Some dashing European milliners

The brilliancy of the fine ladies and gentlemen who walked up and down to be looked at, was beyond all conception; but the most curious feature of all this was, that in their overpowering costumes, there was no particular fashion prevalent. Everything had evidently been made from a book, or imported from some dashing European milliners, but at all sorts of periods; so that there were long and short petticoats, and wide and narrow bonnets, and polkas and mantillas, and summer fly-away scarfs over winter dresses, all jumbled up together to create a sensation and outshine the neighbours. There were few fezzes to be seen now. The wearers had exchanged them for glossy silk hats; and they all wore gloves of dazzling hues city tours istanbul.

But the children were the most marvellous of all; and one family looked as if they were preparing for an exhibition of ground and lofty tumbling, so brilliantly outre were their costumes. Two of the little boys were attired in crimson satin trousers, spangled, and the third had a perfect Highland dress, which was the great hit of all. With a bit of carpet for the latter to dance, and the others to posture upon, the business would have been complete. The men were all gents—as thorough-bred as might have been selected from the combined forces of Rosherville, Epsom, and the public ball-rooms of London. Some, for display, paid for the blue candles to be fired by day-light: others marched up and down, several abreast; and all evidently had the notion that, got up so remarkably well, they were “ doing it! ” Amidst the throng, cajidjees (waiters) darted about with little morsels of incandescent wood to light the narghiles with: boys sold walnuts, ready peeled and kept in glass jars of water: and sweetmeat men plied their trade. Those ladies who had servants made them walk behind them; and those who had not, sneered at the others. All this went on for two or three hours. There was not one trace of oriental life in the entire scene. The gravity of the Levantine had entirely disappeared; and a restless fevered wish to cut out the others was the leading attribute of every character there assembled.

We sat here until dusk, when it got cold, and the gay crowd disappeared. Most of the men were on board the return steamer the next morning, but their appearance was not so grand as on the preceding evening. They looked very dirty, and they made their breakfast from a cigarette. But I dare say they were all at Prinkipo again the next week, as brilliant as ever: and so on, until the cold weather drove them in like fine caterpillars to hybernate, until the first warmth of the present spring shall bring them out again, more wonderful than ever.

The Narghile.

BAZAARS GENERALLY A CAMEL RIDE A BOAT BUILDER

Whenever I had a leisure day at Constantinople, I always spent it in and about the bazaars; finding no amusement anywhere else equal to this.

These bazaars possess one great advantage over our establishments so named in England. You can stop and look at the wares, without the stall keeper darting upon you immediately, and asking you what you want, which is bad policy, for it always drives people immediately away; whereas, if left to themselves, they might possibly select something.