During our progress we came upon an araba which instantly attracted our attention. The painted oxen[5] had been withdrawn, and were grazing a few paces off; a line of female slaves, reaching the whole length of the carriage, were ranged side by side; and two negroes were stationed immediately in front. All these indications of rank induced us to slacken our pace as we approached, and to glance with more than ordinary attention towards the occupants of the vehicle. They were two in number; a serious-looking elderly person, earnestly engaged with her chibouk; and a fair young creature, so buried among her richly embroidered cushions, that she was scarcely visible. I have called her _fair_, but that is not the correct expression, for, as she raised herself at our approach, and removed from before her face a hand mirror, curiously set in a frame composed of ostrich feathers, I never beheld any thing living with such a complexion. She was so deadly white, that no difference was perceptible between the folds of her yashmac, and the brow on which they rested! She looked as though she had been the partial prey of a vampyre; who, sated with some previous victim, had left his unholy repast only half completed—But such eyes! so dark—so sad—veiled by lashes as black as night, resting upon the pallid cheek like sable fringes—I never saw such eyes, save in a dream!—Her nose was thin, and finely-shaped; and the perfect oval of her face, was revealed by the tightly-adjusted yashmac—It was the most spectral beauty I ever beheld, but beauty of a most rare description. She was pillowed on satin, and her hands and brow were bright with gems, but I am sure she was unhappy—there was a languid hopelessness in the expression of her pale face, and a listlessness in her manner, that told of a bursting heart. I would have given much to have learnt her history. There must have been some telltale indication of my involuntary conviction, in the long and earnest gaze that I turned upon her; for ere I removed my eyes, she smiled a sad, sweet smile, and pressed her hand upon her heart as though she thanked me for the melancholy feeling with which I had looked upon her beauty. The elder dame, meanwhile, smoked on in silence, as calmly as if she had been seated beside a more light-hearted companion; and the silver fringes of the costly araba glittered in the sunshine; and the embroidered cushions looked like a parterre of flowers; and all within that gorgeous vehicle was gay and gladsome save its drooping mistress. I made a thousand inquiries, but failed to ascertain who she was. One individual alone was able to assure me that she was the favourite wife of a Pasha; but the name of the said Pasha had escaped the memory of my informant, and I was fain to content myself with this very unsatisfactory fragment of intelligence.