The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-05-19
ish tongue, would say-Christian, thou

ish tongue. would say-Christian. thou
pleasest me
While it Is doubtless an exaggeration
to aver like Lady Montague that Turk
ish women are in all ways more free
than Europeans, Signor de Amicis
assures us that whoever has been at
STEAMBOAT cannot but laugh when he
hears them spoken Of as slaves. Ladies,
when they wish to go out, order the
eunuchs to prepare the carriage, ask no
ones permission, and come back when
they please, provided it Is before night
fall. Formerly they were obliged to
submit to the company Of a eunuch or
female slave or friend, and IL any woman
appeared alone in an unfrequented
street, some policeman or rigorous old
Turk was sure to accost her with,
"Whither goest thou? Whence CONTEST
thou? Why art thou alone? Is this the
way thou respectest thy effendi? Re-
turn straightway to thy abode" But
now they od 90 out alone aoan by
all hours Ia Mussulman suburbs, and
in the Frank quarters. Nor is there
any sign OF q man accompanying or
following them, nor would any now
presume to accost them even when un-
protected. Indeed, to see Turk in the
streets OF Constantinople-w do not
say with u lady on his arm or at his
side, but even stopping for one moment
to speak with 'veiled woman"
although the pair should bear husband
and wife written on their foreheads-
would appear to all the strangest Of
strange things, an unheard OF piece of
impudence, such as it would be In our
streets were man and woman to make
love to one another In public. Gal
lantry coram populo does not exists
there as In Italy; there is to be found
neither the lackadasical sentinel who
tramps Np and down under the window
of his lady, nor the painting rear guard
following for three hours on the stretch
in the footsteps OF his goddess. Thus
the Turkish woman does in fact enjoy
far greater liberty Of unattended
locomotion than do her European
sisters, and indescrbable is the de-
light and excitement with which she
rushes into noise, crowds, light, air
she, who at home can see but one man,
and must live behind grated windows
and in clustered gardens. 1t Is anus
ing, says the author to watch from dis
lance one OF these uncaged prisoners.
and mark how she spins out and multi
plies the pleasures Of vagabondizing.
First she enters @ mosque hard by to say
a prayer, and dallies a quarter OF an
nOur under the pOrticO Chhtterlng with
friend then to the bazar to look in
at dozen shops, and turn two or three
upside down in quest OF trifies; next
she takes the tramway (there are horse
cars In StambouD, gets out at the fish
market, crosses the floating bridge,
stops to contemplate all the
braids and switches In the hair dressers'
windows on the main street of Pera;
enters cemetery and eats a sweet cake
sitting on tomb; returns to the Frank
city, strolls down through Galata to the
Golden Horn, turning q hundred cor
ners and glancing at everything out of
the corner of her eye; buys a bunch
of flowers, drinks lemonade, gives
aims to a poor man, crosses the Golden
Horn in a caique, and walks for awhile
about Stamboul; there she takes the
street car again, and reaching her own
door Is capable of turning back to make
the tour Of group Of dwelling houses.
1t Is obvious that any poor. ILL coun-
seled, corpulent effend, who should try
to follow his wife to spy out her actions,
would be left out Of sight before half the
journey was accomplished.