have the chance. By her side sat the darling of her soul, H. H. the Grand Pacha Ibrahim, his person unadorned by any jewel, except the blue turquoise bead in the tassel of his fez. Several of the young Princesses, the daughters of their Highnesses first and second wives, sat close to her. The eldest of these was about sixteen years of age. Her name was Niemour; she was tall and slender in figure, of dark complexion, brown eyes, short nose, and was attired in white linen; her feet were encased in lightcoloured French boots, her hair was bundled up, uncombed, into a dark net, and round her head she wore a circlet of blue velvet, with a plume of red feathers hanging over the left side of her face. She wore no ornaments. Around this group of the Viceregal family stood about fifty slaves, in the form of a semicircle. There Arabs, Abyssinians, Ethiopians, and Nubians, were all mingled indiscriminately together, dressed in different coloured muslins, all wearing handkerchiefs on their heads, and attired in satin, stuff, and silk paletots of almost every colour in the rainbow; in short they formed a complete kaleidoscope. Their hands PRINCESS EPOUSE. 95 and ears were most profusely ornamented. On the former they wore numerous rings of diamonds, and other valuable stones; in the latter, large brilliant earrings, which were tied from ear to ear at the back of the head, with a piece of twisted coloured cord, so as to prevent them from losing them-as they are placed in the ear without rings, and hang down upon a piece of twisted gold wire, in shape like a watch-hook. All had valuable gold watches, which were suspended from their necks by thick massive gold chains stuck in their waistbands. They presented a singular contrast to H. H. my Princess, who perhaps when making her toilet, as to me that memorable day, thought that "If mean or costly dresses through this globe As I approached, H. H. the Princess Epouse rose from the divan, motioned to me to occupy her seat, and thus was I officially installed as governess to H. H. the Grand Pacha Ibrahim, the infant son of H. H. Ismael Pacha, Viceroy of Egypt. CHAPTER VII. As soon as H. H. the Princess Epouse had quitted the oda, "apartment," I was surrounded by the entire motley group of slaves, both black and white. Most of them assumed singular gestures; some knelt and kissed my hands, others my knees, and many of them squatted themselves down at my feet. The ladies of the Harem patted me on the back, a sign of their pleasure at seeing me; and almost all kissed my cheeks. All of a sudden I was electrified at hearing upwards of fifty voices exclaiming simultaneously, "Koneiis! Qui-yis! Koneiis!" "Pretty! Pretty!" While a whole chorus shouted forth, "Gurzel! Gurzel!" "Beautiful! Beautiful!" Some of them took up the black straw-hat which I had taken off and laid down upon the divan at my side. This, they passed from hand to hand, gazing with pleasure and delight at that specimen of English manufacture. After this they examined the whole of my costume from head to foot. What seemed to attract their notice the most was the crinoline I wore, which was by no means a largesized one; and yet many Turkish and Egyptian ladies of the present day may be seen in the streets of Alexandria and Constantinople walking about in that appendage. At the earnest request of some of the ladies of the Harem, I rose from my seat, and walked up and down that noble hall, in order that they might see how European ladies generally paced up and down their rooms. Anina, thinking that I must require some refreshment after my journey from Cairo, clapped her hands, which is the Turkish and Egyptian manner of calling domestics, when two white slaves left the room, but soon returned, accompanied by two other black slaves, who carried in their hands a silver tray, on which was placed a kebab, a small piece of mutton on a silver skewer, which had been broiled upon charcoal almost to a cinder. highly spiced and sugared. It was A flat cake of white Arab bread, as salt as brine, was placed by it. There were no cruets, nor sauce, nor gravy of any kind, but a knife and plated fork. This they placed upon a soofra, at the side of the divan. While I was endeavouring to partake of this specimen of viceregal hospitality for I had been so surfeited with food cooked à l'Arabe at the banker's, that my heart turned against it-they kept gazing at me in as much astonishment as a child looks at the wild beasts at their feeding time in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park, and watched the manner in which I used my knife and fork and ate my unpalateable refreshment, as if I had been a wild animal out of the depths of an Indian forest. After I had partaken of a few mouthfuls, I made a sign that I had finished, for at that time I was unacquainted either with the Arabic or Turkish languages, both of which, however, I picked up in a very short space of time. Then a findjan, a small cup, of the finest |