on a quay. Here a guard of men commanded by
some Household officer, was waiting to receive us. They led us through
a gate in the high wall, for the town was fortified, up a narrow,
stone-paved street which ran between houses apparently of the usual
Central Asian type, and, so far as I could judge by moonlight, with no
pretensions to architectural beauty, and not large in size.

Clearly our arrival was expected and excited interest, for people were
gathered in knots about the street to watch us pass; also at the windows
of the houses and even on their flat roofs. At the top of the long
street was a sort of market place, crossing which, accompanied by a
curious crowd who made remarks about us that we could not understand, we
reached a gate in an inner wall. Here we were challenged, but at a
word from Simbri it opened, and we passed through to find ourselves in
gardens. Following a road or drive, we came to a large, rambling house
or palace, surmounted by high towers and very solidly built of stone in
a heavy, bastard Egyptian style.

Beyond its doorway we found ourselves in a courtyard surrounded by a
kind of verandah from which short passages led to different rooms. Down
one of these passages we were conducted by the officer to an apartment,
or rather a suite, consisting of a sitting and two bed-chambers,
which were panelled, richly furnished in rather barbaric fashion, and
well-lighted with primitive oil lamps.

Here Simbri left us, saying that the officer would wait in the outer
room to conduct us to the dining-hall as soon as we were ready. Then
we entered the bed-chambers, where we found servants, or slaves,
quiet-mannered, obsequious men. These valets changed our foot-gear,
and taking off our heavy travelling robes, replaced them with others
fashioned like civilized frock-coats, but made of some white material
and trimmed with a beautiful ermine fur.

Having dressed us in these they bowed to show that our toilette was
finished, and led us to the large outer room where the officer awaited
us. He conducted us through several other rooms, all of them spacious
and apparently unoccupied, to a great hall lit with many lamps and
warmed--for the nights were still cold--with large peat fires. The roof
of this hall was flat and supported by thick, stone columns with carved
capitals, and its walls were hung with worked tapestries, that gave it
an air of considerable comfort.

At the head of the hall on a dais stood a long