"There are very few to-day," was the reply; "but at whatever hour you may enter, the faithful will be found praying to the All-powerful One who rules the Universe." This, indeed, I subsequently discovered to be the case. No matter how early or late I might enter a mosque, there were always some men on their knees, praying to the Almighty; and whenever a service was going on, the mosques were invariably crowded. "They pray more than Europeans do," said my companion, the engineer, as we quitted the mosque. "With us," he added, "the women throng the churches, the men are conspicuous by their absence; in Turkey you will hardly ever meet a man who is in the habit of absenting himself from his mosque. Indeed, a Mohammedan's superstitious feelings would not allow him to do so, even if he felt inclined; he would think that the Divine vengeance would at once pursue him to his destruction." We now called upon a Turkish gentleman, Daravish Bey. Presently he left the room, and, returning, brought an old flint-gun, marked "London, 1802." He next suggested that we should join him in a shooting excursion, and, calling a servant, desired the man to bring in a falcon. This, Daravish Bey said, would be very useful, as, if we missed the partridges, the hawk would catch them for us. "We shall then have some game to show when we return," he continued, "and the people will not be able to laugh at our beards." "Vankovitch is a wonderful shot," said another Turk. "He shoots partridges flying! Only think! flying in the air! In the name of heaven, is it not wonderful? Can you hit a partridge, except when he is quite still?" "Sometimes," I said; "but, unfortunately, most of my cartridges are wet; any how, I will try and find a few dry ones, and will go with you to-morrow." "There is another thing which you must see before you leave Yuzgat," observed Daravish Bey, "and that is our national game, Djerrid. I have already spoken about it," he continued; "the day after to-morrow all the best riders in the neighbourhood will assemble on the plain outside the town. In the meantime, I hope that you will dine with me this evening." "But I am staying with an Armenian gentleman, and he will expect me to dine at home." "Bring him with you. Nay, do not disappoint me," he added. "It is many years since an Englishman has been at Yuzgat, and we do not know how to honour one sufficiently when he is here. England and Turkey are old allies, and God grant that they may remain so!" I returned to my quarters, and found the Caimacan, who had come to pay me a visit. He was very busy, as he had to arrange for some redif soldiers who were to be despatched at once to Constantinople. After a few compliments and a cup of coffee, he arose and took his departure. My host now observed,— "Effendi, will you do me a favour?" "What is it?" I inquired.