Saint Mary's beacon., 1877-11-16

sIgRkisH Eri0rErrE, And DINNER
sCUxroMs---On occasions .uf ceremony,
writes etrsveler in Turkey, il il the
clstpsn for the slaves TO jlSce them
selves one on each s,de oFf new ar
nsah and, thus aueefully supported ffom
the elbew, tAe Me.sulmaa hdy allows
'hersen % be slowly and iaboricusly es-
Ycorted upward. .,ai.,ss-ss .i-'..A1-, 80 -.
To q '.Erant" this constrained move
znent il, to say the lesst Of il, unpleas-
ant; but as a mark of great attention it
ha. to be endured, and the slight inilic-
tiOn islsoon eaded, the seeeption rooms
Of the faAily baine rarely hishas than
the hrst fioor. Asiave raising a hea-
w curtain OF camel's ha,r embroidered
with gold, We find Zeheira khanum
waiting TO bid Us welcome, and to assist
a hurried change Of dress; for :he sun
set signal is now rolling over Stamboul
from each of its numerous batteries, the
guests and children are already seated
spoon in hand; slim Circassian girl
waits to pour ater over the hands from
a ever of richly ornamented silver,
while another holds the soft towel en-
broidered with gold thread winch we
take with US to the table, and in few
minutes we are in the places OF honor
reserved for the strange ladies'. Two
tables had been arranged on the mating
of the "sofa" (the central haiD. They
are formed Of disks Of FURNISHED brass,
about four feet in diameter, placed on
low stool: beneath this is spread large
square, which is often Of silk woven
with gold threads, and soft cushions are
laid around. In some rich houses these
dining.disks, called 'tepessy," are
made OF solid silver. An Eastern wo-
man taking BEE. place at the ''tepessy"
scarcely foot and half above the
ground) sinks upon her cushion in the
most graceful manner imaginable, but
the feat is by no means so easy Of ac-
complshment by Frank It Is ne
cessary to be so placed as to have the
right arm free 10 reach with ease the
dish placed in the center of the table;
YOU endeavor, perhaps, TO kaeel in an
easy way but the cushion is soit and
yielding, and there is dahger Of an un-
expected over-balance amongst the sau-
GERS Of pickle and sweetmeat; you sit
back, but your spoon makes vague and
useless advances toward the distant soup.
bowl, YOU turn sideways, to find that
you are scarcely showing due politcncss
to the mistress of the house, upon whom
you have deliberately turned your back
It is bewildcring. At length a plying
"calfa' brings forward little stool,
and with infinite precastion your feet
are slipped beneath the low tray, and
there they are condemned 10 remain,
immovablc, until the end of the repast.
as an ill-advi>ed movement might easily
overturn the banquet. 1t is needless TO
cxpaiiate on the torture which is some
times thu. silently endured, but it is
undcniable thatthe ease Of position con-
ferred by pyosaic tables and chairs more
than counterbalances the picturesque
effect and Oriental charm OF crouching
round Turkish ''tepessy." This meth
cd of dining almost on the ground and
of eating with the fingers is rarely now
adopted, all "civillzed" Oriental famI-
lies taking kindly TO our Western Gus
toms in this respect; but even the most
Europeanized amongst them return,
during the month OF Ramazan. to the
primitive habits Of their ancestors.