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The Sultan Proceeding to the Ball given by the French Ambassador, at Constantinople, 1856. 'The Sultan...accompanied by his Ministers and the chief officers of his household, arrived at the French Embassy shortly after eight o'clock, nearly an hour earlier than he was expected. The guns placed in the garden of the Embassy fired a Royal salute. The streets of Pera, through which the Sultan passed on his way from Tophana, were illuminated, chiefly with Chinese lanterns and variegated lamps, and the front of the Embassy was brilliantly lit up with large oil lamps; and in different parts of the garden blue lights were kept burning, which flung a bright radiance over all around. The street leading to the gate of the Embassy and the avenue down to the entrance, were lined with French and Turkish troops'. From "Illustrated London News", 1856.