Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1869-04-17
The HaremS Of Oonstantinople.
LrTE At THE TURKISH cApyyA,.

The following are extracts from series
of Constantinople letters published in
the Perseveroasa Of Milan:
The Sultan is an indoIent man, Of Iym.
Phatic temperament; he has not had
much education, and understands no
European language but French, of which
ne can speak few words. His favoritt
occupation is to look after his poultry
yard, which contains the rarest speci
mems OF hens, ducks, geese, swans, etc.
hs BlVes enormous prices for rare birds,
ana passes hours in feeding his hens and
watching bis cocks fight, Among the
higher officials of his Court There are a
few able men, but the great majority of
them, like the general body Of the EN-
Ployees Of the State, are ignorant and
inefficient. All the places under govern.
ment are given by favor, which is usually
gained by services that can not be openly
acknowledged. But the ineficiency Of
'he administration and the nullity of the
sovereign are small evil compared with
the influence exercised by foreign diplo-
macy and foreigners in general. There
are really as many governments at Con.
Stantinople as foreign representatives,
each'Of whom gives his coantrymen far
more protection than they would be
entitled to at home.
The power which exercises the great.
ess Influence in Russia. She is the real
promoter of the demands OF the various
na,ionalities, and especially OF the one
hundred thousand Greek inhabitants of
ConstantinoPle, who still dream of the
restoration of the Byzantine empire.
Even Ia outward appes rance the Russian
embassy is easily distinguished from all
the others. II occupies a magnificent
palace, which, being built on the heights
of Pera, commands the whole of the
capital, and looks down upon the resi-
dence OF the Sultan, the Golden Horn, and
the distant roofs of Stamboul, as If its
wide portals only awaited the entry of
the Gar During the winter season the
palace IS opened to all the higher society
OF the town, and in the Northumberland
rooms balls and concerts are frequently
given. At Constantinople an embassa-
dor is respected aud feared in proportion
to the magnifcencc of lis SURROUNDINGS.
Though the interior of a harem is
misunderstanding the spread of Eu.
ropcan notions among the Enthusiastically
closed to all male visitors, the society Of
foreign ladies is eagerly sough, by the
wives OF all the higher func,ionaries.
Ihe rooms they occupy, even in the
wealtlisst houses, are low and dark, and
furnished in very bad taste, chiefly owing
to the mania of Turkish women for tawdy
ornaments from Vienna or Paris. By
The sides Of the finest spec linens of Orr.
entail art may frequently be seen a vase
Of common Bohemian glass, with dusty
wax flowers, which they prize more
highly than many of the beautiful orna-
ments OF their native manufacture. The
same is the case with their dress, which
Is Is caricatnre Ct the fashions of Paris.
They have discarded the velvet Jacket
and trousers for stays, shiny boots, long
trains, and chignons. 1t has al. o be-
come the fashion 20 learn music, and a
! acher on the piano-forte-of course a
lady-has made fortune by giving les.
sons in the barems. Another fashion is
10 havo your portrait taken. Their IA
Iorlte artist is an Englishwoman-a Miss
Curtis. Some time ago this lady was
to paint ll-lengti por-
rait of one of the Sultaus. The Sultan
vas short and stout, and Miss Curtis
raintcd him accordingly. This, how.
'ver, gave great offense, and the Sultana
insisted on her being made a foot taller,
aging that as she was only nineteen
Iears old, she wonld be sure TO grow to
hat size. But instead Of growing taller,
he Sultana only grew stouter; so that
It the end of twelvemonth the portrait
vas almost unrecognizable. Miss Cur
Is was then requested to paint the pic
ure third time, aud it rs now nailed up
o the ceiling of the harem.