some of the number would swoop, would rise
again with a prize, and then would commence
a chase of doublings, soarings, twistings, wheelings,
and sharp cries: while, at times, one who
had been so fortunate as to carry off his prey
unobserved, might be seen tearing and devouring
it with claws and beak while still on the
wing.

So much for the exoteric turn of matters.
But soon an unexpected opportunity was given
me of judging of the esoteric; an invitation, of
which the following is a literal translation,
being procured by one of my friends, through a
Turkish acquaintance intimate with the family
of the bridegroom:

  TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS MR. C—- .

The Lord having afforded Mohammed Bey, son
of the late Selim Pasha Tuturigi, happiness and joy,
he desires that thou shouldst be pleased to see it,
and therefore begs thee to honour the
above-mentioned Bey's house, near the Esbekiah, by your
company this evening, Wednesday, 7 Sciaban, 1278,
at half-past one by Turkish reckoning, together with
the lady Madame R., and the other lady.
     May the Almighty prolong thy life.
                                 The seal (or stamp) of
                                                 O
                                            IBRAHIM, Wekil.*
* Wekil, pronounced Wekeel, is literally Lieutenant,
and means a representative or agent.

It will be observed that in this invitation no
particular allusion is made to the occasion on
which "happiness and joy" are "afforded by
the Lord" to Mohammed Bey, it being entirely
contrary to Turkish etiquette for men ever to
make any mention to each other of their harems,
or the inhabitants thereof. Turks do not sign
their names in writing, but stamp them with a
signet, which they always carry about for the
purpose.

This invitation was for the last day of the
festival. It had been announced to us some
time previously that we were to receive it, and
about five o'clock it was brought by a messenger,
with a request that we would accompany
him to the house. We entered a court-yard,
crossed it, and found ourselves in a sort of
outer hall, where a number of persons and some
of the musicians were assembled. Here we had
to separate from the gentleman who
accompanied us, he being led to join the male guests,
while a Nubian eunuch, lifting the heavy
curtain that fell over an arch, conducted my lady
friend and myself to the staircase leading to the
harem. Mounting this, we were met by a
Circassian slave, light skinned and fair-haired, with
a very beautiful figure though a somewhat plain
face, and by her we were ushered into a large
room, where several inmates of the harem were
scattered in picturesque confusion.

Anything more strangely incongruous than
the aspect of the place and of its inhabitants it
is impossible to conceive. The walls of the room
were covered with an ugly common European
paper, and the floor with a gaudy and equally
ugly Brussels carpet. Round the walls, were
ranged a drawing-room set of two sofas and
some chairs, covered with dark green silk.
In the middle of the room stood a little round
table, with a covering of the cheapest and most
ordinary brown and white cotton print, trimmed
with a coarse edging, such as may be bought
in England for about a penny the dozen yards.

At one end of the room three large windows,
but sheltered outside with the carved lattice-work,
looked into the garden, and all along this
end was a divan of crimson and gold-coloured
satin, while some large cushions of the same were
placed on the floor. On these sofas and chairs
some of the ladies were sitting; others were
gathered up, with their legs under them—not
cross-legged—the Turks, both men and women,
generally keep their legs up on their seat, but
rather tucked up than crossed—and others
squatted on the cushions and on the carpets,
amid pipes and coffee-cups.

Of these ladies, truth compels me to state that
few were young, still fewer at all good-looking.
They were of all shades of complexion and casts
of feature, one or two being nearly black and
with negro faces, while others were fair and had
no Oriental type at all in their countenances.
Not one, however, had the slightest freshness
or brightness of colouring, and the weary
listlessness of expression visible—in the slaves
especially—was too marked to escape notice.
Many of the older women were immensely fat,
and so unwieldy, that when they sat down, they
had to be hauled up by some of their more active
companions.

I observed that the same incongruity which
marked the style of the furniture displayed
itself in the women's dresses. A few were
handsomely attired; others were a curious mixture
of splendour and shabbiness; others were mere
bundles of old clothes.

The costume consisted, first of a nondescript
garment—half skirt, half trousers—wrapped
loosely about the figure from the waist to the
feet. This is a necessary part of every dress.
Over this, some wore a tunic of another colour
and material. Sometimes, the dress had a body
to correspond, crossing over the bosom, with
large loose sleeves and very short waist. But
in general a jacket, long or short, in some
cases quite loose, in others fitting the figure
pretty closely, was worn over an under-vest.
The head-dress consisted generally of a little
Cashmere handkerchief, black or of some bright
colour, and edged with gold or silver tinsel or
spangles, pinned about the head; in some
instances it was decorated with stars and other
ornaments in diamonds; but some of the ladies,
the old ones especially, had their heads tied
up in anything that came to hand. I did not
see a single turban in the harem. Long hair
seems much prized among these fair ones, and I
was amused at the naive attempts made by some
of those, who evidently studied appearance, to
produce a semblance of it. I (being
shortsighted) was struck with admiration at the two
long thick plaited tails that fell low down the
back of a lady handsomely dressed in rich lilac
silk, trimmed with silver. But when the lady