The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-02-23
Rifaat's Divorced Wife.

Rifaat Bey, who left Cairo last night
in charge of Circassian guard. is
more fortunate than Mahmoud Sami
Baroud; his wife, although lady of
rank, and supposed to have been SUBJ
iected to "pressure in high quarters
to induce her to remain in Cairo, per-
sisted in her resolution to accompany
her husband into exile. The Project of
Police was sent to Nine. Rifaat to
urge many reasons why she should not
forsake her native land. Was she
aware Rifaat Bey's destination was
Malta? 1t was Christian country; at
tempts would be made to destroy her
| faith, to compel her to turn Christian.
To all this Nine. Rifaat's answer was:
| Where her husband went she would go;
if he became Christian, she would
become one, too; his people should be
her people; his God her God.
But whether Rifaat Bey himself de-
serves to be the object of such absolute
| devotion an incident that occurred on
the platform last night gives one cause
to doubt. Rifaat was calmly seated in
a first-class carriage; and the exile's
impassive dignity and calm while the
sound of women's wailings came from
the waiting-room impressed one as
quite heroic. In an adjoining carriage
were Nine. Rifaat and female slave,
both of them closely yelled and attired
in the black. baggy gowns Egyptian
lafies float about in. These ladies were
silent, and appeared dispirited; but two
fine little boys, the eldest being about
ten years of age, stood at the carriage
window and talked away cheerfully in
French to the European visitors who
had come to wish them good speed.
From the black crowd of wailing wo-
men in the distance suddenly one wo-
man broke, throwing off the grasp of
| those who tried to hold her, and rush
| ing up to Rifaat, her veil all torn and
her beautiful face Zone of the most
beautiful have ever SEEM literally
bathed in tears, cried Fin truth, with an
exceeding bitter cry), For the love of
Heaven, give me back my child!" She
| spoke in Arabic; but her gestures and
her despair were so eloquent that the
| English gentlemen round the carriage
started, and in delicate compassion
drew back from her and let her plead
| her cause as she might. e p
! Rifaat Bey, who had q cigarette in his
mouth and continued smoking while the
poor, wild creature poured forth her
complaint, only took it out of his mouth
to say one word signifying ''Be off with
you;" and as hideous black Nubian
came up quickly the Bey nodded to him
with the same gesture with which he
might have ordered the slave to brush
away fly, and so the poor woman was
led away weeping aloud and beating
her breast. Then the story was
whispered round that this was Rifaat's
| first wife, whom he had divorced. But
an Egyptian, like most Easterns, sets
| great st re by his sons, even though he
has grown to hate their mother; and SO
| Rifaat carries away into exile the only
| child of this poor deserted creature,
whom / should judge by her fair COM
| plexion and lovely oval face, and also
by her perfect knowledge of French, to
| have been a Circassan slave, chosen for
her beauty and trained in accomplish
ments like the Fair Persian in 1.-The
! Arabian Nights" and married, as the
''Fair Persian herself was, to be
thrown aside asightly.
The Nubian eunuch would seem to
more compassionately than his unat-
tractive countenance promised; for aft
Ell time she returned with her veil ar
ranged, and only weeping quietly. She
passed Rifaat' carriage with bent head,
and only stopped at the adjoining one.
| She had brought sweetmeats with her
for the DO and put them into his hands,
and kissed him, weeping; while he ac-
cepted all her fondness with placid in
difference which led one almost to hope
his stepmother might follow out the
traditions of story land and give him
cause to regret the affection he valued
| so lightly.
After a few moments the Nubian
came near the carriage, and seemed to
remind the weeping woman she had
promised there should be no fresh dis
turbance. This me she walked back
to the other women quietly, and until
the tran had started we saw no m re
of her. Later. ore of the saddest scenes
| have ever witnessed was that of the
bla@k-gowned women round her. their
guard of eunuchs stand NC with clasped
arms and watching them, while they
walled over her on the monotonous note
Egyptian women dwell upon in lamen-
tation. The divorced wife and be-
reaved mother was distinguishable by
her torn white veil and uncovered face,
and also by her silence. She seemed to
have exhausted grief, or at any rate her
sense of mourning, and sat there among
the dark figures almost as though she
were dead and these were the funeral
re I1N IN hora (~t;n.