The road was guarded by armed sentinels; and about an arrow’s flight from the Military College, on the line from Dolma Batchè to the Palace of the Princess, a handsome tent had been pitched for the Ambassadors, which was already thronged. Every rising ground was occupied as far as the eye could reach; and the outline of the road along which the procession was to pass, was marked by clusters of females, seated so closely together that from a short distance they appeared to form one compact body. Behind these were ranged lines of arabas, filled with Turkish, Greek, and Armenian ladies; while on the open space beyond, horsemen galloped to and fro; pedestrians, who had been too tardy to secure advantageous places, straggled from spot to spot, in the hope of establishing themselves among some knot of friends; and water-venders, with their long-necked earthen jars and crystal goblets, passed from one party to another, disposing, at an usurious interest, of their tempting merchandize. As there was no sign of the procession when we reached the Ambassadorial tent, we resolved to canter on to Arnautkeui, and amuse ourselves by a survey of the wayside groups; and a most interesting ride it was. As the Turkish women generally, on any occasion which takes them from their homes at an early hour, profit by the circumstance to remain in the open air all day, none of our party were surprised at the well-organized arrangements that were making on all sides. The whole line of road from Dolma Batchè to the kiosk above the Palace of Arnautkeui was edged with spectators; and wherever a tree afforded the means of doing so, shawls and rugs had been stretched against the sun, producing a very cheerful and pretty effect. The number of Turkish females collected together on this occasion may be imagined when I state that a friend of mine, on whose veracity I have the most perfect reliance, assured me that he knew it to be a fact, that several of these sight-loving ladies had actually sold the tiles off the roofs of their houses, in order to raise money enough to enable them to hire an araba for the last two days of the Festival!