To conceal the then secret of Ship-building, the Tyrians resorted to the following means of commercial intercourse with all new, and even with some of the surrounding nations,--ancient Iberia and Etruria,--viz., A Tyrian Galley would approach for instance, Britain or Hibernia,--_only by night_,--the goods were landed, and left unattended upon the rocks or beach. The Galley would then be rowed to such a distance, that the natives in the morning could make no discovery of the manner in which it was built. The Galley, however, from her high mast, served as a beacon to them, and thence conveyed intelligence that a cargo had been landed. The natives would then investigate the goods,--and in return, place by their side, metals and other commodities supposed by them to be of equal value: _they then_ (from a previous treaty) _would retire out of sight_,--whereupon a _small boat_ would leave the Galley and approach the shore; the supercargo would compare the value of the metals or goods offered in return, and if found to be of an equal barter, the Galley would then be rowed to the coast, _but at night only_, the exchange-goods would be placed on board, and having left before the dawn, the secret was secure. If the natives placed in exchange _less_ than the value, the Tyrian _boat_ would retire; the Aborigines would again approach and increase the payment: if they should place _more_ than the value of the cargo, the honour of the Tyrian merchant (truly 'Singer of the Sea') was such, that he would not take the overplus, but leave something of value, set apart, as a compliment to the generous Islanders. This, without doubt, was the origin of commercial barter, and founded upon the refinement of honour and honesty. It may be remarked that a similar custom prevails even at the present day at Constantinople,--for when a shopkeeper retires for his meals, or even for a walk, he never closes his door or his windows,--every article has its price marked, or affixed to it:--the passer-by wishing to purchase, takes the article and puts in its place the amount in money;--fraud is not known, for the merchant leaves it to honour, and that never betrays honesty. The Bard of Avon must have thought of this scene, and of the impossibility of its universal application, when in reply to the announcement "that the _world_ was grown _honest_" he states that the day of doom must be at hand! What a Millennium will be achieved by the human race, when every Metropolis shall practise customs in analogy with that in the City of the Sultan, or those of the merchant-princes of ancient Tyrus. The determination of the Tyrians to keep the secret of their discoveries was as desperate, as their method of concealing the secret of shipbuilding was ingenious. To illustrate this point of National Character, an historical anecdote will be given, as being required by this work,--although the incident occurred some ages later.