bottom of the stairs stood Madame Reschid. Her husband has travelled a great deal; made some stay in England; and from mixing with Franks, has acquired many of their habits, and is quite a European. His harem is one of the most respectable. There are several slaves, but she is his only wife, and being the mother of his five sons, is much considered and respected. Her eyes are dark and fine, and she must have been handsome, but is now no longer young; and wearing no stays, and being very large, her figure is most extraordinary. Her costume was frightful. It consisted of long, striped, loose trousers, a brown jacket, and the antery trailing like a tail after her. The whole dress was of cotton; and a dark handkerchief on her head, with a feather stuck over one ear, and a flower over the other, completed her attire. A stranger or more uncouth looking being I never beheld.

The stairs were covered with the finest mats, and at the top we found Reschid Pacha, who by some mistake had expected me at the other entrance. He conducted me to a room, covered with English carpets, and lighted up with wax-candles. In the middle was a large, bright, brass brasier, and round the sides ran a high divan of cushions, covered with magnificent cloth of gold, and deep gold fringe. I was seated on a low ottoman in the centre of the room, near the Hanoun, or mistress of the house; and Reschid seated himself opposite Madame Franchini, squatted on some cushions, and the slaves stood at the bottom of the room near the door. Reschid presented his sons to me one by one, inquired after my precious health, and after Lord L.'s; asked how I liked Constantinople, and what I had seen; wished to know how many children I had, &c. He speaks French perfectly, but like all Turks, is slow, grave, and important.

Reschid soon retired, saying that he prevented the other ladies from coming in, and immediately there was a rush, and half a dozen women appeared, and squatted down on the ground. Much civility passed between them and the Hanoun, who requested them to occupy seats, which they declined. Sweetmeats were handed to me, which I tasted, and was very glad to swallow a glass of cold water afterwards. Coffee was then brought in cups, not bigger than a thimble, placed in a little jewelled holder; a slave, the jester or buffoon, then ran in, and deposited herself at my feet. They asked me various questions, among others, how long I had been married? I replied, so long, I could not tell. They then made me some compliments, and inquired if I had travelled much, and how long it had taken me to come from England there. When I said two months, their horror and pity knew no bounds. They asked me what I did to my skin to prevent the sun burning it; they requested to look at my jewels, and all gathered round me; the jester tried them in her turban, which produced peals of laughter. They then felt my dress, and at length Madame Reschid, finding something hard under my gown, made signs of wishing to see it. Accordingly my watch was drawn out, to their infinite amuse

ment.

By this time I counted above twenty women, some squatting, some sitting, others standing, and all chattering, gazing, and asking questions.

I was amazed to observe an absence of all pretensions to good looks; they were plain, dirty, shapeless, and, I might almost add, disgusting. Their dresses were entirely cotton; some had jackets trimmed with fur, and one enormous woman, who evidently considered herself a beauty, wore nothing but transparent muslin to her waist.

Two slaves near the door, sung, or rather howled, while another played on the tambourine. I was then led into the adjoining room, a sort of hall covered with the finest mats, and from thence shown the bath, the cooling-room, the marble fountain, with the two sources for hot and cold water. The excessive heat made me pant, which amused them extremely; they all ran and waddled about, with their long tails training after them, and without shoes or slippers, and having shown me the house, which is quite new and very handsome, they conducted me to a raised step at the top of the hall, and the slaves sung and were beginning to dance, when a sudden whisper and a violent scuffle, announced the return of Reschid Pacha.

The neighbours immediately took flight and disappeared; it being forbidden that a strange man should see their faces. The slaves and Reschid's own household remained at the farther end of the hall; and he took a chair near Madame Reschid, Madame Franchini, and me. The only person who approached us was an old woman, who came up the step and squatted down.

Reschid said, "C'est ma mère, c'est à dire, ce n'est pas ma vraie mère, mais ma mère de lait."

Reschid then commenced conversation, and much mutual compliment passed among us all, according to Turkish fashion.

Unfortunately it was discovered that one of my pearls had dropped, and as it could not be found, after a long search, much discomfort was created; poor Madame Reschid declaring it was the only drawback to the pleasure of her evening. My first attempt to take leave was resisted; I was told I was "trop pressé;" I said I was afraid of intruding, and the answer was that the duty of receiving me became a pleasure, "et que nos âmes se sympathisaient."

At length I was allowed to take my departure, and was conducted by the Hanoun, the slaves following; and Reschid, who was evidently suffering from a severe cold, gave me his arm to the door, where the appearance of a man in the shape of my English footman, who had arrived with my cloak, alarmed the slaves, who after a moment's giggling and scuffling, disappeared.

