Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/67

 FAIR 59 the departments a few fairs are still in exist- ence and enjoy a good trade. The most im- portant is the fair of Beaucaire, which is held July 22-28, and rivals the great fairs of Ger- many and Russia. The counts of Toulouse granted this fair some privileges in the 13th century, and Charles VIII. decreed its time and duration. In the very heart of the town an extensive square is appropriated for it, and while it lasts thousands of stalls are erected on it, in which is offered for sale everything that forms an article of commerce. It is believed that often as many as 200,000 traders from all parts of the world assemble here. After dark the whole town is given up to gayety, and the numerous show and concert and dancing saloons turn it into a pandemonium. A tribunal of commerce, consisting of 12 members, exer- cises during this season absolute judicial power over all mercantile differences. It is estimated that the trade of the week of the fair amounts to $4,000,000 or $5,000,000. Equally large are the transactions made at the fair of Guibray, a small suburb of the town of Falaise, held from Aug. 10 to 15. It was instituted in the llth century by the dukes of Normandy, and is the principal market for wool and woollen goods, and for valuable horses. The annual fairs in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and other cities in Holland, are scenes of great popular rejoicings. Fdr several days and nights the streets are paraded by joyous crowds, and the usual sobriety of the Dutch yields to boisterous demonstrations. Theatres and shows of all kinds form the staple amusements, and among the refreshments are wafer cakes, a sort of thin cake baked in an iron mould, of which the consumption is enormous. The principal fair of Italy is that of St. Mary Magdalen in Siniga- glia, which is annually held in July and Au- gust, and attended by traders from all parts of central and northern Europe, north Africa, and the Levant. Among the various products of Italian industry which change hands here, silk is the most important. Fairs of less conse- quence are held in other parts of Italy, as well as in Spain and Portugal. The most famous fair of Madrid is annually held on May 15, at the hermitage of San Isidro del Oampo, when the grand pilgrimage and festival of San Isidro draws thither crowds of the population. The great Hungarian fairs are held chiefly at Pesth. Four times a year, in March, May, August, and November, the industrial products of Hungary are brought here for sale. Scarcely less im- portant for the commerce of eastern Europe, and more interesting for the traveller and ob- server of national customs, are the fairs of De- breezin. The fairs of the greatest European importance, however, are those of Germany. They originated there, as in many other coun- tries, through religious festivals. Hence fairs were called Kirchmessen, church fairs, the German word Messe (fair) being derived from mass. The most prominent fairs are those of Leipsic, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Frankfort-on- the-Oder, and Brunswick. The Leipsic fairs date from the 12th century, and are the most frequented. Of the aggregate value of goods sold at German fairs Leipsic has 46 per cent., Frankfort-on-the-Oder 36, Frankfort-on-the- Main 15, and Brunswick 5. Leipsic holds three fairs : the Easter fair, beginning on the second Sunday after Easter, the Michaelmas fair, begin- ning with the week of Michaelmas ; and the New Year's fair, beginning on Dec. 27. The Easter fair is the most important, and the New Year's fair the least. The imports of goods in 1870 for New Year's amounted to 187,930 cwt. ; for Easter to 313,300 cwt. ; for Michaelmas to 296,870 cwt. ; total, 798,100 cwt. The prin- cipal articles of trade carried to the fairs are furs, yarn, silk, cloth, cotton goods, ribbons, hardware, toys, china, glass, and earthenware, drugs, grain, hides, leather, dye stuffs, colors, oils, alcohol, coal, and paper. Easter is the customary season among booksellers for set- tling their accounts, and for the principal trade sale, but the exhibition of books formerly con- nected with this fair has gone into disuse. The most celebrated fairs of Russia are held in Nizhni-Novgorod. The January fair is special- ly for timber and articles in wood, and takes place on the frozen river ; the July fair is de- voted to the sale of horses ; but the Peter Paul fair, beginning Aug. 5 and lasting until the end of September, embraces every known pro- duct of Asia and Europe, and exceeds in mag- nitude all other fairs in the world. The tra- ders present during this season often number 200,000, and comprise representatives of every race and nation. The principal articles of trade are tea, grain, cotton, wool, horse and camel hair, hides, iron, copper, jewels, and furs; but every kind of manufacturing and agricultural produce is brought to this market. The sales amount to nearly $100,000,000. The Russian government erected a bazaar for sto- ring furs, shawls, and tea, and drew from each fair a rent of $200,000. This enormous build- ing was destroyed by fire in 1864. The fair of Kiakhta on the Russian-Chinese frontier, held every December since 1727, and formerly of great magnitude, as it was the only legal tra- ding post between the two countries, has dwin- dled to comparative insignificance since the opening for traffic in 1860 of the whole fron- tier, and the decree of 1861 permitting the importation of tea from the countries W. of Russia, and the -ports on the Baltic sea. The chief fairs of Turkey are those of Yenidje Var- dar and Seres, the former commencing on Dec. 3 and continuing for about three weeks, and the latter on March 21, for three or four weeks; of Okhrida (May 3), Varna (May 23), Filibe (Aug. 27), and Eski Saghra (Nov. 10), each of which lasts a fortnight ; and those of Yatar Bazari (Sept. 15) and Tchaltadeh (Nov. 6), which last 10 days. Conspicuous among the various traders assembled there are the Greeks and Armenians. But the greatest fair in the East is held at Mecca during the