them in the Desert, taking no nourishment from the time of his
departure in the morning until his return at sunset. After having sought
them thus daily, for the period of one entire moon, he found them, and in
token of joy, gave a three days' feast to the tribe, now imitated in the
festival of Bairam, which lasts for three days after the close of Ramazan.
This reason, however, seems too trifling for such a rigid fast, and the
Turkish tradition, that the Koran was sent down from heaven during this
month, offers a more probable explanation. During the fast, the
Mussulmans, as is quite natural, are much more fanatical than at other
times. They are obliged to attend prayers at the mosque every night, or to
have a _mollah_ read the Koran to them at their own houses. All the
prominent features of their religion are kept constantly before their
eyes, and their natural aversion to the Giaour, or Infidel, is increased
tenfold. I have heard of several recent instances in which strangers have
been exposed to insults and indignities.

At dusk the minarets are illuminated; a peal of cannon from the Arsenal,
echoed by others from the forts along the Bosphorus, relieves the
suffering followers of the Prophet, and after an hour of silence, during
which they are all at home, feasting, the streets are filled with noisy
crowds, and every coffee-shop is thronged. Every night there are
illuminations along the water, which, added to the crowns of light
sparkling on the hundred minarets and domes, give a magical effect to the
night view of the city. Towards midnight there is again a season of
comparative quiet, most of the inhabitants having retired to rest; but,
about two hours afterwards a watchman comes along with a big drum, which
he beats lustily before the doors of the Faithful, in order to arouse them
in time to eat again before the daylight-gun, which announces the
commencement of another day's fast.

Last night was the holiest night of Islam, being the twenty-fifth of the
fast. It is called the _Leilet-el-Kadr,_ or Night of the Predestination,
the anniversary of that on which the Koran was miraculously communicated
to the Prophet. On this night the Sultan, accompanied by his whole suite,
attends service at the mosque, and on his return to the Seraglio, the
Sultana Valide, or Sultana-Mother, presents him with a virgin from one of
the noble families of Constantinople. Formerly, St. Sophia was the theatre
of this celebration, but this y