220     IN RUSSIAN TURKESTAN
Other actors were coming forward; but it was late,
and we had had enough, so, after throwing a few
coins to the performers, we sent for our droshkies
and took our departure.
The story goes that early in the seventies, when
the Amir of Bokhara sent an embassy to St. Peters-
burg, his Minister, pining for tamasha, went with
his suite to the Royal Opera on a night when
Adelina Patti happened to be singing there. The
Minister was so charmed with her that he offered,
the next day, to buy her for his harem! When the
gentlemen of his suite were questioned as to what
part of the opera had pleased them most, it was
found that the tuning up of the violins had given
them greater satisfaction than anything else. About
eight years ago the Amir was seized with a desire
to give a real European ball. He had often visited
the Caucasus, and knew quite well how they managed
such things in the gay town of Tiflis; but the
difficulty in Bokhara was to get dancers. Native
ladies could not of course be expected to leave the
seclusion in which their lives were spent, even for
a short fling upon the polished floor; and if they
had come, they would never have succeeded in
stepping the waltz. This is how the Amir got over
the difficulty. He sent out invitations to all the
Russians dwelling near or in his province. Every
man, every woman, no matter their degree or station,
was invited to the Amir's ball; and they all came,