MAY-DAY AT THE SWEET WATEES. 71 



rated with buffets covered with ornamental glass and 

 candlesticks. On the floor squatted at least 700 high- 

 capped Persians ; in the centre of the room was a low 

 pulpit, from which a MoUah recited the piteous tale of 

 Hassan's death. When he came to an exciting j)oint in 

 the story, the audience wept and beat their breasts, or 'oh- 

 oh'd ' their indignation against the murderers, like an elec- 

 tion mob hooting an unpopular candidate. Excellent 

 coffee and sherbet was handed round to everyone, in- 

 cluding our own party, who had been given seats in a 

 recess commanding a full view of all the proceedings, and 

 were treated in every way with great civility. 



Our row in a caique to the Sweet Waters was well- 

 timed. May-day, the date when the picnics at the Sweet 

 Waters usually begin, fell on Friday, the Mahommedan 

 day of rest, so that the concourse was greater than usual. 

 Our caique jostled a crowd of boats filled with Turkish 

 ladies, plump little dolls who make themselves fair to 

 look upon by adding artificial brightness to their eyes, and 

 wearmg transparent veils over the lower part of their 

 faces. Theu' balloon-shaped dresses, mostly of the brightest 

 colours, present a charming coup-d'oeil when massed in 

 groups. The Sultan has a villa up at the Sweet Waters, 

 which consist of a stream (about the size of the Cherwell 

 at Oxford) with a drive on one side, and gardens on the 

 other. The place is just pretty enough to make it an ex- 

 cuse for a promenade, whether by road or water. There 

 were many European carriages and Parisian costumes on 

 the drive, the latter far more extravagant than anything 

 the East can produce. 



We were lucky in meeting at Constantinople Mr. GifFord 

 Palgrave, H.B.M.'s Consul at Trebizonde, who was on his 

 way home. When consul at Soukhoum-Kale, Mr. Palgrave 

 made several journeys into the interior, and had been 



