The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-07-14
FOR THE LADIES'
A Sultana's Marriage.


The following description of the re
cent marriage of Naile sultana, one ot
the two imperial brides, was furnished
to the London Standard by an English
lady who was an invited guest; On oul
arrival at the house, large building
situated up steep, narrow street not
far from Dolma Baghtche palace, we
were ushered by half dozen eunuchs
through an ants-room in which lounged
few atten dants, into fine apartment
crowded with slaves. There we were
requested to wait, as the Sultana had
not yet completed her toilet, coffee and
cigarettes being placed before us to
while away the time. We were just be-
ginning to tire of Watching the throng,
when the stir without proclaimed the
coming of the bridegroom, a man OF
twenty-four years of age, short and in
clined to stoutness, but not wanting in
a certain comeliness. Male Sultana
had herself chosen him at the Fridays
selamlik. This power of selecting a
husband, by inspection, as it were, is a
privilege Of princesses of the house of
Othman, and is carried to such an ex-
tent that even if the favored gentleman
already possesses a wife he must divorce
her and wed the sultana. Cases Of this
kind are rare; but one at least has oc-
CURED during the latter half of the
present century, when an officer was
compelled, much against his will, to
comply with the custom. Being rich,
however, he sought consolation in keep
ing his discarded love Ill separate es-
tablishment, a proceeding which is sup
posed never to have reached the ears of
his royal partner In the present in
stance, on the contrary, Mehemet Bey
was quite ready to embrace the chance
which fortune offered him. Poor and
without interest, simple aide-de- camp
uncertain of promotion, he suddenly
finds himself the husband of his SOW
ereign's sister, general and highness
to boot. His appearance was the signal
for frantic rush, to which he re-
sponded by scattering quantities of sill
yer piasters lin olden days they would
have been golden liras) among the
slaves. The bridegroom having passed
into the sultana's presence the ceremony
OF marriage was Immediately performed,
but only witnessed by the sultana's
mother. It merely consisted in the
Imam tying them together with
a rope aud declaring them man
and wife. Directly this was
over, Mehemet Pacha escaped by side
entrance to avoid being mobbed and
butfeted, according to the common
practice of the slaves, who must have
been appeased by unlimited bucksheesh.
As soon as the doors were thrown open
the whole mob poured helter skelter
into the inner chamber, where the bride
was sitting in state. with sister by her
side. All the slaves, and also the few
Armenian ladies who had been invited,
bent humbly down and kissed the hem
of her garment, but with us she shook
hands without rising, and motioned us
to chairs very near her. A fair, sweet
faced woman of some twenty-five sum-
mers is Naile Sultana. She was dressed
in loose-fitting Turkish robe of rose
colored silk, slashed with gold, while a
long white gauze vail, likewise en-.
broidered with gold, dropped down
from behind the little cap that sur
mounted her tightly drawn-up hair. On
her hands and bosom sparkled mag
niticent diamonds. Her single button
gloves had burst in fastening, and alto.
gether her toilet was far less perfect and
rich than we had expected. Through
out there have been no amusements be-
yonI band playing European music
in the courtyard. The whole atfuir was
a confession of the economy now neces-
sarily reigning at the palace.