Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-14


OF all eastern customs and habits. how little
Is known OF the inner life Of the Sultan, of his
ways of living of the harems as owned by the
rich pachas, and of the dominant influences of
Prince Backsheesh.
"Behind the lofty garden-wall.
Where stranger face can ne'er surprise
That inner world her all-in-aIl-
The Eastern woman lives and ciss>"
Owing to the nature Of the institution our
knowledge Of harem life is entirely derived from
the visits of European ladies. The Turkish au-
thorities. 1t must be confessed. are very amiable
in this respect and little diiculty is experienced
when the introductions are good. The Turk
Is commonly believed to be o sort OF Blue
beard. It Ia not so. Polygamy is not the rule,
but the exception. The lower classes never
have more than one wife; and it is only In
the case Of wealthy pachas that there are
three or four wives, the latter number being
legally allowed to every Mussulman accord
ing to the Koran" this is exclusive of al
most any number Of slaves and concubines
The husband must have no acquaintance how
ever slight, with women other than those Of his
own harem; and should he observe slippers out
side Of the harem door, he knows that ladies are
visiting and therefore cannot enter his own
house. Then, again. II perchance he strolls
through the bazaar. there must be no recogni-
ton Of any Of his own women, although they
| may be throwing away his money right and left
In most lavish way on silks and jewels. He
! must not say q word. and SO strokes his beard
and passes on with an "Inshallah" please Cod,
or Allah Kerim" God is great and merciful);
for now he knows only too well how the money
gOeS European ladies are the objects Of much
attention and curiosity on the part OF the wo-
| men Of q harem. Their dresses are felt they
| are paved all over, and asked childish questions
| necessarily; for 1t must be remembered that a
large harem consists Of wives and domestic
| slaves, the latter counted by hundreds.
| A young English lady, seventeen years old, OF
| great personal attractions and engaging man.
ners, some time back visited q harem accompa-
! MED by her mother and friends. The women
| questioned her and would not believe that she
had mo children, or even a husband One OF
| the wives, whe took q great fancy to her. threw
| her arms round her neck and entreated her to
| stay with them forever. She could have any
| husband she liked, and even was so kind as to
especially recommend her o,Un, adding that she
| was sure he would soon want another wife, and
that she. the real wife, would much rather it
| was this nice English girl. as then there would
| always be the pleasure OF having her as a friend
| and companion. Here was a most decided offer
A firm refusal, however, of these honors caused
much surprise and disappointment.
Turkish ladies are very illterate and In very
few cases are able to read even French novel.
They live very quiet and happy life on the
whole, much Of their time being taken up with
visits. excursions to the Sweet Waters and
dressing. 1t is asked swell. what about mar
riage; there must be weddings, wives and fam
| ilies?" True; but, as in other things, they have
their own peculiar mode. The process of court
| ship is unknown among them. The matrimo-
| NAL negotiation Is carried on by q woman OF
mature age, or by the mothers on both sides,
who arrange marriage by visiting some desir-
able young lady at the baths. They chat and
expatiate on the good looks and accomplish
| mentso OF the young man proposed, and all is
| done. The tdnce never sees his wife until she
lifts her veil in the bridal apartments. The
| lady is often more fortunate, as she takes care
to have look at the gentleman through the
small apertures Of the latticed window, or
in some other manner, when he least expects
| it.. The Turkish ladies are fond Of giving en-
tertainments, especially a cake party, called
''chalva." On arrival at the hostess quarters.
escorted by slaves and eunuchs, they salute
each other gracefully by touching lips and fore.
head. They will then gossip quietly and CON-
pare notes as to their dresses, Jewels etc; and
if the harem be a distinguished one, dancing
girls are hired to perform with castanets and
| tambOurines, and thus time is whiled away
The signal for the ''Order of going" Is given by
clapping Of hands and ordering in the "chalva,
| which is rich and luscious something like our
| trife cake. At some of our dull and dreary
entertainments We might well take hint from
| this eastern fady, especially as she invariably
| bids adieu to her friends with the remark, 81
am SO glad it's all over" not intending to be
rude, but simply cOngratulating herself that the
little party has gone of to her entire salts
faction Rumor has it that the harem walls con-
ceal terrible secrets; that trap-doors COM
municate with the blue Bosphorus; and that
mysterious proceedings go on under cover OF
darkness.
The Sultan never marries The mothers OF
his children are styled Sultanas. and have sepa-
| rate establishments; but as they have been
slaves they are not permitted to sit at table
with their own children, although these very
children are princes and princesses. His
Majesty Abdul Hamid has only four children,
and all by one wife; but even she dares not sit
| down In presence Of the Sutan's mother, but
must stand before her deferentially. The mother
of reigning sultan-the queen-mother or Sui
tana Valdez, as she is called-is the first lady In
| the empire and always treated with great cere-
mOny. She has unlimited influence. Her po-
sition is unique and her power iu the affairs OF
grand vizier himself; often, indeed, the
appointment Of the latter is to be
attributed to her intrigue and fnesse.
The Sultana Valdez Is at the bottom Of every
scheme, and dominates her sovereign son to
such an extent that every pasha courts her
| favor. A great scandal and an amusing scene
took place when the Empress Eugene visited
| ConstaDtinople few years back. Being anX-
fous to recognize all the kindness and attention
paid to her, her majesty at q farewell interview
actually kissed the Valdez on the cheek, look
ing upon her In the light Of sister sovereign.
! The queen-mother was much excited, and few
into towering passion. Here was direct in
suit from giaOur. She took to her bed, re-
fused food for four and twenty hours, and had
several baths before she could consider herself
purged ofths enormity, this terrible stain; and
this old pigot, probably herself born slave,
thought herselftOo good forsooth, to be saluted
| by the beautiful Eugene. cOnsOrt of one Of the
most powerful emperors Of the continent OF
Europe.
One word about the slaves Although the
public slave market has been abolished since the
| time OF the Crimean war and the trade is now
cOntraband, the system of providing them is
carried on with the greatest ease and winked at
by the authorities. So long as there are barems,
so long must these establishments be supplied.
The merchants bring them from Circassia, Geor-
gia, and from Tripol Those from Circassia
fetch the highest price, and it is generally from
| this race that sultans wife is chosen. At GER
| tain seasons whole caravans arrive and the pick
of them will be handed over to some high Turk
ish lady who makes business of the matter and
acts as intermediary. She trains and educates
the girls, and at the fitting time makes her bar
gain. A handsome Circassian will fetch seven
hundred and fifty dollars and when thoroughly
educated thousand dollars may easily be asked
and obtained.
BLUEFISHING.
Il