was a pale and sickly-looking youth, of apparently three or four and twenty, though in reality his age exceeded not seventeen; but it is said that his frequent visits to the harem had given him this appearance of premature age. “He was plainly dressed, not in the Oriental style, but in a plain cloth military surtout and pantaloons, a short blue cloak, gracefully placed on his left shoulder, and a fez on his head. The only sign of regal magnificence displayed by him was a few brilliants on the clasp of his belt, with which the hilt of the sabre was likewise thickly studded. “We formed half a circle round his Imperial Majesty, who did not deign to rise, and were presented by the Seraskier. Sir Robert Stopford then said, that the gratification he had received at seeing Constantinople, together with the attention he had met with, was very great. The Sultan, through Halil Pacha, who seemed to prompt him in all he uttered, replied, he was very glad his Excellency had felt so gratified. “The Admiral then said, that he had been entrusted by Her Britannic Majesty with the command of a fleet, to render any service which might be required by the Sublime Porte. To this the Sultan bowed. Here ended the conference; we retired with the Seraskier, partook of the parting bowl of sherbet, and in four-and-twenty hours were once more in the midst of the fleet in Besika Bay.” The fleets remained there till the end of October; the English then proceeded to Vourla for the winter, and were shortly followed by the French squadron, part of which went to Smyrna. The English now consisted of twelve sail of the line; the French of nine. The French ships were much larger and better manned than ours, and Admiral Lalande was indefatigable in exercising them, and I must admit that in harbour manœuvres they were equally as expert as ourselves, and in some respects superior; and I cannot refrain from observing that keeping the two fleets so much together was a most impolitic measure. When the French squadron first joined Sir Pulteney Malcolm in the Downs they were all abroad; the five or six years they had been almost constantly in company with the British had brought about a most astonishing change for the better, and although it may be very advantageous to have an alliance with France, there ought to be no acting together with fleets if it can possibly be avoided.