ted from ancient mosaic floors, and threw
them broadcast upon a very dirty cotton handkerchief, predicting from
their relative positions the fortunes of the two young ladies. As
interpreted by one of the servants the prediction was decidedly hazy. It
may have lost in being translated, but it amounted to this: "Him husband
hab--werry good: plenty piastre got." A very small gratuity sent our
gypsy friend off perfectly satisfied after salaams and kissing the hands
of all the men of the party. Nobody ever kisses women's hands in the
East--at least in public.

The conscientious member of the party, who "understood we had come
mainly to inspect the ruins, and not for a picnic," and who had all day
been very uncomfortable at the slight put upon antiquity by our light
conduct in the face of so many centuries, now insisted upon at least a
glance at the fine ruins in which we then were. They were well worthy of
a close inspection, but I don't propose to inflict a description upon
the reader. I may, however, mention a particularly picturesque minaret
of very solid construction. Up the winding steps of this we all filed
except the fat lady, who sat on the pavement below cross-legged, smoking
a cigarette and smiling up at us benignly through the blue wreaths
circling round her head from under the Paris hat.

After enjoying the view of the plain and the encircling hills with the
satisfaction of persons who had "done" the thing and had not to do it
again, we began to inspect the minaret itself and the dressed stone
parapet against which we leaned; and there we found the name of the
everlasting English (or American) snob who seems to pervade the universe
for the sake of cutting or writing his name and the date of his visit
upon every coign of vantage to which he can get access. Our Armenian
friend, Mr. A----, pointed out that there were few Italian names in this
record of fools, and scarcely any French or German; but Herostratus
appears weak in comparison with our English and American travellers in
the desire for cheap fame, for he had only to make a fire, a thing done
in a very few moments, while the travelling snob must have worked
industriously for an hour or two, and made his hands very sore, and
probably spoiled a knife, in satisfying his aspirations.

The portals of this mosque are very fine. No doubt the greater part of
the material for the building came from the ruins of Ephesus, but the
portals and other principal points are