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The Sultan at the Fancy-Dress Ball given by the Viscountess Stratford de Redcliffe, at the British Embassy, at Pera, 1856. Party in Constantinople thrown by the wife of the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. '...the orchestra of the Italian Theatre...played the Turkish march and the French and English national airs whilst the Sultan proceeded slowly through the splendid saloons of the Embassy. Lord Stratford...received the Sultan...The ladies of the different Ambassadors and Ministers were then presented to his Highness. The Sultan looked on at the dancing with evident pleasure...Those who had pretty feet wore the picturesque costumes of Spanish, Swiss, and Italian shepherdesses. These dresses were mixed up with the gorgeous uniforms of the military and diplomatists, and every variety of romantic and grotesque attire, borrowed from history or the bal de l'opera'. From "Illustrated London News", 1856.