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A tall, oldwhite mustache and no beard He was dressed in black from head to toe There was not even a hint of another color on the man He held a silver, al to protect the flaraceful, inviting gesture with his right hand, and with excellent Turkish but a strange accent he said:

“Welcome to my home Please enter freely and of your own accord without hesitation!”

Hearing such good Turkish in this place and under these circumstances completely bewildered me His accent resembled that of some of the Greek doctors in Istanbul

When he took th was just like that harsh strength of the driver who brought me here—so much so that I suspected they were the sah it were about to break my bones, was as cold as ice and resembled that of a dead man

To ease my confusion I asked:

“Do I have the honor of addressing Count Dracula?”

He boith great courtesy and grace:

“Yes, I am Dracula And I am pleased to bid the lawyer Azmi Bey welcome to my castle”

As he spoke these words in accented Turkish, the tall old man placed the candlestick on a stone He stepped out and broughtthe trouble and offered to help He responded again in Turkish:

“Nay sir, not at all It is very late, and my servants are not here; please let me see to your comfort myself!”

He brought the bags and trunks to a spiral staircase After cli hallway The Count’s footsteps rang heavily in this stone passage The Count opened a strong, heavy door at the end of the corridor We entered a large, well-lit room There was a round table with food set upon it and a cozy, roaring hearth visible on the other side of the room

Count Dracula stopped, setting s and trunks to the side He then opened another door, where there was a sle lah this room as well

The Count opened a third door and ht, for this was a well-lit bedroos in the hearth burned with pleasant crackling sounds and vented their ss in here, left them inside the door, and said:

“After such a long journey you e your clothes, rest, and put your belongings in place Here you will find everything you need When you are ready, come into the parlor; your supper is already prepared”

The Count quickly withdrew The bright, warm environment in which I found myself and the kind, courteous behavior of Count Dracula had i then reachedI hastily prepared myself and went into the parlor