The weekly clarion., 1880-05-12
A PICKLE HAREM.
New York Times Humorist.

| New ork lines Humorlst.
The ex>Khedive of Egypt is in an unhap
py state OF mind. By care and industry
accompanied by large outlay, he succeeded
in collecting a very fine harem. 1t was es-
| pecially rich in what our art critics would
call ''choice examples of Circassia and
| Georgia, and it includes the best specimens
| of Egyptian, Turkish and Syrian girls, be-
| sides small amount of select French moral
! bric-a-brac. When, in compliance with the
| enthuastic desire of his fellow countrvmen
! and the foreign Consuls, the Khedive abdi-
Gated he took his harem and such valuableS
as he could lay his hands on and went to
Naples, intending to have a quiet life OF
study and meditation, surrounded by his
harem and his portable property.
At Naples his troubles began The Gov
eminent rented him a fine palace-popularly
known as the EavorIta-ou the shore of the
bay and a. the foot of NeSuvius where be
took up his residence and arranged his col
lection of wives in a series of pleasant rooms.
1t formed decidedly the best collection of
of the kind that any Italian city had seen
since the days of the Roman Empire, and
the ex-khedive was naturally proud of it.
Before very long, however, he found that
harem can not be kept together so easily in
Naples as in Cairo. The windows of the
palace were not latticed, and the ladies of
the harem could not be prevented from
looking out at the people in the street.
Neither was II practicable to prevent stray
Italians from seeing an occasional wife at
the window. The eunuchs did their best to
keep the harem in subsection, but their ct
forts were unayailing, and before the ex-
khedive had occupied his palace many
weeks he was compelled to notice that his
harem was gradually growing smaller.
He at once spoke about it to the chief
eunuch, and demanded to know if several
of his wives were not missing. The eunuch
maintained that beyond the usual loss of
wives by the wear and tear incidental to
dressing, no losses had occurred. The ex-
Khedive could not be thus deceived. He
was confident that seven or eight of his
best wives had vanished, and although,
owing to the want of a trustworthy cata-
logue, he could not prove that he was right,
he resolved that no more losses should occur
without his knowledge.
A careful watch soon showed the leak in
the harem. Every night a throng of hand
some young Italians would appear under
the windows of the palace, and few wives
would jump into their arms. In this way a
constant drain OF wives was in progress and
the alarmed ex-khediye saw that unless it
could be stopped he would soon be left wife
less. \
The Italian Government showed itself cold
and heartless. When appealed to by the
ex-khedive, 1t explained that there was no
law under which an Italian could be be
headed for having in his possession one of
the eX~khedive's wives, or the latter pre-
vented from jumping out of the window.
In these circumstances he decided to take
severe measures, and ordered his entire
harem to be tied together by the ankles and
chained to post. To his great dismay, he
found that his servants had been corrupted
by civilization, and were unwilling to obey
orders that would bring them into difficult
ties with the Italian police They fatley
refused to lay illegal hands upon a single
ankle, and the ex-khedive sadly realized
that he was living in a free and Christian
country.
There was nothing for him to do but to
sit up at night and watch his family He
walked up down the corridors of the palace,
bursting into a room whenever he heard a |
noise, aud occasionally catching wife in
the act of climbing out of the window. |
But this could not last. The want of sleep
soon told upon him. Moreover, his wives |
resented his conduct in watching them, and |
whenever he put his head out of the window, |
the Italians that stood below in the street |
watching for wives, and making bets as to |
who would catch the next one, addressed |
disrespectful language to him, Thus he |
was forced to see his harem melting away |
Day after day he would walk through the |
rooms in which he had arranged his collec- |
tion, and note how many valuable specimens |
were missing. One day it would be his |
most costly Circassian who had left him. |
taking all her back hair with her, and |
another day it would be favorite Egyptian |
who had gone, after solemnIy pledging her |
self never to leave her lord and master. At |
last it became more than the ex- Khedive |
could bear. When no less than fifty>seven |
wives had been lost the ex-Khe- |
dive abandoned the palace and fled to Rome,
leaving the remnants of his once unique |
harem behidn him
1t is said that the five wives which he |
left at Naples will probably prove faithful
to him, as they are the most unattraaiive
of the lot, and have hitherto failed to find
any Italian who would consent to take
them. The ex-Khedive, however was ex-
pressed the opinion that he does not care
what becomes of them. He has definitely
given up the profession of a wife collector,
and he is now living at a Roman hotel as a
single man. Perhaps he will try to console
collecting postal stamps or other
objects less elusive shan wives. Meanwhile,
Lae young Neapolitan dandy no longer
blocks up the street in front of the Favorita
Palace, and his recent athletic sport of catch
The ex>Khediye's wives as they threw them
selves from the windows, is at an end.