he ancient city of Byzantium, and embracing a circumference of five
miles. It contains nine enormous courts of quadrangular form, and an
immense number of buildings--constituting a complete town of itself. But
within this inclosure dwell upward of ten thousand persons--the entire
court of the sultan. There reside the great officers of state, the body
guards, the numerous corps of bostandjis, or gardeners, and baltojis, or
fire-wood purveyors--the corps of white and black eunuchs, the pages,
the mutes, the dwarfs--the ladies of the harem, and all their numerous
attendants.

There are nine gates to the palace of the sultan. The principal one
opens on the square of St. Sophia, and is very magnificent in its
architecture. It is this gate which is called the Sublime Porte--a name
figuratively given to the court of the sultan, in all histories,
records, and diplomatic transactions. It was within the inclosure of the
seraglio that Alessandro Francatelli, whom we shall henceforth call by
his apostate name of Ibrahim--was lodged in the dwelling of the
reis-effendi or minister of foreign affairs. But in the course of a few
days the renegade was introduced into the presence of Piri Pasha, the
grand vizier--that high functionary who exercised a power almost as
extensive and as despotic as that wielded by the sultan himself.

Ibrahim, the apostate, was received by his highness Piri Pasha at a
private audience--and the young man exerted all his powers, and called
to his aid all the accomplishments which he possessed, to render himself
agreeable to that great minister. He discoursed in an intelligent manner
upon the policy of Italy and Austria, and gave the grand vizier
considerable information relative to the customs, resources, and
condition of these countries. Then, when the vizier touched upon lighter
matters, Ibrahim showed how well he was already acquainted with the
works of the most eminent Turkish poets and historians; and the art of
music being mentioned, he gave the minister a specimen of his
proficiency on the violin. Piri Pasha was charmed with the young
renegade, whom he immediately took into his service as one of his
private secretaries.

Not many weeks elapsed before the fame of Ibrahim's accomplishments and
rare talents reached the ears of the sultan, Solyman the Magnificent;
and the young renegade was honored with an audience by the ruler of the
East. On this occasion he exerted himself to please even more
triumpha