and the
sniggers of bad taste which he would have been sure to put in. The
subject is, of course, partly historical, though the reader of Knollys
(and one knows more unhappy persons) will look in vain there, not,
indeed, for Roxelana, but for the _nez retrousse_, which is the
important point of the story. The great Sultan tires of his Asiatic
harem, complaisant but uninteresting, and orders European damsels to be
caught or bought for him. The most noteworthy of the catch or batch are
Elmire, Delia, and Roxelane. Elmire comes first to Soliman's notice,
charms him by her sentimental ways, and reigns for a time, but loses her
piquancy, and (by no means wholly to her satisfaction) is able to avail
herself of the conditional enfranchisement, and return to her country,
which his magnanimity has granted her. Her immediate supplanter, Delia,
is an admirable singer, and possessed of many of the qualifications of
an accomplished _hetaera_. But for that very reason the Sultan tires of
her likewise; and for the same, she is not inconsolable or restive:
indeed she acts as a sort of Lady Pandara, if not to introduce, at any
rate to tame, the third, Roxelane, a French girl of no very regular
beauty, but with infinite attractions, and in particular possessed of
what Mr. Dobson elegantly calls "a madding ineffable nose" of the
_retrousse_ type.

The first thing the Sultan hears of this damsel is that the Master of
the Eunuchs cannot in the least manage her; for she merely laughs at all
he says. The Sultan, out of curiosity, orders her to be brought to him,
and she immediately cries: "Thank Heaven! here is a face like a man's.
Of course you are the sublime Sultan whose slave I have the honour to
be? Please cashier this disgusting old rascal." To which extremely
irreverent address Soliman makes a dignified reply of the proper kind,
including due reference to "obedience" and his "will." This brings down
a small pageful of raillery from the young person, who asks "whether
this is Turkish gallantry?" suggests that the restrictions of the
seraglio involve a fear that "the skies should rain men," and more than
hints that she should be very glad if they did. For the moment Soliman,
though much taken with her, finds no way of saving his dignity except by
a retreat. The next time he sends for her, or rather announces his own
arrival, she tells the messenger to pack himself off: and when the
Commander of the Faithful does visit her and gives a lit