admitted to the treasure-chamber and was told to help himself
until he had enough to secure his advances.

"I selected enough," he says, "to secure the bank against loss in any
event, but the removal of the gems I took made no appreciable gap in
the accumulation."

In the imperial treasury of the Sultan, the first room is the richest
in notable objects. The most conspicuous of these is a great throne or
divan of beaten gold, occupying the entire centre of the room, and set
with precious stones: pearls, rubies, and emeralds, thousands of them,
covering the entire surface in a geometrical mosaic pattern. This
specimen of barbaric magnificence was part of the spoils of war taken
from one of the shahs of Persia.

Much more interesting and beautiful, however, is another canopied
throne or divan, placed in the upper story of the same building. This
is a genuine work of old Turkish art which dates from some time during
the second half of the sixteenth century. It is a raised square seat,
on which the Sultan sat cross-legged. At each angle there rises a
square vertical shaft supporting a canopy, with a minaret or pinnacle
surmounted by a rich gold and jewelled finial. The entire height of
the throne is nine or ten feet. The materials are precious woods,
ebony, sandal-wood, etc., with shell, mother-of-pearl, silver, and
gold.

The entire piece is decorated inside and out with a branching
floriated design in mother-of-pearl marquetry, in the style of the
fine early Persian painted tiles, and the centre of each of the
principal leaves and flowers is set with splendid _cabochon_ gems,
fine balass rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and pearls.

Pendant from the roof of the canopy, and in a position which would be
directly over the head of the Sultan, is a golden cord, on which is
hung a large heart-shaped ornament of gold, chased and perforated with
floriated work, and beneath it hangs a huge uncut emerald of fine
colour, but of triangular shape, four inches in diameter, and an inch
and a half thick.

Richly decorated arms and armour form a conspicuous feature of the
contents of all three of these rooms. The most notable work in this
class in the first apartment is a splendid suit of mixed chain and
plate mail, wonderfully damascened and jewelled, worn by Sultan Murad
IV, in 1638, at the taking of Bagdad.

Near to it is a scimetar, probably a part of the panoply of the same
monarch. Both the hilt and the greater part of the broa