Morning journal and courier., 1882-11-09
The Nu uptiaIs of a Sustn n ..

! On our arrival at the house, large build ing situated up steep, narrow street not far l from Delma Baghtche Palace, we were usher 1 ed by half dozen eunuchs through an ante
 room in which lounged few attendants, ! into a room crowded with slaves. There we ! were requested to wait, as the Sultana had not yet completed her toilet, coffee and l cigarettes being placed before us to while | away tho time.
 l We were just beginning to tire of watch | ing the throng, when the stir without pro- \ claimed the coming of the bridegroom a man l 24 years of age, short and inclined to stout | ness but not wanting in certain comeliness. Naile Sultana had herself chosen him at the Fridays milk. This power of selecting ! husband by inspection, as it were, is a privilege of princesses of the House of Otham. ! and is carried to such an extent that even If I the favorite gentleman already possesses a | wife he must divorce her and wed the Sulta | na Cases of this kind are rare, but one at least has occurred during tho latter half of the present century, when an officer was com pellod, much against his will, to com ply with the custom. Being rich, however,
 he sought consolation in keeping his discard ! ed love in separate establishment, pro- | ceeding which is supposed never to have
 reached the ears of his royal partner.
 In the present instance, the contrary, Mehemet Bey was quite ready to embrace the
 chance which fortune offered him. Poor, | and without interest, simple aid de camp, | uuc6rGdln Of pfOmoClOu, uS SuOu6nly nuus | himself the husband of his sovereign's sister, II 8 general and highness to boot. His personal l appearance was the signal for frantic rush,
 to which he responded by scattering quan- ! titles of silver piastres Gin other 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 wit
 messed by the Sultanas mother. It merely ! consisted in the Inman tying them together
 with a rope and declaring them man and
 wife. Directly this was over Mehemet Pasha | escaped by side entrance to avoid being | mobbed and buffeted according to common practice of the slaves, who must have been I appeased by unlimited back sheesh.
 As soon as the doors were thrown open the l whole mob poured hel CT skeltsr into the in-
 ner chamber where the bride was sitting in
 state with a sister by her side All the slaves.
 and also the few American 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 some chairs very near her.
 ! A fair, sweet faced woman of some twenty two summers Is Naile Sultana. She was
 dressed in a loose-fitting Turkish robe of
 rose colored silk, slashed with gold, while a
 long white gauge veil, likewise embroidered
 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 expected. Throughout
 there have been no amusements beyond a
 band playing European music in the court. | yard. The whole affair was a confession of
 the economy now necessarily reigning at the