The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-09-21
THE SULTAN,s sERAGLIO.
How the Great EstabIishmento on
the Bosphorus is Conducted.
brooklyn Eagle. ]

Ha
brooklyn Eagle.1
The sultan's seraglio, whose build.
. ings stretch to the length of mile
and a half, within a mile of Their
apia, contains more than 5000 in
mates, and is city in itself.
Here the government of the en-
pire is carried on chiefly by women
and children. The viziers and min
listers are but the servants of these
secluded creatures, and although at
times statesman, supported by a
strong palace clique, may WELD real
power, he seldom does SO long, nor
is his power very great. From the
moment he enters office he is assailed
by host of enemies whom he dOes
not see, and whom he cannot disarh
or prOpitiate. A Turkish minister
who is advised to begin reforms
may promise all that an ambassador
demands, but he we'll knows that
any innovaLion he attempted would
disturb vested interest which might
happen to be defended by some Cir
cassian favorite of the sultan's, or by
some insolvent baltadji, the confiden-
tial servant for the time being of
the sultana valide. AS for the sui
tan, as rule he is as much at their
mercy as his ministers. A puppet
in the hands of women, he never
knows exactly who rules him, but is
obliged, for peace's sake, to do rs
his mother, sisters, kadines or favor
ties order. More than one sultan,
weary to death of seraglio intrigues,
would have been glad to make a
clean sweep OF his female court, but
any step in this direction would
have led to conspiracy and deposit
ton. ,.,-4. -
The loyalty of the people, which is
| great towards the Office of the
padishah, is null as regards the in
dividual who holds the office, so that,
! provided there be sultan, the peo-
pie care little who he is, nor would
they be disposed to take up arms for
any padishah who had been deposed
by n palace plot. The seraglios-
| for there are two, the new one,
where the court of the remaining
sultan resides, and the one to which
the favoritles of departed sultans are
relegated-harbor between them
some 1000 persons, and are a source
of ruinous expense to the treasury.
Not only are the allowances of the
sultan's kadines, ikbals (favorites)
and guienzdes (aspirant favorites)
| large, but the ways of the palace are
extravagant. Each of the imperial
ladies has her daira or retlnue of
companions, male and female SER
wants; and all these people scatter
gold about without counting it
whenever they have a whim to sat-
isfy.
Sultans do not contract regular
marriages, and the reigning lady at
the seragliO IS never the sultan's wife,
but his mother. She bears the title
of valide, and all the inmates of the
seraglio owe her servile obedience.
Her household consists of about $50
servants and guards. Next to her
comes hasnadar ousta or mistress of
the treasury, who is generally a
shrewd old woman, promoted from
the ranks of domesticity> for her
talents in gossip and housekeeping.
If the sultana valide dies the hasna-
dar succeeds her as queen of the
seraglio and this arrangement some
times leads to strange consequences.
Under Abdul Medjid the palace was
ruled for years by hasnadar
who had been a washer wo-
man, and whose chief adviser
was churlish baltadji (hew-
er of woody who could not read, but
had the power to dismiss viziers. 1t
was in fact the baltadji who ruled
| Turkey. After the hasnadar come
| the sultaD's semi-lawful wives and
favorites in the following order:
First the tour kadines, who rank as
spouses until his majesty divorces
them and gives them in marriage to
some pasha, which he does pretty
often, then the ikbals or favorites,
to the number of five or six, and
then the aspirant tavorites, whose
number is unlimited. s'
A girl in the seragllo, even if she
be simple cavedji or coffee bearer,
becomes a guieuzdes or aspirant ia
vorite from the mere fact of the sui
tan's making complimentary re-
mark on her. The word is derived
from guieuz, eye, and it means girl
which has attracted the masters
glances. If, for instance, his majes-
ty, while visiting one OF his rela-
tives, remarks carelessly, "what
a pretty girl that is who
brought in the Coffee" the
damsel is at once and without
further parley promoted to the
rank of guieuZdi, which gives her
suite of apartments, daira and
claim on the imperial exchequer for
the remainder of her life, or until
such time as the sultan finds her a
husband.
AS every one who marries from
the seraglio takes with her her
clothes, her Jewels, furniture, SER
wants, carriages and lump in money,
which often amounts to thousands
of dollars, it may be imagined how
the civil list is mulcted when there
are many aspirant favorites. After
the sultan's favorites, precedence is
given to the kadines-effendis
mother of some prince or princess of
the blood, and finally, TO the foster
sisters of the sultans or princes and
princesses; then the sultanas, unmar-
ried princesses of the blood. Foster
parents and their children are always
regarded as permanent members of a
Turks household, and during several
years Nahir Panoun, Abdul Med
jed's foster sister, held a paramount
influence i'll his household.
Coming now to the male members
of the seraglio, we find, in addition
to the necessary staff of chamber
lains, secretaries, guards, eunHchs,
scullions and cooks, a corps of 200
pages and musicians, and a very
army of BARRIERS, shampooners, test
ers of sultan's food, athletes, buf-
foons, ram-fighters, astrologers and
grooms. The ram-fghters were ap-
pointed to amuse.. Aziz, but
they have been maintained by the
present sultan because it is almost
impossible to dismiss any one who
has once held Office in the palace
without giving him pension. The
same may be said of astrologers,
whose functions have become sine
cure, though they are occasionally
summoned into the haremIik to
entertain the ladies by for
tune-telling. AS for the bufoons
and dwarfs, they have always been
numerous, for ladies living in seclu-