of the Old World. 1 1 1 



girls entered the circle, and salaamed gracefully to 

 the company. Half-a-dozen of the youngest and 

 prettiest then stepped forward and placed garlands of 

 double jessamine flowers round our necks, at the 

 same time presenting each of us with a lime and a 

 curiously-fashioned bouquet, tied to a short stick of 

 sandal wood. They then deluged us with rose water, 

 and scented us with otto of roses and oil of sandal, 

 and tripped away to the rest of the performers in the 

 centre of the circle. 



The music, which up to this time had been rather 

 monotonous, now broke forth into that extremely 

 beautiful Persian air, by the immortal Hafiz, " Taza 

 ba Taza, Now ba Now," and each of the fair minstrels, 

 taking up the words of the song one by one, it gradu- 

 ally swelled into a full chorus ; so x in a like manner, 

 one by one they commenced their graceful and volup- 

 tuous measure until all were in movement, and at last 

 their beautiful sylph-like forms seemed to flit before 

 us as in a vision. 



As I reclined upon the sedan, inhaling the fragrant 

 narcotic from my hookah, which at the same time 

 soothes and exhilarates, and drank in the words of 

 the songs, I felt a strange delightfully ravishing sen- 

 sation stealing gently over my senses, such as I never 

 before experienced ; and as I gazed on the graceful, 

 fawn-like carriage of the exquisite figures, cast in the 

 purest mould of elegance, before me, I thought of the 



