.

'O, this is a paradise,' said I to those around me; 'and may I never
leave it!' But when I recollected in whose hands it was, possessed by a
race of the most accursed of heretics, whose beards were not fit to be
brooms to our dust-holes, then I thought myself too condescending in
allowing them to possess me amongst them. One consolation, however, I
did not fail to derive from reflection, which was, that if they were
allowed the possession of so choice a spot for their use in this world,
they would doubly feel the horror of that which was doubtless preparing
for them in the next.

After undergoing the necessary forms and examinations at the
customhouse, I and my companions took boat at Scutari, crossed over to
Constantinople, and established ourselves and merchandise in a large
caravanserai, the resort of Persian traders, situated in a very central
part of the city, near the principal bazaars. I felt myself a slender
personage indeed, when I considered that I was only one among the crowd
of the immense population that was continually floating through the
great thoroughfares. And when I saw the riches displayed in the shops,
the magnificence of dress of almost every inhabitant, and the constant
succession of great lords and agas, riding about on the finest and most
richly caparisoned horses, I could not help exclaiming, in a secret
whisper to myself, 'Where is Constantinople and her splendours, and
where Persia and her poverty?'

I, in conjunction with old Osman, hired a room in the caravanserai, in
which we deposited our merchandise. During the daytime I displayed my
pipe-sticks in goodly rows on a platform; and as my assortments were
good, I began my sales with great vigour, and reaped considerable
profit. In proportion as I found money returning to my purse, so did I
launch out into luxuries which I little heeded before. I increased the
beauty and conveniences of my dress; I bought a handsome amber-headed
chibouk; I girded my waist with a lively-coloured shawl; my tobacco
pouch was made of silk, covered with spangles; my slippers were of
bright yellow, and I treated myself to a glittering dagger. Temptations
to expense surrounded me everywhere, and I began to think that there was
something worth living for in this world. So numerous were the places in
which I might exhibit my person in public, that I could not refrain from
visiting the most frequented coffee-houses, where, mounted on a high
bench, with soft cushi