Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1856-11-13
The Mysteries, Miseries, and Delights q
q Turkish Bath.

slighted at the door OF the head bath
inc establishment at Grand Cairo.
Behold me, now, in the ves,ibule Of Il
genuine Eastern hummum. Two tall Nj
indian slaves assist me 20 describe, and, in
the place ofmy multiplied garments, attire
me- IN piece of loose cloth, bu oned jus,
above III hips. Thus denuled. | moun.e.l
on pair Of wooden clogs, or pattcns, about
ten inches in height. | am then supported
on either side, while | make my way over
the glossy marble floor TO the bahiny >a-
loon. number one. Here / am. stretched
upon plank covere by Il white cloth, and
recline at an angle Of forty five. The room
is then filed with vapor. and in about ten
minutes | am perspiring profusely through
every pore. grow faint, the vapor is
turned off, few buckets of tepid water are
thrown over me, a cup Of coffee is admins
tered. and a few whfis, at Il chiboque. |
am revived, and am straightway conducted
into bathing saloon number two
Here, sitting on the side Of IA marble re-
servoir of hot water, / am drenched with
bnckets Of the scalding liquid | am
the" laid down and scrubbed from head to
foot with wooded gloves and sort of full
ler's earth. Then drenchcd again. Pm
next submitted to the operation of peeling,
process which removes all accumulation
of dirt and scurf from the surface; which
in fact, seems TO take off an outer skim
The peeling over | am drenched again.
The next stage is thar of pumice stoning-
applied to the inside Of the hands, the soles
of the feet, and the heels, until all horny
and hard parts are rubbed down to deli
cate soitness. Now comes a season of
comparative leisure and repose. While
am on my back, the operator is cutting my
finger and toe nails, and carefully extract
ing from every part Of my body whatever
is extraneous, unsightly or inconvenient.
am next made to sit UP, and, in my sit
ting posture, am shaved-the hairs are
carefully pulled out of my nostrils, my ears
are picked, my hair is cut, my whiskers
Is, at last, declared to be finished. To
these processes succeeds that Of shampoon-
ing; namely, moulding to the flesh, crack
ing the joints. and loosening every integ-
ument in every socket throughout the
frame. Then, latherng all over with a
peculiar kind of agreeable emollient soap;
and then, another drenching. The time is
now come to be introduced into bathing sa-
loon number three. The atmosphere of
this is, after the temperature of the last,
gracefully cool, and here l am permitted
to immense mysefin a large cistern of mo-
derately cold water. OH how refreshing
and restoring, after the swealings, rub
bings, scrubbings, seedlings, pulings
pinchings, kneadings, erackings, hair
tweaking, belathcrings, and pumice-ston-
ings of Nos. | and 2.
am reluctant to quit my present quar-
tcrs, but am commanded to get out. do
so, and my tender and newborn infant
like skin, as susceptible as the surface of
skinned eel, is gently wiped down, and
enveloped in sheet--then, mounted once
more on my forty paltens, and, supported
rs at first, am led back to the robng sa-
loon. where, laid upon mattress on the
floor with my head raised by pillow, and
with a quilt over me, am presented with
cup of coffee and Persian Ku!ian. |
sip. and puff. and, dose: and dose. and puff.
and sip; and am OF opinion that, after all
that have undergone, my present bliss
has been cheapiy purchased. l am rous-
ed from my revere by a polite inquiry if |
will be second time shampooned; to which
| certainly not" In haitian
hour, or thereabout, | rise and dress, and
leave the hummum And now it is feel
the benefit Of my bath | seem to have
gone back to the days ofmy childhood
My body is lighter and more elastic than a
feather. Myspiri!s are exuberant. am