So, the second day after arrival, the Grand Vizier drove me in a

barouche to the Esplanade, where we took station about midway of its

length an hour or so before the Sultan was to appear. Shortly after

we reached the Esplanade, carriages occupied by the women of the

Sultan's harem began to appear, coming out from the palace grounds

and driving up and down the roadway. Only a few of the women were

closely veiled, a majority of them wearing an apology for veiling,

merely a strip of white lace covering the forehead down to the