After the lapse of a short interval the High Priest rose and advanced into the centre of the ring, where he took possession of a carpet that had been spread for him, having immediately behind him two of the assistant priests; and they then commenced a prayer, the effect of which was thrilling. The young chief delivered a sentence in a clear, melodious voice, and paused; when the whole fraternity responded by a long groan: again and again this was repeated, only interrupted from time to time by some wild, fiendish howl, the individual who uttered it tossing back his head, and flinging his arms into the air with the gesture of a maniac. To this prayer succeeded another low sustained wail, during whose continuance the priests collected the turbans, pelisses, cloaks, pistols, and yataghans of the Dervishes, who, springing to their feet, stood in a circle about their chief; and then commenced the painful portion of their service. The measure of the chant was regulated by the High Priest, who clapped his hands from time to time to increase its speed: himself and his four green-girdled assistants uttering the words of the prayer, while the fraternity, rocking themselves to and fro, kept up one continual groan, rising and falling with the voices of the choir. Howl succeeded to howl, as the exhaustion consequent on this violent bodily exertion began to produce its effect; until at length strong men fell on the earth on all sides like children, shrieking and groaning in their agony—some struggling to free themselves from the grasp of those who endeavoured to restrain them, and others trembling in all their limbs, and sobbing out their anguish like infants. I never witnessed such a scene; nor should I have conceived it possible for human beings to have gratuitously subjected themselves to the agony which these misguided wretches visibly endured. The chanting ceased suddenly at given intervals, but not so the groans; for the speed with which they were uttered, and the violence of motion by which they were accompanied, became finally so great, that several seconds frequently elapsed before the miserable beings could check either the one or the other, and many of them fell into convulsions with the effort. The more I write on the subject of this extraordinary and disgusting exhibition, the more I feel the utter impossibility of conveying by words a correct idea of it; from a long sustained groan, and a slow, heaving, wave-like motion, it grew into a hoarse sobbing, and a quick jerk, which I can compare to nothing that it more resembles than the rapid action of a pair of bellows; the cheeks and foreheads of the actors became pale, their eyes dim, and white foam gathered about their mouths—in short, the scene resembled rather the orgies of a band of demons than an offering of worship to a GOD of peace and love!