards of muslin, and it is not an easy matter to wrap it so that it will stay in place. It is doubtful if a European could endure a turban which prevents the circulation of air around the brain; undoubtedly the best head-covering for the foreigner is the _sola-topee_, or sun-hat, which every European wears, and could not be persuaded to get along without; but you never see one of them on the head of a native unless he has adopted the entire European dress. "We have seen a good many Eurasians, or people descended from European parents on one side and Asiatic on the other. Their position is an unhappy one, as they will not associate with the natives, and, on the other hand, they are not allowed to associate with the Europeans. Despising the one, and despised by the other, they have no recognized social standing, and no one speaks well of them.