After marching for about five hours, we came to a small farm-house. It was on the opposite bank of the river to ourselves; but there was a ford, and as there was no wood on our side of the stream, I determined to cross and halt an hour for lunch. The house belonged to an Armenian. It was filthily dirty. Vermin could be seen crawling in all directions on the rugs. In consequence of this, I resolved to make our fire outside, and lunch in the open air. There were some turkeys in the farm-yard, and the proprietor coming up, I desired Osman to purchase one of the birds. "The Effendi wants a turkey," said Osman to the farmer. This announcement at once created a great commotion among the female portion of the Armenian household—the turkeys being looked upon by the women in the establishment as their own particular property. "What for?" said an elderly dame, whose face was bound up in what appeared to be a dish-cloth. "To eat." "Have you any money?" asked the woman suspiciously. "Money?" said Osman indignantly; "much money. We can afford to eat turkey every day! Now, then, how much for this one?" pointing to an old bird, apparently the paterfamilias of the brood. "Osman is an ass, sir," here interfered Radford. "That is a very old cock. Osman has his eye on him because he is the biggest, he thinks that we can chew leather, that he do." And pursuing the brood, my English servant succeeded in catching a young pullet, which he brought triumphantly to the woman. "How much?" I inquired. "Twelve piastres" (about eighteenpence), replied the woman. "Twelve piastres," said Osman; "it is a great deal of money—we could not afford to eat turkey at that rate; say ten, and have done with it." "The bird is a hen, and will have eggs," observed the farmer. "She may die and have no eggs, and then you would have lost ten piastres," said Osman. "Come, be quick," he added, "pick the turkey!" And giving the woman the money, the old dame retired to a little distance to prepare the bird for the pot. When Radford had finished his cooking, and had helped me to some of the turkey, he put the remainder in my washing-basin, and handed it to Osman, for himself and the man with the pack-horses. "Why do you not give them the cooking-pot, and let them eat out of it?" I inquired. "Perhaps they will not like eating out of my washing-basin."