rties are given now except those got up by the great people.
When an outsider sends out invitations for a ball, or any other kind of
_reunion_, the negotiations that go on between the swells as to whether
they should patronise it or not are comical in the extreme. Should ever
so slight an omission in the form of these invitations, or a mere
accident in the delivery thereof, appear to them to touch their dignity,
they will probably all absent themselves in a body, even were it
question of the marriage or the funeral of one of their oldest and most
respectable acquaintances. Not being one of them, and not caring very
much for artificial society, I look on with great amusement. Some one
gave great offence on a late occasion, while describing society in Pera,
by suggesting that if there were a European court here things would be
very different; so they might. People would then find their level, as
they do in other capitals.

I feel very sorry for the members of the 'sacred circle.' Not only do
they lose much now, but it will be awkward for them when they go back
from whence they came. A short time ago I asked a very high and mighty
personage if she did not fear the change that must come when she left
Constantinople. She answered with great frankness: 'I feel that most of
what you say is correct, but before I came here I was very small fry;
now I know I am a swell, and mean to enjoy myself.' She was like those
reckless ones who cried: 'Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.' I
have seen a stand made by one or two of these mighty ones, an attempt to
break down the system of pompous exclusiveness, but that attempt
unfortunately failed.

I must say that the foreign colonies in Pera are much to blame, for
they worship with all their minds and all their strength their different
chiefs and chieftainesses, and human nature being weak, &c. &c.

Apart from the 'sacred circle' there is a nice little society where
people go in for enjoying themselves, and succeed in doing so very
comfortably; but even there, with some few exceptions, there is that
secret longing for one or two of the swells--even a junior secretary of
an embassy is looked upon as a desideratum.

The Greeks keep very much to themselves; so do the Armenians. The Turks
are exceedingly fond of going into society, but their domestic
arrangements tend to prevent their entertaining.

His Majesty the Sultan frequently invites European ladies to his dinner
parties, an