Man’s pride, and pomp, and power, had fettered my fancy, and riveted my gaze—But it was night; the still, soft night, with its pale moon, its mysterious clouds, and its sighing voice, which had touched my spirit. In such hours, the heart would be alone with GOD! When we re-entered the church, I feared that I should have fainted; thick volumes of smoke were rolling heavily along the roof; the suffocating incense was mounting in columns from the censers—the myriad tapers were adding their heat to that of the burning perfume; and the transition from the light pure atmosphere without was sickening. I persisted, nevertheless, in my determination of remaining until the close of the ceremony, which concluded with the Declaration of Faith, read by Logotheti; and a portion of the Gospel, delivered from the pulpit by a priest, richly dressed in blue and silver. The grey light of morning was glimmering on the Bosphorus as we returned to the house, where we breakfasted, and then retired to bed with aching heads and dazzled eyes, to prepare for the fatigues of the morrow. CHAPTER XX. Feasting after Fasting—Visit to the Patriarch—Gorgeous Procession—Inconvenient Enthusiasm—Indisposition of the Patriarch—The Ceremony of Unrobing—The Impromptu Fair—The Patriarch at Home—The Golden Eggs. To what a breakfast did we sit down the following morning! The long and rigorous fast was over, and a hearty vengeance was to be taken for the previous forty days of penance and abstinence. It was amusing to remark with what interest every dish was examined, and how universally each was rejected which was not composed of some hitherto forbidden luxury. The centre of the table was occupied by a porcelain bowl filled with eggs boiled hard, and stained a fine red with logwood; but it was placed there merely in compliance with the national custom, as an Easter emblem; for on this, the first day of emancipation from the thrall of fast, no individual of the party had a thought to bestow on such primitive fare. At the conclusion of the meal, I went, accompanied by my father, and a fine youth who had escaped from college for the Easter recess, and who volunteered to act as interpreter, to pay a visit to the Patriarch, who had expressed a desire to make our acquaintance. We were conducted through several large, cold, scantily furnished apartments, presenting rather the appearance of belonging to a barrack than to an episcopal palace, with their floors thickly strown with bay leaves, which emitted a delicious perfume as we passed along, to the private sitting-room overlooking the court of the church, where we seated ourselves to await the arrival of the Patriarch, who had not yet left the Sanctuary.