Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-07-15
Selett aNistellaup.
IN THE HAIsEM.
How the women Dress and Look

A lady correspondent Of the New
York Sun, who was SO fortunate rs to
attend the recent wedding festival of
the oldest daughter OF the Nlccroy of
Egypt, where thousand women and
not man, except black eunuchs, were
admitted, thus describes the dress and
appearance of the women of the Egypt
ian court: AS for the personal appear
ance Of the houris, II you want to
cherish the illusions OF your childhood
you had better continue to read the
poets, and only see them with their
wells on. In the sacred precincts OF
the harem, with the "burko' off, and
all the mystery torn away, they be
come mere homely, common, dowdy
trumps. Out of the eight or nine hun
drcd native women in the room, there
were perhaps six that were pretty and
attractive. The others were either
the coarsest of thick Tipped negro girls
of the regular Congo type, or over
grown, unwholesome, desperately stu
pid-looking white women. A good
many were old and haggard: andall OF
them, almost without exception, had a
pitiful torlorn, aimless, hopeless look,
like poor, miserable, imprisoned slaves
as they are. Their dresses, too, strik-
ingly picturesque in the first general
effect OF color and light, were, when
seen in detail, a very funny mixture
of Oriental gorgeousness and cheap
European tinery. Stripes are evident
ly the mode just now in Cairo, and the
baggy trousers and overdress were
made OF striped materials of every
texture and color under heaven-crim-
son and white satin, blue and gold,
orange, rose color, the most vivid
green, purple and every possible shade
of all of them, IL velvet, satin, silk,
grenadine, gauze and calico. The
overdrcss is made like loose blouse
or double gown, and belted in an easy
way round the waist so as entirely to
hide any comeliness of form there
might be. The walk is nothing but q
waddle. Over tins costume, to give
greater elegance, some OF them had
put on old-fashioned European coats
OF the commonest material cotton
velvet or delaine-and OF antediluvian
cut; and all OF them had perched on
top OF their heads the most abomina-
bic little pork pie hats of every con
ceivablc color and covered with bu-
giles and Gotten lace and artificial
FLOWERS and marabon feathers, and all
the rag, tag, and bobtail scraplEgs of
the milliners' tinery which are SO dear
to the hearts OF factory girls in Amer
ica. Nothing could be more conrical
than the reappearance OF these ancient
horrors in the innermost sanctum OF
an Egyptian harem, or than the sight
among all these gewgaws OF superb
hanging diamond ornament, tor every
woman in the room had at least one
magnificent jewel somewhere about
her-a pair OF earrings, or necklace,
or a tiara. All seemed to fare exactly
alike, white and black, homely or not,
and TO be on precisely the same foot
ING, as far as costume and jewels were
concerned. except the four special and
legitimate wives and their daughters.
These were dressed in full European
bali dresses, coiffilre, corsage, flow
crs and all, and were handsome, styl-
ish-looking women, overloaded with
superb jewels. One of them, the
mother of the little BRIDE. had a really
sweet and interesting face, and was
very active in making things "go off
well,' just like hostess at home. A
younger sister of the bride, who is to
be married soon, is a handsome blonde
and quite like any girl Of her age at
home in dress and style. The bride
herself was covered from head to foot
with gold and jewels. Her dress was
heavy white 1amask, thick, embroider
ed with gold, and her veil, or mantle,
was SO loaded down with coins and
trinkets that it had to be carried out
behind her by some of the slaves, to
take the weight of it from her head.
The whole front of her dress was
mass of diamond aud pearl necklaces,
and in the midst OF them, in comical
contrast, was a Photographic likeness
of her Old papa.