SPORT IN ABYSSINIA. 1 7 



We had a regular Turkish dinner, and not at all a 

 bad one either. We first began by drinking", as is the 

 Turkish fashion, some excellent liqueur w hich is called 

 in these parts "arake." I believe it is made in 

 Smyrna, but it is very good. As some of my readers 

 may know, a Turkish dinner consists of a great number 

 of dishes, which are handed about to the guests in 

 quick succession. I managed to get through most of 

 them, and I think I could have succeeded in doing 

 more, but for the circumstance that the champagne 

 had not been iced ; in fact, ice in those parts is an 

 unknown luxury. It is only in India that Europeans 

 can really live in a hot country. 



After dinner we were taken to a large marquee. 

 The ground outside was surrounded by a circle of 

 torches held in braziers, somewhat like a beacon, 

 burning wood which was replenished by the Egyptian 

 soldiers, a large number of whom had been "told off" 

 for this purpose. 



There were divans in the marquee, on which we 

 reclined. We had waited about a quarter of an hour, 

 when some musicians appeared with tom-toms and 

 rude guitars, on which they began strumming, and 

 making a hideous noise. Then some dancing girls 

 were brought in, and their extraordinary performance 

 surpassed anything I had ever seen either in India or 

 at Covent Garden. 



C 



