The party was shortly augmented by the entrance of the Bey’s mother, who led by the hand a sweet little girl of ten or eleven years of age, his daughter by a former marriage, whose mother died previously to his residence in England; and they were followed by his aunt and his young sister, a child of about the same age as his own. I lingered for upwards of two hours in the harem, where coffee was served by the fair wife of the Bey, with a smiling graciousness that convinced me of my welcome; and when, on my departure, she accompanied me to the foot of the stairs, and assured me, according to the oriental custom, that the house and all that it contained were at my disposal, she coupled the ceremony with a request that I would come and see her again; and so earnestly was it expressed, that I did not hesitate to assure her of the pleasure which I should derive from a repetition of my visit. How I longed to take her by the hand, and lead her forth from her pretty prison, to “witch the world” with her young beauty—but alas! the door of the Salemliek closed behind me; and as the Bey came forward to conduct me into the saloon where my father was waiting for me to take our leave, I lost sight of the fair and graceful Azimè Hanoum. CHAPTER XII. The Bosphorus in Summer—The Tower of Galata—Mosque of Topphannè—Summer Palace of the Grand Vizier—Seraï of the Princess Salihè—Seraïs and Salemliks—Palace of Azmè Sultane—Turkish Music—Token Flowers—Palace of the Princess Mihirmàh—The Hill of the Thousand Nightingales—Turkish, Greek, and Armenian Houses—Cleanliness of the Orientals—The Armenians—Cemetery of Isari—The Castle of Europe—Mahomet and the Greeks—Village of Mirgheun—The Haunted Chapel of St. Nicholas—Palace of Prince Calimachi—Imperial Jealousy—Death of Calimachi—The Bosphorus by Moonlight—Love of the Orientals for Flowers—Depth of the Channel—An Imperial Brig—Turkish Justice—Fortunes of the Turkish Fleet—Sudden Transitions—Influence of Russian Sophistry—The Sultan’s Physicians—Naval Appointments—Rigid Discipline—The Penalty of Disobedience—The Death-Banquet—Tahir Pasha—Radical Remedy—Vice of the Turkish System of Government—Unkiar Skelessi—A Mill and a Manufactory—Pic Nics—Arabian Encampment—Bedouin Beauty—Poetical Locality. Nothing can be richer nor more various than the shores of the Bosphorus on a sunshiny day in summer; and many a delightful hour have I spent, in company with my father, in the contemplation of the glorious succession of pictures which they offer to the lover of the beautiful in nature. One delicious morning, when not a flitting cloud marred the clear lustre of the sky, when a gentle breeze murmured over the ripple, and the song of the birds swelled cheerily upon the wind, we resolved to enjoy them to their fullest extent; and, as our caïque darted along the European coast, a thousand interesting objects presented themselves. [Illustration: Miss Pardoe del.