the room, and held down in a sitting position, with her legs under her. A black slave or mute then endeavored to throw a piece of catgut, fastened to a stick over her head, but the girl (for she was not twenty, said mine host) laid fast hold of her long hair, to prevent the passage of the fatal noose, and with such desperate firmness that they were obliged to cut the hair away from her grasp with a knife. Having at last adjusted the catgut, the slave gave the stick three or four turns; there was a great noise in her throat, her eye-balls darted from their sockets, and she fell dead on the floor.* "Oh!" said the Armenian, "she was bella bellissima!" The body, he went on to say, was put into a sack, aud carried privately through some gardens to a boat on the sea of Marmora. He was ordered to go along with it, and with the greatest horror he observed, on reaching the boat, the young Greek, for whose deliverance he had come to negotiate, quietly seated with his hands tied behind his back. Without a word being spoken, the whole extraordinary party were rowed beyond the walls to a small rising ground, upon which were a few trees. They disembarked, the sack was placed on the ground, the mouth of it was untied, and the Greek, after being indulged with a view of his mistress, was hung up by the neck to the opposite tree, and the whole was concluded, by both bodies being pitched into the sea of Marmora, and the frighted Armenian ordered to go back to them that sent him, and take care of himself.

June 12th.-We went with our dragoman to the palace of the Sublime Porte, in which the whole business of government is carried on. We remarked the Bab Humayoon, or Sublime Gate, on each side of which is a niche, where the heads of state criminals are put; and entering by another gateway into a large court, we passed the Grand Vizier's palace, and turning up some steps through a doorway, entered a handsome hall, in which the Cadi Asker and Mudarres, the chief magistrate and principal law officers, were assembled administering justice. Here we found a great bustle, and a crowd of Armenians waiting to see their new patriarch. The old patriarch had died a short time previous, and the Grand Vizier, in the council chamber, was then about to instal another. We saw him ushered in; a man dressed as a common Armenian priest, in his square

*This is a verbatim account of the story, as the man told it in Italian.

hat and black veil, accompanied by several other priests and attendants.

The crowd which pressed round the folding doors as he passed through were battered over their heads by a fierce character with a long white wand. The simple priest shortly returned metamorphosed into a patriarch, and paced the hall with stately mien, enveloped in splendid robes, with a glittering golden ornament on his chest. He mounted on horseback, and with a long procession traversed the narrow streets, amid crowds of Armenians collected from all quar

ters.

The most interesting room in this palace is a handsome apartment in which the Divan holds its sittings, and where is to be seen the little lattice, or grated window, constructed by Soliman the First, for the purpose of seeing and listening unseen to the proceedings of that body. From thence the Sultans have been known to interfere by their authority in the deliberations of the assembly. One instance is mentioned of a Tunis pirate having offered to destroy the Venetian fleet, and the members of the Divan hesitating, the Sultan, Mustapha the Second, opened the lattice and commanded the offer to be accepted. In this room the foreign ambassadors formerly had their audience of the Sultan, who from his lattice could see, but not be seen.

The Seraglio, of which this forms a portion, has nine gates, two of which are handsome.

We rowed in a boat past the Kiosks of the Sultan in the Seraglio gardens, close to the edge of the water, called the Pearl and Marble Pavilions. A little below, there is a landing place and a gateway leading into the Seraglio, over which are suspended some large bones in chains, said by the Turks to be those of a giant. Near to this is the Sultan's favorite Kiosk, where he sometimes gives audiences in state to his ministers, and in front of it games and fireworks are occasionally exhibited.

Sunday, 14th.-Took a boat to row to the valley of the Sweet Waters, a favorite resort of Franks, Greeks, and Turks on this day. As we rowed up the "Golden Horn," the crowds of elegant boats, the vast variety of costume, and the brilliancy of colors were far superior to any thing we had yet seen. The large caps, turbans, or long white veils, scarlet and dark green cloaks of the women, the red caps and blue tassels, embroidered jackets, and flowing robes of the men, all in swift motion, now commingled and now

separated; the shouts and cries of the boatmen, the brilliancy of the weather, and the crowds of shipping, presented a novel, most stirring, and lively scene. We pro

ceeded to the top of the harbor, and disembarked on some meadows on the banks of the Lycus. After walking a little distance along the valley, we came to the palace and pleasure grounds of the Sultan, planted with avenues of trees, through which runs a canal.

Here the scene was very animated-some were eating under the trees, some amusing themselves with dancers and guitar players, while the walks were promenaded by strings of females, Turks, Greeks, and Franks, presenting the greatest variety of costume. This is a very favorite resort of the Franks and Greeks, who have pic-nic parties and various entertainments in fine weather.

CHAPTER X.

CONSTANTINOPLE.-SULTAN AND HAREM.-LADIES OF THE HAREM.-SCUTARI.-HOWLING DERVISHES.-NEW PALACE. -LIBRARIES.-SULTAN'S POWER.

