hair

immediately the courtiers had

haven; and a drefs was invented to hair which covered the whole head.

their heads

resemble the

The sultan's

sight became so bad, he was forced to wear spectacles. The academy of physic immediately puplished an elaborate difsertation to prove that for some time the air was infested with a malignant vapour that attacked the eyes; and all the courtiers wore spectacles. One may see by these details how much this prince was beloved. He had admitted women to his court : every man by the laws of Mahomet may have four wives; they were, before the reign of Iskandor fhut up in the haram with their slaves. Ifkandor, weary of living alone in his seraglio, wifhed for a court: but there can be no court without women. Such an innovation had met with many enemies: the chief of the black eunuchs was its greatest. According to him, it would eccasion the most dangerous consequences; and no government can exist, if women were allowed to appear in public; every thing would be known, and the secrets of the divan and the seraglio would be no longer a mystery. The women would decide on every thing, for there are moments when men are so weak to refuse them nothing; and the nights would overturn all your ministers have laboured to effectuate during the day. Recollect, however, recollect august prince, added he, this maxim of the great Cosroes: "I am not so much afraid (said he) of the lances of the men, as of the distaffs of the women." The visiers were of a contrary opinion to the chief of the eunuchs: they represented that his opinion

was to be suspected, and that he was biafsed by the prejudices of his situation. A young lord, who commanded the guard of the sultan, rose, and pleaded most eloquently the cause of one half of mankind. "We are (said he) unjust to women, and enemies of our own happinefs; let us grant liberty to those with whom we are united by a legitimate knot. They are our equals: we have, at present slaves, but we fhall have companions. Women will govern, they cry; well, be it so: Is it not better to be governed by them than by eunuchs ?" This argument succceded; he had in his favour love and justice. The chief of the eunuchs left the council in a storm of pafsion, and the orator of the fair sex was fhortly after raised to the dignity of grand visir.

The courtiers, to please the sultan, were anxious to have their wives appear with brilliancy at the court; and the prince had erected for them different places about the queens: but, as the greater part could not support the expence of four wives attending the court, they, had alloted to each a separate department in their palaces. One of the four was called the political wife: To her was given a fine equipage, diamonds, and slaves superbly drefsed: fhe was to attend the court, and solicit favours from the ministers. To act this part, they chose a wife rather pretty than handsome; who was graceful, witty, and cunning. It was not neccfsary for her to be too young; froin 25 to 30 years. Her reign lasted from 10 to 12 years; as probably in that time her husband would have obtained all his ambition wanted, so that her talents became lefs needful.

The second wife was for parade. She was a woman of a dignified appearance, who knew the world, and had the talent of saying common-place things with ease: fhe must have a good memory, to retain the names of all the guests who came to her dinners, &c. fhe must support every fatiguing and tiresome person, as if he was the most brisk. This wife was drefsed with a certain magnificence, but without elegance: two or three rich drefses, which lasted many years, were sufficient for her to appear in at those ceremonies, where her presence was indispensable.

The third wife was called the boesewife. She was commonly a fat, fresh woman, perfectly mistress of arithmetic,-knew the prices of every thing, and was the manager of the house. Her dress was of plain and simple stuffs.

The fourth was the wife of the night. She was a young person, of about 16 or 18%, and was never dressed, but in a fhift of muslin, embroidered or studded over with some stars of gold. A safh of silk fhowed her fhape; her hair floated carelessly on her fhoulders, or intermixed with flowers; her shoes were elegant : and a black ribbon proved as a contrast to a neck of alabaster. Wit was uselefs for this character; and good humour. and sweetnefs of temper, was all that was looked for. Parents, according to the different characters of their daughters, educated them for political wiv for parade, or hous wives, or ladies of the bed-chamber: and when a husband lost a wife, he had it announced y th public crier in the bazar, the sort of wife he was in want of. The housewives

a tale. 129 were the scarcest, and least looked for; they were commonly chosen from the banking or finance line. The ladies for parade were supplied from the law: but the political ladies were always taken from the court; and the talents necefsary for this line ought to have been received from the earliest youth. Dissimulation, supplenefs, the art of saving one's own interests in appearing solely to be employed with those of others, and all those fugitive fhades formed by bon ton and taste, which exprefs and avoid ridičule, with delicacy, can only be found in the upper spheres of society.

The court of Iskandor was in a continual agitation through the intrigues of the different societies, who wifhed to displace, or to make a minister; and the women were the principal springs of each intrigue. Often places were given to those whose sole merit was lying, amusing, and who pleased the women by their agreeable manners. Sometimes a mufti had been chosen who did not know two lines of the Alkoran; and a prime minister who was ignorant of the laws, commerce, and finance. When their incapacity was complained of, the women said, he was an agreeable creature, and the men repeated it. This trifling character was termed facility; and the minister who yielded to the tears of the women, was cried up as one full of sensibility. The two cousins had made their entry at court at the same time, but had not had the same succefs.

ON THE DELAYS INCIDENT TO THE COURT

OF SESSION.

Continued from p. 52.

To the Lord President of the Court of Session.

MY LORD,

LETTER VIII.

DEBATE and inquiry to a certain extent, are necefsary towards a mature and uniform decision; but beyond that point, they are extremely hurtful, not only as wasting time, and money, but as leading into doubt and perplexity. If therefore your lordfhip can attain the just medium, and fix the forms there, you will merit well of your country.

The observations made above on procefses of ranking and sale, are most of them applicable to a procefs of multiple poinding, where oaths of verity, a state and order of ranking, and a scheme of division are all required.

I think it would be no small improvement on the latter to introduce intimations to the creditors in the newspapers, as well as the minute-book, similar to those that take place in the former. And to have a decreet of certification pronounced in it, which might be held as final, without obliging the creditors to

extract it.

A procefs of compt and reckoning is of a very tedious nature. The conclusion of this action is, That the defenders fhould render a fair accent, and make