Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-09-16

to maintain which is the sole occupation of
their lives. There are more females than
males in Egypt. They may be divided into
two classes, irrespective of the black slaves,
the native born and foreigners, among whom
we class the Georgians, CircassIans, and MIN
grelians The former are purchased by the
srandees, and people the harems of the
princes and individuals attached to the vice.
regal court, and are easily distinguished by
the fairness of their compilations, while the
Others are much darker, and have pointed
features. The foreign women were born
Christians, but were made to embrace the
Moslem faith before being brought into
Egypt. Those in Turkey, but especially at
Constantinople, have been endowed with
ideas and manners totally different from those
IF their own sex in their respective countries
AS they know, as soon as they enter the har-
ems, that they are destined to live in Opulence,
and that every respect will be shown them
for have already pointed out in '' Harem
life in Turkey and Egypt the etiquette that
the slaves observe to the princesses-the
seeds of ambition soon begin to be developed
among them, and they become bigots in their
new religion. The Turks take great care of
this kind of women Those who, by reason
of their rank or the post that they occupy in
the Government, disdain an alliance with
true-born Egyptian woman, no matter of
whatever rank she may be, generally purchase
at great price, varying from t5o0 to 1000
Georgian or Circasslan, whom they marry
immediately afterwards, and who, when she
has obtained hold on her husband affec-
tions-assisted by the councils of the mother
of her harem, a very Machiavellian Princess.
enters heart and soul into political in
trigues.
The women are not constrained in their
tastes nor IN their habits they eat, drink
coffee and liquors, and smoke to their hearts
content. Accompanied by their personal and
tavorite slave attendant, by the head eunuch.
they quit the harem whenever they like, pro
cecd to the hamman (bath)-the gnssiping
shop of the Orient-visIt other harems, and
20 shopping into the bazaars. They
tirely free in all their actions, and there is
no fear of their transgressing the bounds of
decorum etiquette, for | can safely say
that such line of conduct never enters the
heads of Moslem women. In the first place,
they too bigoted to engage in any halsons
with an infdel; and secondly, they know,
from what they have heard from their own
mother of the harem, and others, the fate
that awaits them if they were SO imprudent
to commit such a suicidal act-that death
would be their puni- -hment, well as that
of their paramour. Their habitual conversa-
ton among themselves is disgusting beyond
conception to European ears but they have
been trained up from childhood to converse in
that manner, without having the slightest
idea that by so doing they outrage the feel
ings of their sex; they do not think that
there is any harm in SO doing, and all a Euro
pean woman could say to them would not
convince them to the contrary
The Egyptian women generally pass their
time in frtvolities, except on certain days,
when they attend to their nlenage, as | have
already explained in :. The English Governess
in Egypt" in pleasing and wheedling their
husbands, studying their gastronomic tastes,
and satisfying their whims and caprIces.
They delight in relating stories themselves TO
their ladies of the harem, slaves. and eunuchs
congregated of an evening en- fannAe, kind
of c0nrersaeione, or in listening to the songs
of the almehs and their own slaves, having
their horoscopes cast, and asking their moth
ers of the harem to interpret the dreams they
have had during their kef, as Joseph did
those of Pharaoh of old
The splendid halls of 80 the mansions of
bliss - of the great, resound also with COM
plants. One woman murmurs at her bar
renness another at the favor bestowed by
her lord upon her ikbai for the time, which
raises her iealaus feelings to fever pitch. A
question of engrossing interest is how they
can obtain heirs. Most of the Turks adopt
a rigid system of economy as regards the PIN
money which they allow their wives, and the
backsheesh they bastow upon their ikbals,
slaves eunuchs, and other attendants. Many
limit their toilet expenses to fixed sum per
nense7n and do not allow them to give too
expensive fantasias. The Memlook women.
on the contrary, who possessed large landed
property, were very wealthy, and disbursed
large sums most generously expended their
paras with sparing hand for fantasias, and
lived in such a state of independence that they
had quite the upper hand over their husbands.
A Memlook bey's wife like queen in
her harem, and hundreds of the common
wealth fiocked to them for protection, for ap-
pointments for their husbands, fathers or
brothers, and soue t their influence to shield
them from the oppression of the beys but
that state of things is a record of the past.
i Emmeline Lott.