“I was led into a large room, with a sofa the whole length of it, adorned with white marble pillars like a _ruelle_, covered with pale blue-figured velvet, on a silver ground, with cushions of the same, where I was desired to repose till the sultana appeared, who had contrived this manner of reception to avoid rising at my entrance; though she made me an inclination of her head, when I rose up to her. I was very glad to observe a lady, that had been distinguished by the favour of an emperor, to whom beauties were, every day, presented from all parts of the world. But she did not seem to me to have ever been so beautiful as the fair Fatima I saw at Adrianople; though she had the remains of a fine face, more decayed by sorrow than time. But her dress was something so surprisingly rich, that I cannot forbear describing it to you. She wore a vest called Dualma, which differs from a caftan by longer sleeves, and folding over at the bottom. It was of purple cloth, strait to her shape, and thick set, on each side down to her feet and round the sleeves, with pearls of the best water, of the same size as their buttons commonly are, about the bigness of a pea; and to these buttons, large loops of diamonds in the form of those gold loops, so common on birthday coats. This habit was tied at the waist, with two large tassels of smaller pearls, and round the arms embroidered with large diamonds. Her shift was fastened at the bottom with a large diamond, shaped like a lozenge; her girdle, as broad as the broadest English ribband, entirely covered with diamonds. Round her neck she wore three chains, which reached to her knees; one of large pearls, at the bottom of which hung a fine coloured emerald, as big as a turkey’s egg; another, consisting of two hundred emeralds close joined together, of the most lively green, perfectly matched, every one as large as a half-crown piece, and as thick as three crown pieces; and another of small emeralds perfectly round. But her earrings eclipsed all the rest. They were two diamonds, shaped exactly like pears, as large as a big hazelnut. Round her talpoche she had four strings of pearl, the whitest and most perfect in the world, fastened with two roses, consisting of a large ruby for the middle stone, and round them twenty drops of clear diamonds to each. Besides this, her head-dress was covered with bodkins of emeralds and diamonds. She wore large diamond bracelets, and had five rings on her fingers, (except Mr. Pitt’s) the largest I ever saw in my life. ’Tis for jewellers to compute the value of these things; but, according to the common estimation of jewels in our part of the world, her whole dress must be worth a hundred thousand pounds sterling. This I am sure of, that no European queen has half the quantity, and the Empress’s jewels, though very fine, would look very mean near her’s. She gave me a dinner of fifty dishes of meat, which (after their fashion) were placed on the table one at a