Her dress was gorgeous; the costly garniture of gold and jewels, which almost made her boddice appear to be one mass of light, was continued to the knee of her tunic, where it parted to form a deep hem, that entirely surrounded the skirt of the garment. The jewelled fringe of her turban was supported on either temple by a large spray of brilliants, and fell upon a border of black floss silk that rested on her fair young brow. Her arms were as white as snow, and seemed almost as dazzling as the gems which bound them; while her slender waist was compressed by a golden girdle similar in fashion, but richer in design, than that of her mother. In their girlhood, the Jewish females take great pride in the adornment of their hair, but from the moment of their marriage it is scrupulously hidden; so scrupulously, indeed, that they wear a second handkerchief attached to the turban behind, which falls to the ground, in order to conceal the roots of the hair that the turban may fail to cover. A sweet little girl of about nine years of age, the affianced wife of one of the brothers, was introduced, in order to show me the difference of head-dress; and assuredly her _coiffure_ was a most elaborate affair. She must have worn at least fifty braids, each secured at the end by a knot of pearls and ribbon; while her little chubby hands were literally covered with jewelled rings; and her feet, like those of the elder females, simply thrust into richly embroidered slippers. The courtesy and hospitality of the whole family were extreme. They appeared delighted at the unusual circumstance of receiving Christians, who appreciated their kindly intentions; and when I promised, in compliance with their earnest request, that I would repeat my visit, I had no intention to fail in the pledge. CHAPTER XXVI. Hospitality of the Armenians—An Impromptu Visit—The Bride—Costly Costume—Turkish Taste—Kind Reception—Domestic Etiquette of the Schismatic Armenians—Armenian Sarafs—The National Characteristics. I cannot, perhaps, give a better idea of the hospitable feeling of the Armenians, than by relating a little adventure which happened to a friend and myself, a few weeks previously to my departure from the East.