This visit was certainly curious and very interesting, from being so strange and novel; but I was greatly disappointed not to see any beauty of face or figure; indeed the last struck me as positively frightful, and none looked young. Even the children had an old, set, boiled, unhealthy look; all seemed dirty, and the absence of any magnificence of costume, gave them an insignificant appearance. I saw neither velvet, silk, nor embroidery; all their dresses were made of coarse coloured cotton, and possessed neither shape, form, nor beauty.

On returning home, after about an hour and a half's jolting, I found my pearl, which had caused so much anxiety and search, and I immediately sent off a messenger to tranquillize Madame Reschid, who had shown great interest in its supposed loss.

Next day, we rowed round the Seraglio point, nearly to the Seven Towers, passing the mosques, St. Sophia, Sultan Achmet, the Bajazet, and Suleiman. The approach to Constantinople by the sea of Marmora, is decidedly the most advantageous; I was delighted with the scenery, and the day was like one in summer.

The following day Madame Franchini and I set out, in the Seraskier's carriage, to visit his harem. The streets as usual were crowded, but at last we reached the Place du Seraskier, who has a fine palace, and is commander-in-chief of all the land forces. The harem is in a retired corner, and on the door being opened, only ourselves were admitted. On entering we found several slaves, and a very beautiful odalisque. They took me by the elbows and helped me to ascend the stairs, which, as well as the floors, were covered with the finest matting. Soon after, Madame Moustapha, the chief lady, appeared. The Seraskier has six wives, but this was the Hanoun, having been brought up for him by his mother, a very ugly old woman, who seemed to inspire great awe amongst all the young beauties. The odalisques took our shawls, folded them up carefully, wrapped them up in a piece of cloth of gold, and put them by with our bonnets.

Madame Moustapha was dressed in a brown silk antery, embroidered in colours; large full trousers, a striped shawl round her waist, and on her head, a sort of indescribable edifice was built. The tangled purple silk of the fez, was mixed with plaits, curls, frizzed hair, coloured gauze, and some diamond stars. She sat down by me on a low divan, but on the Seraskier's being announced, she jumped up and remained standing, with her arms crossed over her bosom. He is a fine-looking man, between fifty and sixty. He sat on a chair near me, but unfortunately could not speak a word of French.

After all the usual speeches and civilities according to oriental usage, had passed, he invited me to dine with the ladies à la Turque. To this I willingly assented, and he further proposed that as it was the Ramazan, and therefore against their religion to eat before sunset, I should have his carriage and drive about for the two following hours. Sweetmeats and coffee were then introduced and handed to me, and having tasted them, we took our leave, and drove through the markets to the tomb of Sultan Mahmoud-a beautiful building entirely composed of white marble, and only recently erected. The windows were gilt lattices; it was completed within a year, and is in very good taste. The room is like a large saloon, well fitted up and carpetted; in the middle is the coffin, or catafalque, surrounded by railings of motherof-pearl, and covered with red velvet richly embroidered in gold. Four magnificent cachemires were laid on the coffin, and the fez, or red cap, with the diamond aigrette and heron plume hung over it. Crowds of women were there, their yashmacs tightly folded, and only their eyes visible. Men of various creeds and costumes appeared praying on their carpets, and all were required to leave their slippers at the door.

The second building is a white marble fountain, with brass cups, shining like gold; and the third is a room fitted up à la Française, with sofas and chairs, for the present sultan to repose when he comes to pray at the tomb of his father. He has hung the flag of Acre up in the first Feb.-VOL. LXX. NO. CCLXXVIII.

R

room, with this inscription, "What my father failed in, I have accomplished, and to his memory I dedicate this trophy."

We then drove to the hippodrome, where to my surprise I saw some swings and merry-go-rounds. This fashion was brought from Paris by Achmet Pacha, and is, I should imagine, little adapted to Turkish gravity. A length we returned, and having ascended the stairs with the same ceremony as before, the party assembled, and the preparations for dinner began.

The Seraskier has generally chosen and bought Circassians, and his harem is quite Eastern, and unreformed by European fashions. Four of his wives were very beautiful, and all were good looking; their toilets were all in the same style, only varied in colours. Some had caftans of wadded silk, with large heavy gold leaves. One blue-eyed girl who looked languid and suffering, remained in a corner alone, and could not be persuaded to mix with the others. Whether this was ill temper or illness I could not discover. She was the last purchase, and, therefore, the favourite. She had been lately confined, and nursed her child, but refused to show it. Two others were enceinte, and between the standing and the fasting were pale as death, and almost fainted. Nothing can be harder than the situation of these unfortunate women, never permitted to stir out; for I discovered they had only been allowed to breathe the open air twice in the year.

