The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, 1877-01-11
BEAUTY. SOLD By AUCTION.
How the Harcms Of ConsiantinOple are Re-
cruited with Circassiun Girls.

4 correspondent of the Paris Gaulois
describes q recent visit to a slave sale III
Constantinople. Notwithstanding the
! nominal abolition OF the slave trade in
Turkey, through the efforts of the civil
lied European governments, it still con-
tinues in a furtive way. AS long as the
harem exists, this trade will exist.
This sale was in house. All the win
dows facing the street were closed. The
correspondent accompanied an Egyptian
friend and his valet in carriage to the
mosque of the Sultan Mahomet, at which
point they turned into narrow and COM
plicated streets, which finally became
impossible. They alighted before pile
of mud which could be crossed only on
foot. Reaching the house, they were in
troduced into the selamGk, or chamber
reserved for male visitors. Here they
found the slave dealer standing, short
pipe in hand. He was little old Tri-
politan, Gassirgi- -Messoud-Aga, by name.
He has followed the business for forty
years. After the customary salutation,
pipes and coffee were offered and taken
with the silence usuul to Orientals before
any business transaction.
An ebony young eunuch soon entered
and whispered in Messoud's ear. The
latter made sign of acquiescence, and,
! turning to the guests, said "Bouyou-
roun" (permit me). The guests rose
and followed him into room of the
harem. 4 long divan, about a foot and
half high and four feet wide, surround
ed three sides of the chamber. An ex-
cavation in the wall held the cushions
and coverings used at night. The floor
was covered with mats and loose pieces
of carpet. Upon the divan were seated,
side by side, two white girls from Cir
cassia, in the dress of their country. OPP
posite were three other women, one of
whom was white, from Georgia, and the
others black.
All arose as the visitors entered. One
of the Circassians seemed scarcely four
teen. She had bright chestnut hair,
long, dark eyelashes, which shaded eyes
of liquid blue; light, we'll rounded
form and regular features, overcast with
melancholy. She was beauty of the
frst-class. Her companion, aged eight
cen, was slightly less beautiful, but was
performer on the kemendja or Turkish
violin. In addition, she was recon-
mended as a good cook, seamstress and
washer. Her brown hair fell to her
knees. She looked at the visitors coolly,
and fixed her eyes on the Egyptian with
an expression that seemed to ask him to
purchase her.
At sign from Messoud one OF the
black girls disrobea the Circassians.
This was not complicated process, as
their dress was simply tdnic, pair OF
trousers and chemise. The younger
seemed distressed the other simply
fixed her eyes upon the floor. Messoud
passing his hands over them, called at
tention to their regular, pearly teeth.
He dwelt also upon the strict decorum
of their antecedents.
After an examination of the Georgian
and glance at the black girls the party
returned to the selklnilk to close the
bargain. The youngest Circassian was
quoted at 300 pounds Turkish, the elder
at $50, the Georgian at 120. The Egyp-
tan found them too high priced, and
took one OF the black girls for thirty
eight pounds. He simply wanted a
house servant. The sale being COM
pleted, the party were again served with
pipes and coffee, and left the house.
The preliminaries to this were con-
Quoted with great caution. The valet Of
the Egyptian was sent the day before
to announce his masters desire, aHd
Messoud Immediately came to the latter
to assure himself that all was right by
personal inspection Of his, customer.
As a mere visitor to the barem would
have been eyed askance, the correspon-
dent was introduced MS Tahir-Bey,
Syrian gentleman who wished to take
chambermaid home with him.