Finding that all endeavours to close my eyes remained unsuccessful, I rose and sat upright in the midst of this mass of people, who were lying about in the most utter confusion. The rain kept falling, and, as I looked out into the dark and gloomy night, my thoughts returned to the difference in my position only twenty-four hours before, and the sumptuous farewell supper at the splendid Turkish embassy. The whole scene appeared to me not unlike a dramatic representation of "King and Beggar," in which I acted the chief part. The bitter feeling of reality, however, made little impression. I myself was the author of this sudden metamorphosis, and I had prepared my fate for myself. The hard task of self-control lasted but a few days. As far as all outward peculiarities were concerned, I soon became familiar with the habitual as well as physical attributes of dervishism, such as dirt, &c. I gave my better garments, which I had brought with me from Teheran, to a weak and sickly Hadji, an act of kindness which gained all hearts. My new uniform consisted of a felt jacket, which I wore next my skin without any shirt, and of a _djubbe_ (upper garment),[10] composed of innumerable pieces of stuff, and fastened with a cord round the loins. My feet were enveloped in rags, and an immense turban covered my head, serving as a parasol by day and pillow by night. I had also, in conformity with the rest of the Hadjis, hung round me a voluminous Koran in a bag, which resembled a cartridge pouch; and, viewing myself thus, "_en pleine parade_," I had reason proudly to exclaim: "Yes, indeed, I am born a beggar!" [10] It is called _Hirkai dervishan_ (the dervish cloak), which even those dervishes that are most comfortably off are obliged to wear over their otherwise good garments. It is the symbol of poverty, and is often composed of countless small pieces of new patchwork, cut round the edge in points of unequal length; and, while it is sewn together on the outside with thick packing thread and large stitches, the lining often consists of silk or some other valuable material. It is the _ne plus ultra_ of hypocrisy; but long before the Romans the wise men of the East have said, _Mundus vult decipi--ergo decipiatur_.