loudly. But when Irene heard their praises she shuddered, and her heart
died away within her. Surely God never gave her beauty in order that she
might be sacrificed to it? At that moment she would have much preferred
to have been born humpbacked, squinting, swarthy; she would have liked
her face to be all seamed and scarred like half-frozen water, and her
body all diseased so that everyone who saw her would shrink from her
with disgust--better that than the feeling which now made her shrink
from the contemplation of herself."

Then they put upon her a splendid robe, hung diamond ear-rings in her
ears, tied a beautiful shawl round her loins, encircled her arms and
feet with rings of gold, and so led her into the secret apartment where
the damsels of the Padishah were all gathered together. This, of course,
was long, long ago. Who can tell what Sultan was reigning then? Why,
even our fathers did not know his name.

"Pomp and splendour, flowers and curtains adorned the immense saloon,
the ceiling whereof was inlaid with precious stones, while the floor was
fashioned entirely of mother-o'-pearl--he who set his foot thereon might
fancy he was walking on rainbows. Moreover, cunning artificers had
wrought upon this mother-o'-pearl floor flowers and birds and other most
wondrous fantastical figures, so that it was a joy to look thereon, for
no carpet, however precious, was suffered to cover all this splendour.
Yet lest the cold surface of the pavement should chill the feet of the
damsels, rows of tiny sandals stood ready there that they might bind
them upon their feet and so walk from one end of the room to the other
at their ease. And these sandals they called _kobkobs_."

"Aye, aye!" cried the anxious Janaki, "you describe the interior of the
Seraglio so vividly that I almost feel frightened. If a man listened