The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1829-09-16

0F The following extract, from Madden
Travels in Turkey, viii give some idea of the
treatment which Christians receive at the
hands of that people, in whose favor some ed
itors in this country manifest so warm an inter-
est.
SLAVE MARKET AT CONSTANTINE PIE.
/ had an opportunity afforded me Of seeing
this horrid place, where, perhaps, the love-
lest women In the world are bought and
sold like cattle, inspected 10y every scoun-
drel who wears turbaH, and. submitted to
the scrutiny of every v.rago who affects to
be Judge of slaves. Franks are not suf-
feIed to visit this bazaar but now and then,
when an opn.ent slave merchant falls sick,
Christian hdkkim, or doctor, gains admit
lance, The slave bazaar is a large quad
renguiar courtyard, with a shed running
along, a range of narrow cells on the
ground floor, and a gallery above, which
surrounds the building ; or the second stage
the chambers are reserved for the Greeks
and the Georgians; below are the black
women of Darfar, and Lamar, and the
copper colored beauties of Abyssinia. The
latter are remarkable for the symmetry OF
their features and the elegance of their
forms; they commonly sell for $3.50, while
the black women seldom bring more than
$50. The poor Greek women were hud-
died together; | saw seven or eight In one
cell, stretched on the floor, some dressed IN
the vestiges of former finery, some half
naked some of them were from Sclo, 9th
ers from Ipsara; they had nothing in com
mon but despair! All of them looked pale
and sickly, and appeared to be plnlng after
the homes they were never TO see AGAIN,
anu tne nIends they were 10 meet no more.
Sickness and sorrow had impaired their
looks, but still they were spectres OF beauty /;
and the melancholy stiffness of their cells,
were sadly contrasted with the roar of mer-
rIment, which proceeded from the dungeons
of the negro women. No scene of human
wretchedness can equal this. This girl,
who might have adorned her native village,
whose innocence might have been the SOL
ace OF an anxious mother, and whose beau
ty might have been the theme of many u
tongue, was here subject to the gaze of
every hcentlous soldier who chose to eX-
anime her features or her form, on the pre-
tence of being buyer. | saw one poor
girl of about Is, brought forth to exhibit
her gait and figure to an old Turk, whose
glances manifested the motive for her pur-
chase; he twisted her elbows, be pulled
her ANGLES, he felt her ears, examined her
mouth and then her neck, and all this while
the slave merchant was extolling her shape
and features and protesting she was only
turned OF Ii, tina: she neither snored nor
started in her sleep; in every respect she
was warranted. loitered about the bazaar
until saw the bargain brought to conclu-
sion, the girl was bought for $3.50. The
separation of this young creature from her
companions in wretchedness, was a new
scene of distress; she was pale as death,
and hardly seemed conscious of her situa-
ton, while all the other girls were weeping
around her and asking their last farewell.
Her new master laughed at the sad parting,
and pushed her before him to the outer
gate; but there she stopped for moment,
and entreated permission to go back fol the
remainder of her Greek attire, which | dare
say she priced more than any thing in the
world, for probably it was all on earth that
remained to her of what she brought from
the home which she had for ever left. The
old Moslem accompanied her back, and in
a few minutes | saw her returning 20 the
gate, with a little bundle under her arm,
trembling from head to foot, and weeping
bitterly.