"numberless

Barks, manned with revellers in their best garbs,

Shot along the glancing tide: there were

The long array, the clashing music,
And the thundering of far artillery.

WERNER.

JUNE 15th. We were fortunate enough to be on the Bosphorus at the very moment when the Sultan was passing unexpectedly with his court and seraglio from the winter to the summer palace above Scutari. A salute from the batteries, and the manning the yards of all the men-ofwar, announced his approach. First came in a line seven beautiful boats, of ten oars each, containing the favorite ladies with their female slaves. They had white veils thrown over their heads, and parasols held above them. Our boatmen, who had rowed as near as possible to the procession, were frightened and wanted to move farther off; at this instant a small boat dashed down towards us, and a Turk, in a voice of thunder, ordered us to retire. The principal wife was coming along in the last boat; a white veil fell over

her head and shoulders, and a red parasol, held by four female slaves facing her, defended her from the sun-two boats, filled with female slaves and attendants, closed the feminine part of the procession. About a minute afterwards, two light boats, cleaving swifty through the water, ordered the different caiques to clear away, and now appeared another boat, in which sat the Selictar Aga, or royal sword-bearer, followed by an elegant barge burnished with gold, and pulled by twenty-six rowers, under a canopy at the stern of which sat the Sultan, surrounded by some officers of his court, and the helm was held by the Bostangee Bashee.

The style of pulling of the rowers was curious; they all got up simultaneously on a bar running behind each seat, and then fell back on their seats, dragging the oar through the water with the whole weight of their bodies. It has an awkward appearance, but seems to propel the boat with great velocity. Most of the large boats we saw appeared to be rowed in this manner. We had no opportunity of judging of the features of the ladies during this procession, as we were too far distant from them; but their veils would not have afforded much obstruction to the sight; they were very different from those worn by the Turkish women, appearing like the thin muslin veils of Europe; they were thrown over both head and shoulders.

It is said that the Sultan has 200 concubines; the favorite is reported to be an exceedingly beautiful Greek girl, bought when a child, and educated in the harem. The ladies of the harem wait upon one another in rotation; they sleep in separate apartments, and women slaves are appointed to watch their conduct.

The Sultanas are the sisters and daughters of the Sultan, neither his wives nor concubines are ever allowed to assume that title, it being appropriated exclusively to the imperial blood.

We rowed across the water to Scutari, about four miles from Constantinople, for the purpose of seeing the famous howling dervishes. We passed through a court into the college, and, after waiting some time for the hour of the performance, were ushered into a hall, where were a considerable crowd of persons, and some odd dirty figures seated on the floor, continually shouting, "Yallah illah!yallah illah!" jumping and foaming at the mouth. A person who appeared the superior of the party, every now and then recited prayers, after which, the most horrible howl

ings and grimaces recommenced, so as to frighten some women who were behind a lattice-work into hysterics. Then all sorts of conjuring tricks were performed, running of needles through their cheeks, throat, and different parts of their bodies, drawing them out again, the licking of pieces of red-hot iron, and putting them between their teeth, the swallowing of burning charcoal, &c., and the drawing of swords across their stomachs, which appear to bury themselves in the flesh-all this accompanied with terrific shouts, yells, and grimaces-it was a perfect bedlam.

There is at Scutari an immense cemetery, the favorite burying ground of the Turks, who cause their bodies to be transported from Constantinople hither. It is said, from a prophecy or impression among them, that the Christians will drive them out of Europe, but probably from a feeling that Europe is a Christian country, and Asia purely Mahometan. From a hill above these waving forests of gloomy cypresses, is a magnificent view of Constantinople. The harbor, Pera, and Galata, rising beyond the waters of the Bosphorus. The great and increasing size of these cemeteries is owing to the natural and very proper repugnance of the Turks to disturb the soil where a person has been once buried. They always seek for a new and virgin spot, and would be horrified at the sight of the bones and skulls dug up in our churchyards by the grave-diggers to make room for fresh corpses. At Scutari, a dome, supported by eight pillars, is pointed out as the tomb of Sultan Mahmoud's horse!

Scutari is of itself a large town, and in the environs, and along the banks of the Bosphorus, are numerous country houses, delightful in the hot weather.

Close to the edge of the Bosphorus, is the new and magnificent palace of the Sultan, which has a most imposing appearance, from the vast extent of its front, and the great number of its windows. On a near approach, however, it is found to be built of wood, and consequently loses vastly in our estimation. If is, however, very striking; the situation is fine, and bold eminences covered with trees, rise immediately behind it. The banks of the Bosphorus are beautiful, being lined with a continued range of picturesque buildings.

The most prominent and imposing building at Scutari, is the barrack erected by the present Sultan.

The current setting out of the Bosphorus from the Black