The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1874-05-21
Anoerson JnteQlgeu1tr.
An Amsucan Woman's Experience Of the
Turkish Bath.

times, elaborate descriptions of genuine Turk,
ish baths, by Bayard Taylor, Ross Broune and
others, and have always had my imagination
filed with the combined ecstacies OF being
scrubbed with hot water and perfumed soap
and iced sherbet, and made up my mind not
to leave Turkey without having that delightful
experience. You know that belong to the
softer sex, and that they. do not bathe promls,
euously here as in Baden, Long Branch and
MANY other fashionable places. This bath
where went is for ladies alone, not even the
common herd" being admitted for the charge
is very high.
Four of us went, together with two women
servants who carried our towels, bathing dress
es and lunch. 1t is an all-day's job, and the
ladies all take lunch with them.
On entering we were conducted to large
room, where we must undress and leave our
things. think there were nearly fifty women
there in all stages of undress, who all paused
to regard us with curiosity while we disrobed.
Men can pull off their most sacred garments,
toss them in heap, and run about as It moth
ing were amiss, but somehow l felt as Eve did
when she had made the discovery that she was
a little too thnly clad for the time OF the year:
A servant caught up our bathing dresses and
left the room, beckoning; US to follow. we
ran the gauntlet of hundred pair of eyes be-
fore we reached the divan where I was laid,
like a defunct. The room was very warm and
grew warmer perceptibly, though how, | don't
know, until I began to feel as if should sutto-
cate, my heart beat painfully hard and l grew
very faint, when one of the women gave me
some lemonade, of which I drank two glasses.
Then all of sudden, began to perspire, and
looked like pumpkin that had laid out all
night in a heavy dew I felt as if was dis
solving, and waited patiently till the end should
come, and should be but the transparent es-
sence of what was once very substantial
body but that time had not come. | was so
sleepy that felt like calling very hard names,
when the woman came and made me get up,
after she had rubbed me down like race horse
with pair of very scratchy gloves, which lett
my skin as red as lobster.
Then, we all being in the same state were
led into another great vaulted marble foored
room, where the divans are made Of marble,
which is not at all soft to lie on. This room
was warmer than the last, and more vapory,
and the vapor was more strongly pertumed
with sandal-wood. After lying few moments,
the marble grows soft, and sense OF most
delicious repose comes over you. You feel
soft languor and dreamy content, and your
ewes close and you lay with smile of exquisite
laziness on your lips, and imagi gination flies of
in every possible direction, when the sweet
repose is again rudely broken and you have
again to "move on"
Now, indeed, opens the door of paradise.
You are led, still without other covering than,
nature gives you, into a large circular room,
with marble pillar, supporting the blue dome
that is spangled with stars. Ali round the
room are marble divans, and in the center is an
immense fountain, in the basin of which are
sixty or seventy girls and women playing in
A. of
attitudes on the marble edges of the basin.
The water rises in one grand column fifty feet,
and falls back into an upper basin, while the
lower one is undisturbed except by the beau
tiful white forms that it most delights to
receive.
On all the divans lay women of all ages and
compilations, even to some negresses, who only
served to make the white bodies and polished
limbs appear more lovelier than ever. Small
ler fountains were placed at regular intervals
around the large room, and from these the
attendants poured continuously over the bodies
of those who lay on the divans, warm water
which was carried off by the pipes One at,
tendant stood at the head, holding my gold
embroidered bathing apparatus, one lathered
me with perfumed soap till l began to imagine
myself gigantic rose, and all these beautiful
beings laughing and singing and gliding around
Another attendant rubbed me with gloves
made of sponge, and another poured warm
water over me necessarily, not dashed 1t, not
let it trickle, but just emptied the beautifully
chased silver ever over me with the gentlest OF
motions, till it seemed like caress. Then
soap of bitter almonds was rubbed on my face,
and other of another kind was rubbed in my
hair, all done in that tender, caressing way
that made it positive ecstacy; then more
perfumed water till I felt drowning in sea of
all delights, in which could distinguish per-
fumes, flowers, sweet singing voices, and forms
of heavenly beauty.
Time and the outer world we've lost in the
delightful trance, and desired nothing else
in the world to make my life content forever.
To lie there on the marble and dreamily watch
the glorious white of the living statues, with
the long black hair, and the rich dark eyes; to
see the soft, undulating motions of them swim
ming in the warm, delicious water; to look at
the lovely forms stretched at full length on the
divans and on the edges of the fountain, and
others laughing, sporting, singing, mingling
with afectionate glances, and wrestling in the
water, or on the marble floor, dripping from
every limb the perfumed water that gistened
on their bodies, and the trickling of the foun-
tain and the rosy, subdued light that stole in
through the jealousy guarded windows, were
enough to send one of an imagination like
mine off into the realms of fancy, and make
one believe it the promised land, and cause the
whole soul to be satisfied with the picture,
which needed no Imagination to embellish.
My attendant reused me from my dreams of
perfect peace by pointing to the fountain and
signifying that was also to get in. My four
friends then made their appearance with the
servants and our luncheon, and nobody can tell
of the comcal look of US five sitting round the
basket eating, and without any clothes on. l
have seen many sights in my life, but we wo-
men around those baskets, with chicken legs
in our hands and glasses of wine, and other
things, were too perfectly ludicrous for anything
and I laughed till couldn't eat And my
dreams of a luxurious, sleepy, sensuous para
disc, filled with 'undulating figures of transcen-
dent beauty were gone and | was fully pos