to graze on the earliest verdure that decks the face of spring.

It was up this fairy-like passage that the dumb slave was swept in
her master's caique, and by scenes so beautiful as even to enchant
her sad and silent bosom. The Turk marked well the influence of the
scenery upon the Circassian, and slowly stroked his beard with
silent satisfaction at the sight.

The caique soon stopped before a gorgeous palace, in the midst of
this fine plain, and the Turk, by a signal, summoned the guard of
eunuchs from a tent of the Prophet's green, that was pitched near
the banks of the Barbyses, that ran its meandering course through
this verdant scene. It was a princely home, the proudest harem in
all this gem of the Orient, for the old Turk had acted not for
himself in the purchase he had made, but as the agent of a higher
will than his own, and the dumb slave was led to the seraglio of the
Sultan.

The old Turk was evidently a privileged body, and following close
upon the heels of the eunuchs, he divested himself of his slippers
at the entrance of the palace, and led the slave before the "Brother
of the Sun."

The monarch was a noble specimen of his race, tall, commanding, and
with a spirit of firmness breathing from his expressive face. His
beard was jetty black, and gave a much older appearance to his
features than belonged to them. He was the child of a seraglio,
whose mothers were chosen for beauty alone, and how could he escape
being handsome? The blood of Circassian upon Circassian was in his
veins, and the trace of their nationality was upon his brow, but