Birds by the Wayside 119 



ward. The seances of the WhirHng Dervishes were given 

 in the day time, and those of the Howling Dervishes in the 

 evening : from 8 :45 o'clock until nearly midnight. At one of 

 these we staid until the last spectacular performance had 

 been given. The show began tamely enough, with sixty de- 

 votees sitting closely packed on the floor, swaying back and 

 forth, bending double, yelping or coughing "Allah ! Allah ! " 

 in concert whenever single individuals ceased chanting. An 

 hour and a half of this sufficed to incite them to stunts, some 

 of which were far from imisleading, while others were real 

 and some were deceptive. Of such were the thrusting of 

 swords through their bodies ; the taking of three raw eggs 

 into the mouth and there cooking them with a red-hot iron ; 

 the nailing of a man to a post with an awl-shaped instru- 

 ment driven through his cheek. In order that we might see 

 and believe the man was brought to the post against which 

 two of us were leaning. 



On another day we formed part of a crowd, numbering 

 many hundred people, that for an hour stood or sat wait- 

 ing to see a man go to his noonday prayers. The man was 

 the Sultan of Turkey, and as he rode slowly along the bird 

 glasses served well in making observations. This was the 

 largest " Turkey bird " upon whom they were used, but one 

 that proved less interesting than some of the feathered bi- 

 peds. Some Turtle Doves were noted while we awaited the 

 Sultan's coming. They were seen on following days in Con- 

 stantinople, which was the last place in which I saw them. 

 In the afternoon of that -day the Mosque of Eyoub was vis- 

 ited, after which a walk was taken up the hill that overlooks 

 this mosque and the Golden Horn. The path keeps close to 

 the edge of the nearly vertical face of the bluff, and is lined 

 with rows of cypress trees, under which rest the Moslem dead. 

 Many other hillsides about Constantinople are covered with 

 their gravestones, but lack the ornamentation furnished by 

 trees. The fine view from the brow of the hill included the 

 waters and shores of the Golden Horn; and the picturesque 

 valley through which flows the Sweet Waters of Europe 



