A furred mantle having been flung over the shoulders of the Patriarch, he was conducted from the apartment, followed by the Bishops; and we remained for a time watching the movements of the multitude in the court beneath, while he prepared himself to receive the numerous visits which he had to undergo, ere he could enjoy the repose that he so much needed. Triumphal arches, formed of green boughs and flowering shrubs, had been hastily set up in every direction, and beneath these stood the sherbet venders, and confectioners, without whom no festival is complete in the East. The church doors were already closed: and the versatile Greeks were now as ardent and eager in the pursuit of pleasure as they had been but an hour previously in that of salvation. Most of them were employed in re-arranging their turbans, which had been unwound in the late struggle; others were squatted on the ground, eating _yahourt_ (a sort of coagulated buttermilk) out of small earthen basins, which they emptied with their forefinger, with a rapidity perfectly surprising; and others again surrounding a _mohalibè_ merchant, whose large tray, neatly covered with a white cloth, china saucers, and shining brass spoons shaped like trowels, enhanced the relish of the dainty that he dispensed—a species of inferior blanc-manger, eaten with rose-water and powdered sugar. A servant having announced that the Patriarch awaited us in another department, we followed him to a spacious saloon in the opposite wing of the palace, where we found the magnificent Prelate seated in a cushioned chair raised a few steps from the floor. He had exchanged his party-coloured raiment for a flowing robe of violet silk with a falling collar of velvet, and wore about his neck a massive gold chain, from which was suspended a star of brilliants. On his right hand were two baskets of variegated wicker-work; the one containing eggs of a crimson colour richly gilt, and the other filled with eggs of white and gold; while on his left-hand, a larger basket was upheaped with others simply stained with logwood, like those which I had seen on the breakfast table. He received us with much politeness; and, through the medium of our young friend, who made an admirable Dragoman, he asked me several questions on the impressions which I had received in the East: appeared gratified at the admiration that I expressed of the gorgeous ceremonial to which I had so lately been a witness; and regretted that the exhaustion under which he was then suffering from the fatigues of the last two days rendered him unable to converse with me, as he had been desirous of doing.