Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-06-17
Peep into a Turkish Harem.
BY MRS. SARAH BARCLAY JOHNSON.


read with interest The accompanying article is
from advance sheets Of new work by that
lady. entitled Hadji in Syria"
1t was with no little pleasure that accepted
an invitation from the Bash CATH, whose
office is next in rank to that of the Pacha,
to spend day with them. They had proved
themselves true friends +; but apart from this
| had long been anxious to obtain a sight into
harem life
On entering the house | was greeted with
the usual cry of welcome, "Ahlan WasSahlan, y
in which every occupant of the harem united
| Even the laves ran to the door clappng their
hands. and making the noisest manifestations
of delight. Five minutes after / had taken
my seat, fngans of Office and pipes were hand
ed in which | attempted to join them, but the
effort proved a signal failure The delicate
workmanship Of the tiny cups containing the
| coffee by no means exempt one from burnt
tongue, nor makes palatable the unsweetened
! beverage, for the charm of Turkish coffee with
Some,) consists in its being boiling hot, and
the absence of Sugar. The narghileh, so temp
| ting to the eye, with its crystal urn and amber
mouth-piece, was soon al aside with disgust
which fear was hardly understood by my
Turkish friends who SO highly appreciate these
| luxuries that most of their time is devoted to
their enjoyment.
! There is but one Turkish lady on my list of
acquaintance who can boast of their ability
to read and write. Her presence afforded
| some variety to the trivial subjects generally
discussed for she not only possesses the rare
accomplishments of reading and writing but
has improved them, and her conversation
| showed that she was conversant with the Koran
aud other textbooks Cf Mahommedan faith
In addition to this a pilgrimage to Mecca,
| and hand ever ready to relieve the wants of
! the poor, have secured for her widespread
| fame.
About noon, dinner was announced, not how
ever, before each one had washed her hands
and face, and observed the usual forms of
prayer. A large round waiter was placed on
a stool richly iu!aid with pearl, and upon it
| little dishes in endless variety were temptingly
| displayed. Among them confectons prepared
| from rose leaves and apricOts, transparent jel-
| lies and soups composed of variety of nuts
| Cucumbers scooped out and filed with rice
and minced meat, a favorite dish, and another
almost as popular, bowl OF minute cylinders
OF dough, dried in the sun, and then mixed in
sauce of butter and sugar. Cushions laid on
| the floor were substituted for chairs but alas,
| for knives and forks In their stead my only
| resort was wooden spoon. The favorite wife
! and the queen of the harem frequently handed
me morsels 0. food with her own henna-tipped
| fingers, intended as a mark of great honor
| Having done full justice to our elegant lit
| tie dinner the luxurious dyan was resumed, and
| warm discussion entered upon as to the man
ner Of spending the afternoon. The bath was
proposed by some, but a dissenting voice was
| heard from the seat Of honor, where the chief
| lady, gracefully reclined, in favor Of music
and dancing. A messenger was accordingly
| dispatched for tamborines and dancing women
for in the East dancing is considered far
| beneath any but the poorer class, who make
| it trade, and charge certain sum for their
| services on festive occasions. Their dancing
consists in few undaating movements of the
body, not ungraceful, and accompanied by the
castenet and the tamborlne.
! Nv European dress caused them as much
amusement as their curious apparel Afforded
me, and they were not satisfied until we had
| exchanged costumes A mirror was brought
| into rcduiSition, in which they wonderlngy
surveyed the change wrought by the SPORT
| 4 LARGE number had assembled to see the lady
| from the new world and they were very
curious to know something about the manners
and customs of my country. Great was their
surprise on hearing of the liberty enjoyed by
their Western sisters which, strange to say,
| although used all the terms of enthusiasm
! nv knowledge of Arabic could command, they
! did not seem at all to coyet. They could not
conceive of woman possessing soul. On
asking one of them what would become of her
1 a. oIo I cholI ha mt undpr
pround-nothing more" "And your husband" :"
said |, will he be doomed to the same fate?'
Oh, no." she sadly replied, " he will be taken
above, and there enjoy all the delights OF
paradise"
Among them were some lovely Georgians
profusey adorned with sparkling jewels and
purest of Orient pearls. There were few
besides these with any pretensions of beauty
| Nearly all however, had the soft gazele eye
so often apostrophized by poets.
| left them, feeling more grateful than ever
for the light [ enjoyed, and the hope OF bliss
ful immortality, and ardently desiring to share
with them my own glorious civil and rellgouS
privileges. which would at once release them
from the leading cause Of their degradation
the tyranny exercised over them by their hus-
bands, who can put them away for any reason,
every reason, and no assignabe reason.
] can but feel emotions of the deepest in
dignation at the painful recollection of quite
pretty young girl, who was inhumanly divorced
by her hard-hearted husband before either OF
them was twelve years of age, simply because
he saw q more beautiful girl and was unfortu-
nately able to buy her. Oh J the inexpressible
and by US inconceivable wretchedness flowing
from this awful traffic in female fesh-the
burning shame and the crying sin of Oriental
life Love, of course, is a plant that will
thrive in no such soil Indeed, it seems to be
rather an exotic in the Orient at this day cul-
tivated only here and there as mere pot
house plant.