The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-04-01
THE HAREAFS OF THE EAST
The Sultan and the Sultana--Court Life
mt the Turkish Capital.


The following are extracts from series OF
Constantinople letters published in the Perse-
veranza Of Milan:
The Sultan is an indolent man, of Iymphatic
temperament; he has not had much education,
and understands no European language but
French, of which he can speak few cords.
His favorite occupation is to look after his
mems OF hens, ducks, geese, swans, &c. He gives
enormous prices for rare birds, and passes hours
in feeding his mems and watching his cocks fight.
Among the higher officials OF his court there
are a few abl, men, but the great mai ority CT
them, like the general body Of the employees
of the State, are ignorant and inefficient. All
the places under government are given by
favor. which is usually gained by services that
cam It be openly acknowledged. But the in
efficiency Of the administration and the nullity
of the sovereign are q small evil compared with
the influence exercised by foreign diplomacy
really at Constantinople as many governments
o foro1en ropre sentatives, each Of whom gives
his countrymen far more protection than they
would be entiJled to at homie.
The power which exerciseS the greatest in
huence is Russia. She is the real promoter or
the demands OF the various natOnaities, aud
especially Of the 100 600 Greek inhabitants Of
Constantinople, who still dream of the restoIa-
tion of the Byzantine empire. Even in out
ward appear rance the Russian Embassy is easi-
ly DISTINGUISHED from all others. It occupies
magnificent palace, which, being built on the
capital, and looks down upon the residence Of
the Sultan, the Golden Horn, and the distant
roofs OF stamboul, as it's vide portals only
awaited the entry Of the Gear. During the
winter season the palace is opened to all the
higher society Of the town. and in the bril-
llanty lighted rooms balls and concerts are
frequently given. At ConstantinOpIe an am
bassador is respected and feared in proportion
te the maenl6cence OF his surroundings;
Though he interior Of harem is still-not-
withstanding the spread Of European notions
among the Enthusiastically closed to all male
VISITORS the society of foreign ladies is eagerly
sought by the wives Of all the higher function
aries. The rooms they occupy, even in the
wsalthiest houses, are low and dark, and fur
nished In very bad taste, chiefly owing to the
mama OF Turkish women for tawdry ornaments
from Vienna or Paris. BY the sides Of the
finest specimens OF Oriental art may frequently
be seen q vase Of common Bohemian glass,
with dusty wax flowers, which they prize more
highly than many Of the beautiful ornaments
OF their native manufacture. The same Ia the
feature Of the fashlons Of Paris. They have
discarded the velvet jacket and trousers, for
stays, shiny boots, long trains, and CHG
nons. It has also become the fashion
to learn music, and q teacher on the piano
Giving lessons in the harems. Another FASH
ION is to have your portrait taken. Their fa-
vorite artist is an English wOman-a Miss
Curtis. Some time ago this lady was commits
the Sultanas. The 6ultana was short and stout,
and Miss Curtis painted her accordingly. This,
however, gave great offence. and the Sultana
insisted OH her being made q foot taller, say
ing that, es she was only nineteen years old,
she would be sure to grow to that size But
instead of growing taller, the Sultana only grew
stouter; so that at the end Of twelvemOnth
the portrait was almost unrecognizable. Miss
Curtis was then requested to paint the picture
third time. and it is now nailed up to the
ceiling OF the harem.