Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-09-07

That bewitching enchantress, Olive Harper,
whose pen is a magic wand in unfolding beau
ties to the minds eye, writes from Constantine
pie to the Alta California her experience in a
Turkish bath
On entering we were conducted to II large
room, where we must undress and leave our
things. think there were nearly fifteen 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 if nothing
were amiss but somehow felt as Eve did when
she made the discovery that she was little too
thinly clad for that time of the year.
A servant caught up our bathing-dresses and
left the room, Reckoning us to follow, we ranp
the gauntlet of a hundred pair of eyes before
reaching the divan, where was laid, laid like
defunct still no clothes on. | raised my head
to see if l could not find friendly towel, but
the attendant ducked my head back on the pill
low, as much as to say, ''lie there"
was so sleepy that felt like calling very
hard names when the woman came and made me
get up after she hal rubbed me down like race
horse, with pair of very starchy gloves, which
left the skin as red as lobster. Them all be-
ing in the same state, we were led into another
great yaulted, marble-foored room, where the
divans are made of marble, which is not at oil
soft to lie on. This room was warmer than the
last the more yapory, and the vapor more per-
fumed with sandalwood. After lying few
moments the marble grows soft, and sense Of
the most delicious repose comes over you. You
feel soft languor and dreamy content, and
your eyes close, and you lie with smile of ex-
quisite laziness on your lips, and Your imagna-
ton flies off in every possible direction when
the 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
permits you, into long circular room, with mar
bic pillars supporting the blue dome that il be-
spangled with stars. All around tho room are
marble diyans, and in the centre of all immense
fountain in the basin there are sixty or seventy
| girls and women playing in the warmed perfumed
water, or lying in all attitudes on the marble
| edge of the BASIN The water rises in one grand
column over fifty feet, and falls back into the
upper basin while the lower one ia undisturbed,
except by the beautiful white form that it de-
| lights to receive.
| Small fountains were placed at regular in
teryals around the large room, and from
these the attendants poured continually over the
bodies of those who lay over tho divans
warm water, which was carried off by pipes
One attendant stood at my head holding nv
gold embroidered bathing apparatus one latll-
cred me with perfumed soap till began to i'm
agine myself gigantic rose. Hold this printer
| somebody. Another attendant rubbed me with
| gloves made of sponge, and another poured
| warm water over me necessarily, not dashed it.
nor let 1t trickle, but just emphed the beautiful
chased silver ever over me with the gentlest of
| motions, till ii seemed like caress. The soap
| of bitter almond was rubbed on my face, and an
other kind lbbed i'll my hair, then more per-
fumes, flowers and sweet singing Voices and
| forms of heavenly beauty. Time and the outer
world were lost in this delightful trance, and l
desired nothing else in this life to make
me content for life. To lie there OH
the marble and dreamilY watch the glo-
rious white of the living statues with
| long black hair and large dark eyes to see
| thp gOft mp1ulQtup nptiOna fbpaa
in the warm, delicious water to look at the love-
ly forms stretched at full lengt on the fountain,
and others laughing, sporting mingled with af-
fectionate glances and resting in the water on the
marble floor, dripping from every limb the
perfumed water that glistened on theii
limbs, and the trickling o the fountain
through the jealously-guarded windows were
enough to send one Of an imagination lik,
mine of into realms of fancy and make on,
believe it was tho Promised Land, and cause
the whole soul to be satisfied with the enclant
ing picture. which needed no Imagination t.
embellIsh. For, after all, what is the
heaven we have been taught to believe in
but place where all Is light, and perfume. ant
love, and beauty where every sense shall b.
satisfied, and every desire filled with a pure ant
exquisite fullness 1t is true that in this HEAVIER
of mine there were not any men, but ! did no
miss them IN my supreme content nor, l think
did any Of the women who were lying abou
I clasped in each others arms or laughing an,
+ sporting in the water, and think now, as / hay
before, had Just as lief have my paradise al
: exclusive one, where no man could come.
just as | arrived at this sensitive conclusion
s my attendant aroused me from my dreams o
n perfect peace by pointing to the fountain all,
signifyng that was also to get in. Ny fou
friends then made their appearance with the ser
= wants and our luncheon, and nobody can tell o
the comical lookof us five, sitting round the bas
ket eating without any clothes on. have seel
b many sights in my life, but we women aroun,
8 those baskets, with chicken legs in our hand
0 and glasses of wine and other things, were to-
, perfectly ludierous for anything, and langhe,
till couldn't eat. II had only had napbil
TO cover my face think | should have laid dow
: and died on the spot.