The Jewish quarter of Williamsburgh, situated in that portion of the Eastern District of Brooklyn north of Broadway and just below Graham avenue, has some picturesque features that strongly distinguish it from any other portion of the city. Here the various types of that wonderful race which has left such a powerful impress on history may be seen in their plenitude.

Students of Physiognomy, whose olfactories are not super-delicate, would be well repaid by a traverse of this region. It is well known that feminine beauty is to be met with in abundance among the Jews. Some of the girls that preside over these squalid booths of trade are really beautiful. Black-eyed, dark haired, rich complexioned and with that beauty of form that this race fairly revels in, they make one wonder at the destiny that dooms these radiant creatures to such a pitifully sordid fate. Of course, it is not to be understood that these lustrous Hebes are the rule. They are the exception, but still they are by no means rare.

The children that litter the streets are bright eyed, healthy, and, of course, thoroughly dirty. They swarm literally, and live, move and have their being on the pavement. Some of these soiled cherubs of the Ghetto are remarkable for their physical beauty. They look as if they might have flown out of one of Raphael's or Murillo's pictures. One shudders to think of the fate that awaits these glowing children with the rich blood of generations of the desert in their veins.

It is impossible to walk through this characteristic colony without being strongly impressed with the types of old men. There are patriarchs, white bearded and venerable, with the profile of an Ahasuerus that looked as if they stepped out of the mystic antique scriptures. some of them look positively august and have prominent places in the synagogue and enjoy the respect of the people. Some of the patriarchs are deeply learned in the lore of Israel: they know the Talmud and the sacred books and are the living repositories of the faith and traditions of their people. On the feast days of Israel, which are kept in all their pomp in the Jewish quarter, they fill an exalted role.

Trade in the multiform varieties of Hebrew ingenuity fairly infects all the region. Walk along Seigel or Moore streets, and you will have an invaluable object less on of the genius of this people for barter and sale. Probably there are few outsiders who would care to adventure for such merchandise, for the surroundings are not attractive to those to whom neatness and cleanliness are indispensable. But for those who like to study human nature, a trip through the Jewish quarter is well worth while. The wares are spread out in rich confusion in the store windows and on the stands that usurp most of the sidewalk. All sorts of food and the various commodities of the household, at prices which are the despair of all the gentile merchants in the neighboring regions, are to be found the whole length of a street.

 One is puzzled to find out where the buyers come from in a society where all seem to be merchants. There is a perfect riot of competition. The socialism that is supposed to have such a strong foothold among this part of the community is certainly not seen to advantage in the trade. Here individualism, stern and uncompromising, rules the coast. The hungry sordidity of acquisition is seen in its full flower. It is not merely the vivid interest in the things of business and barter that inspires these merchants. It is a kind of rage of ambition to excel in their jousts of cunning that makes them contend heroically over the issue of a cent. One understands how the Jew has dominated the markets of the world. There are Rothschilds in miniature that one sees haggling in those sordid streets. As to the merchandise it seems to be limitless, both in quantity and variety. Monday morning is the time when the Ghetto is to be seen at its best. The first day of the week's business is inaugurated with an eagerness that has in it all the elements of joy. If anyone doubts that business is a positive pleasure tot he Jew not an onercus duty as it generally is to the gentile, let him go through the Jewish quarter on some bright Monday morning.

About midway of the thoroughfare is a public market whose unrivaled variety and confusion of wares make everything else in the neighborhood seem orderly by comparison. This market has no parallel in the two cities. The elite of the buyers of the Ghetto make their purchases here. A multitude of women armed with baskets seems to shop continually in this place. On the faces of the purchasers there is evident that delight only seen in the countenance of the typical shopper in the department stores. One hears a perfect Babel of voices in Hebrew, German, Russian, occasionally broken English. It was Friday when the reporter made his way into this savory mart, and society was assembled for the purpose of securing provender for the Sabbath. A card bearing the satirical legend, "One price only," was hung high and dry over the heads of the purchasers. The hawkish gentleman who presided over the savory mysteries seemed to pay as little attention to this announcement as the marketers, for there seemed to be an endless series of cheapening duels going forward.

In the heart of the Ghetto stands a synagogue, absolutely unique among the many institutions of the kind that abound in New York. It is a temple in which are celebrated in their purity, the ancient rites of Judaism. No innovation has been allowed to creep in, as is the case in so many more pretentious synagogues. Here the old worship and traditions, handed down for ages, are maintained with a reverence that never fails to edify a stranger who witnesses the august ceremonies.

In Moore street, midway of the distance from Broadway to Graham avenue, rises another synagogue. It has been erected within the last few years, and while not as large of as imposing as some of the wealthier synagogues of New York and Brooklyn, it is still rather costly in construction, and out of all seeming proportion to the neighborhood which has all the earmarks of poverty. This fortress of Jehovah, rising abruptly in the midst of the riot and confusion of commerce, strikes the stranger with some force. It is about the last thing that one would expect. It is the very triumph of the anomalous. The synagogue is built of brick and stone and is quite ornate in appearance. On worship days it is always filled to overcrowding, and the reverence displayed on these occasions is an edifying thing for Christians.

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