Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-06-19
turkish Ladies.

The Turkish women have now willingly
adopted European amusements and fash
ions. Operas and balls please them far
better than the solitary life to which they
were formerly condemned. In Europe,
however, there are also serious employ
iiients for the female sex, which render the
wife the husbands assistant. The Oriental
will not listen to anything of this sort, and
Believes she has fulfilled her duty when she
annually presents society with child,
which she does not suckle herself. If a
young Greek, Armenian or Levantine girl
Is educated in convent, she learns to read
and write little; If she remains at home
helearns to speak French from her Euro
pean goyerness. She gets on fastest In those
things la which she receives no instruction,
aud will look out of the window for half
the day, or practice positions before the
mirror. The mother dreams away three
fDurtlis of her time on the sofa, and
leaves her children, who are always numer-
Ons, to the care of the servants. The les
son she necessarily repeats to her daughter
Is 10 look out for husband. As there are
far more girls than young men, the latter
are treated by the ladies with that atten-
tiOn which, in Europe, falls to the share of
the fairer sex. The richest toilet and the
most provocative desire to please are en-
ployed, and even scandal is not Stunned,
lift compromise man; the end justifies
the means. Love letters, rendezvous, Sc
cret betrothels, in case of need even an
eloDempnt, followed by the paternal bless
ing-all Is permitted, but no mesdllidnCe.
In this land where there is no nobiity-nO
aristocracy of the mind or OF wealth-a
Castilian arrogance prevails. Everybody
Is vain of his personal appearance, so that
cloth dealer would never give his daugh-
ter to q tailor, or a carpenter marry shoe
makers daughter.
When the laughter has visited the the
aters long enough and shown herself suffi-
GENTLY at the promenades, followed, at
some distance, by her mother, and her OBJ
jeet of marrying has been gained, she asks
for a rich equipment not in clothes and
linen, but in silk dresses, jewelry, and,
above all, diamonds. Non1aid servant will
marry a shoe-black unless he lays, at least,
a. diamond breastpin on the altar of love.
The most necessary things are neglected,
but there is lavish display of supertluities.
When married, the young lady rises at
late hour, spends a good part of the day on
the sofa, drinks many cups of tea, receives
from time to time, forgets the little she has
learned, does not write, read or work, and
leaves all the household duties to her nu-
husband. The latter goes at daybreak to
Galata, spends his day in the office at ka-
war Khan, or on Change, and goes home at
night. In winter, the couple, whether rich
or not, visit the theater, where they have a
box, or at least fourth of a box. On Sun
day morning, church and walk offer an
excuse for displaying the richest toilet. The
embassy balls, which unite all the fractions
Of. society, are naturally attended. So soon
as the first beams of May sun burst forth,
everybody flies and settles down, either on
the quay of Therapia, or at Blyuk-de-reh
and 'Yeni- Keni, on the Bosphorus, on the
Gulf of Kani-Ki, or under the shady groves
of the Islands of Kalki and Prinkipo. The
town house is intrusted to poor family,
who, in this way, get free lodgings, and
wooden house is hired for six months, gen.
orally at a very high price, in which the
lady shuts herself up for the whole day
She dreams till evening OH her eternal sofa,
and then goes out in a dazzling toilet, to re-
fresh herself in a coffee house on the beach.