n8 BIRD-HUNTING 



beast was alive when we rode up, and had to be 

 killed and cooked. It was certainly cooked to per- 

 fection, and our host had no difficulty in pulling it 

 to pieces with his hands. B on these occa- 

 sions has Marco to help to wait, besides the servants 

 of the house, and travels provided with plates and 

 knives and forks in case these necessary articles, 

 from our point of view, should be omitted. I had 

 some difficulty in getting through my first liberal 

 help, especially as Humdy Bey kept putting fresh 

 pieces on to my plate. Diving into the interior of 

 the lamb he would pull out the kidneys, or some 

 similar morsel, and give it to me in his hand. 

 This is considered a mark of honour ; but I could 

 only look forward with apprehension to the succeed- 

 ing courses, and hope that I should be able to keep 

 going. The last dish was the pilaff, mutton stewed 

 with rice ; but before this appeared nearly a dozen 

 courses, alternately meats and sweets, were served 

 until I was in desperation. Turkish sweets are fear- 

 ful concoctions — very sweet, very sickly, and very 

 tasteless. The wine was of a special kind, of which 

 the Turks think very highly, made of grapes natur- 

 ally perfumed. It tastes as if heavily flavoured with 

 scent, and I thought it particularly offensive. 



The correct fashion is to eat enormously, and 

 to express repletion audibly in a very disgusting 

 fashion. Our host set the example, but we, his 



