Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-09-10
a sULTANA's WEDDING.

The following description of the recent
marriage of Male Sultana, one of the two
Imperial brides, has been given to NE by
an English lady who was an invited guest,
and will be interesting to your readers,
especially to those of the gentler sex
'O On our arrival at the house, large build
ing situated up steep, narrow street, not
lar from Dolma Baghtche Palace, we were
ushered by half dozen eunuchs through
an ante.room, IN which lounged few at
tendants, into a 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. The
slaves, fifty or sixty in number, were clad
IN silks and satins, with small gauze tur-
bans perched on their untidy locks but,
except IN the huge earrings of the favorite
hand-maidens, we did not observe a single
jewel. Not Turkish lady was present,
she pride of the free born forbidding them
ever to visit, save by express command,
the Imperial seragli0s, where they would
have to humiliate themselves to mere pur.
chased slaves. But In their stead perhaps
= couple Of hundred gayly attired attend
ants from The other palaces mingled with
the household as representatives of the
Princess relatives.
We were just beginning to tire OF
watching the throng when the stir without
proclaimed the coming of the bridegroom,
a man of "a years of age, short and in
clined to stoutness, but not wanting in
certain comeliness. Male Sultana had
herself chosen him at the Friday's selamik.
This power of selecting husband by in
! &c
Princesses of the house of Gilman, and is
carried to such an extent that even if the
favored gentleman already possesses a wife
he must divorce her and wed the Sultana.
Gases OF this kind are rare, but one, at
least, has occurred during the latter half of
the present century, when an officer was
compelled much against his viii, to COM
ply with the custom. In th3 present In
stance, on the contrary, Mehemet Bey WAS
quite ready to embrace the chance which
fortune offered him. Poor and without in
teres5, simple aid. de. camp, uncertain of
promotion, he suddenly finds himself the
husband OF his sovereign's sister, a Gen
eral and Higness TO boot His appearance
was the signal for frantic rush, to which
he responded by scattering quantities OF
silver piasters I'm olden days they would
have been golden liras1 amongst the
slaves. The scramble that ensued battles
description. Euuuchs and girls fought
and tore each other in their eagerness
to obtain the coveted coins, which are
understood to bring extraordinary good
luck TO their happy possessors. So great
was the confusion that the bridegroom
could lot force his way along, which, being
perceived by an old woman, chief of the
harem she seized thick rod and laid in
discriminatory around her with unsparing
fury. On breasts, backs, heads and legs
descended the sharp cuts, but the slaves
seemed not to care long acquaintance
with the stick had possibly rendered them
callous to its stings, or else the pressure
from behind did not allow the foremost to
retreat, till at length, every piece having
been picked up, the mass of heated, dishev-
eied and bruised women fell back and per-
mitted the bridegroom to pass, for the first
time, into the Presence of his bride. The
ceremony of marriage was then inmedi-
ately performed, but only witnessed by the
Sultana's mother 1t merely consisted in
the Inman tying them together with a rope
and declaring them man and wife. Di-
rectly this was over Mehemet escaped by q
side entrance, to avoid being moGbed and
buifeted, according to the common practice
of the slaves, who must have been appeased
by unlimited backsheesh.
" As soon as the doors were thrown open
the whole mob poured heller SHELTER INTO
the inner chamber, where the bride was
sitting in state with sister by her side.
Al the slaves, and also the few Armenian
ladies who had been invited, bent hunbly
down and kissed the hem OF her garment
but with Us she shook hands without ris-
ing, and motioned Us to chairs very near
her. A fair, sweet-faced woman, of %
summers Is Male Sultana. She was dressed
In loose fitting Turkish robe of rose-col- /
ored silk slashed with gold, while long
white Sanze vail, likewise embroidered
with golG, dropped down from behibd the
little cap that surmounted her tightly
drawn up hair. On her shapely hands and
bosom sparkled magnificent diamonds
Her single button gloves had burst in
fastening, and altogether her toilet was
far less perfect and rich than we had ex-
pected. Close by stood her mother, a
bright-eyed, plain featured old lady. who.
being q slave, cannot publicly sit in
the presence of a Princess, although
her own daughter, but who, good
woman accepted the strange position with
IHe STRONGEST IhaFhS VI pFlue ana pleasure,
contenting herself with arranging from
time to time the folds of the brides enor-
nous train or sweep of the veil, and re-
pulsing several attempts made by the
slaves to pay her, too, respect. Having
satisfied our curiosity, and received an un-
anticipated apology from the mother, who
explained that she had been searching for
US 10 room which had been reserved, but
to which we. pleased hy the novel scene,
had declined to retire, we rose, and after
wishing the bride every happiness, babe
her farewell. With a kindly smile she
thanked Us, and shaking hands, asked US
to come and see her again. In the outer
room further refreshm ent3 were brought
us. and with them appeared the Suitana's
sister, who wished thus to pay US COM
pliment. Her slaves Immediately handed
her cigarettes, but she steadily refused to
shock our European prejudices by smoking,
and when we left she rose with ready
courtesy to return in the graceful Turkish
fashion our parting bow. II Constantinople
Letter.
The surveying party, under United