The Seraskier told me he once took them to the Sweet Waters of Asia, and was amused at my expressive look of horror at such confinement. I could not help pitying their fate, all living together, quarrelling and jangling for the Pacha's favour, "à qui il jeterait le mouchoir."

I did not count the children, but I think there were not less than twelve. One beautiful little girl, with large, bright blue eyes, like her fair mother, whose robe she held fast, was dressed in a pink and green vest, with a jacket lined with sable. With this exception, they had all dark eyes and eyebrows; most of them had bad teeth, and nothing is more disgusting than their bare feet, the nails being, like their fingers, deeply dyed with henna.

A round brass waiter, the size of the table, was placed about a foot from the ground, and on it was laid a tray with a dozen diminutive, or doll's saucers, in which were cheese, sturgeon, and preserves, and some large crystal cups with perfumed drinks. They sipped the latter, and breaking off bits of bread from the pieces of roll placed before each person, dipped them into the various saucers. The Pacha's mother invited me to sit near her, and on the other side were the Hanoun and her boy; next came the second wife, a beautiful Circassian girl, with one of her children; then an old Greek lady, who had come with her daughters to assist at the ceremony; and then Madame Franchini. The rest disappeared to dine elsewhere. I had observed a table similar to ours on the landing-place.

I was offered a chair, but declined, and squatted on the ground with the others.

The slaves put muslin handkerchiefs, embroidered in gold, round our necks, and the first course being disposed of, a blue bowl of milk broth was put in the middle of the table; into this all put their little flat tortoiseshell spoons and ate with great delight, until it was

replaced by another mess. Hash-pilaff, rice, chickens, keebabs (morsels of roasted meat), &c. Not less than twenty dishes followed, one at a time, and were devoured with considerable avidity; all putting their fingers in, and not omitting to lick them after they had performed their office. Then otto-of-rose cream and fleur d'orange water were served, and then came a plate of sausages on which they pounced with excessive glee, each seizing one. They seemed much vexed that I did not eat more, and pressed me unceasingly, saying they pitied the dishes that went away untasted by me, and compared me to the bird that comes and picks, only with this difference, that I did not pick. I excused myself as I best could, on the plea of being unused to so many different things, but in truth I was nearly poisoned by the smell of garlic and onions, in a room without air and heated by a brasier. Dish after dish followed, creams, pastry, jellies, and fruit of all descriptions, but the best mess was cold, thick cream, filled with rice, and perfumed with otto of roses. When I asked for water, they gave it me in a large crystal and gold cup, with drops of fleur d'orange.

At length every one had done, the others joined us, and all being satisfied we rose. The slaves knelt with large silver basins and washballs, and we washed our hands, while they poured hot water over them from silver jugs. The confusion and gaiety then began; all these women talking at once, the children taking their part, aided by three Angora cats, a black, a gray, and a white, that promenaded about wherever they liked.

I was then conducted from the hall we had dined in to the boudoir, where coffee was served; Madame Franchini, the Hanoun, and I, seated on a divan, while all the others squatted round. Singing was now proposed, but there was a good deal of shy refusal, till one lady, a neighbour, who said her husband was secretaire d'ambassade in London, began, and an endless and most discordant howling followed. Nothing can be more barbarous than the ideas of music among these people. This lady had magnificent dark eyes, and professed great adoration for her husband during his absence, and as a proof of her sentiments had stuck the wafer of his last letter upon her forehead.

In each of the boudoirs, on sofas, lay small looking-glasses, with gold backs, and frames ornamented with a large emerald, on which was a diamond star. One of the ladies had a jacket of violet merino, embroidered in silver. They were all better dressed than in Reschid Pacha's harem, but though their costumes were singular, fantastical, and Eastern, there was nothing approaching to magnificence.

I made several unavailing attempts to depart; every device was resorted to, to detain me, and the mother of the Pacha declared I ought to sleep there. The Greek slaves then brought in a tray with sherbet and sugared pomegranate, which they compelled me to taste, and after that I escaped, amidst entreaties and invitations to return. The Seraskier's carriage, with the usual procession of guards and flambeaux, escorted us home, where I arrived at eight o'clock, extremely tired, but much amused and interested by all I had seen.

On the 17th, we sailed for Therapia. The day was lovely, and the eye never wearies of contemplating the beautiful views on each side of the Bosphorus.