Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-22

Wei made. their exCFemIt1eS are nne and
their hands are soft, white and supple,
and they might be dkened to the budding
flower which opens at the first rays of the
morning sun. Their compilations are
white and their cheeks tinged with rose;
their eyes are sometimes blue. but that is
exceptional; they are generally black as
jet. and when fully open are Of almond
form and full OF sensibility and delicate
sweetness. They never conceal them and
gallant men often confess that they have
interfered with their repOSe Of mind. 1t
is pleasing TO speak Of these beauties, for
they have few to admire even this much
Of their c0meiiness. The houses, many
Of them, are elegant and so constructed
as to completely conceal the hidden glance
Of the fair who are doomed to eternal iso-
latiOn when without a veil, as no woman
can be seen lawfully by any other man
than her husband. She is forbidden the
homage that all nature demands. Con-
trolled by powerful hand and bound ir-
revocably by custom, she is compelled
not only TO kiss the hand Of her tyrant,
but to hug the chain which manacles her.
This despotism is the more extra0rdina-
~ on the part Of the men, inasmuch as
they pretend to feel delight in beautiful
objects Of nature; they will watch the
play of birds for hours, and think it
crime to disturb or deprive them Of the free
air they breathe. Yet they incarcerate
the loveliest and most beautiful Of all the
Creators works, and think it a great
favor TO permit woman's enjoyment of a
Towering shrub in some hidden recess.
MALE TYRANNY.
In tearing aside the impenetrable cur
tain of the harem, is only TO see its
inmates, like the flower which the heated
khamsin touches, whitening under a
jealous despot whom the law arms with
OF rrl
ion is endured in slayish silence. Sach
is the rule Of custom which alone re-
gulates society among Mahometans, if
intercourse between the sexes there can
be dignified with so exalted term. The
women rarely leave their homes, or even
enjoy the beauties of nature, as do the men
who profess great love for rare exotics
and beautiful flowers They are employed
in preserving their compilations, the
delicate tint of which is never blemished by
the light Of the sun, and enhancing their
beauty by every means that long studied
art can effect, only to please one whose
delight is assured when he knows that his
prisoner is safely confined. 1t seems
incredible to men used to our Western
civilization that in the nineteenth century,
among so large a portion of the human
family there should be an impossible bar
rier drawn between the sexes, when every
manly inspiration dictates a generous
sympathy for the delicate and graceful
woman whose instincts prompt her to
trust In man as the natural protector of
her sex. Here she finds in him, on the
contrary, a violator of a great law of
nature who assumes the right not only
| to shackle her mind, but also to confine
| her person by a law of his own creation.
| So binding is the law that no man
| shall see the face of woman not his prop
| erty, that, in case of a violation of its
/ sanctity, it looks with favor on the action
/ of the injured husband should he solaee
1 his jealousy with the death of the intru-
| der. 1t is not even permitted to recognize
4 a woman outside of the harem. In spite
/ of strenuous precautions and the difficult
| ties which environ them, Moslem women,
eluding the greatest watchfulness, are
| fond of coQuetting, like their Western
! sisters. Though entirely uncultiYated,
/ they have delicate and pretty ways, and
| show, as if by accident, their beautiful
! dresses and jewelry in opening the black
/ silk habarah which envelopes them when
+ on the street. No women excel them in
/ the language CT the eyes, which, with
them, are always large and wide open,
TO-DAY WITHOUT A TOMORROW.
Society among the inmates of the harem
] means simply smoking cigarettes and
| pipes, and the most trivial amusements.
Instead of the sparkling conversation and
pleasant music with which the sexes re-
| ciprocally entertain each other among
| Western people, horr BILE screenings, the
mOnotonOus noise of drums and the clang
of tambourines are here the solace of wo-
man in her hours of ease. The boosted
luxury of the palaces offers in its isola-
tion no attraction to arefined nature. This
life makes people prematurely old; a man
of 80 is wrinkled and superannuated, and
woman of 80 has passed her meridian.
| No one works unless compelled to it, as
tranquility of mind and person best
pleases the Oriental taste. They ignore
the passage of time, which never disturbs
them with the cry of bukrdh tomorrow J;
| yet people write of the destinations OF
| Eastern life. 1t may be the climate, with
| its sunny sky and the quickening air OF
the desert, or possibly the stagnation OF
existence which deludes them. 1t can
/ not be the effort of thinking or of feeling
| that awakens pleasing impressions, for
there is nothing here that does not clash
with every sentiment, habit and custom
| of intellectual life.
| Society is the isolation of prison,
| though the captives are surrounded by
| numbers of people. The philosopher re.
siding in the East is forced to mediate
bitterly upon the waste of humanity
| around him. Only an anchorite whose re.
ligiOus duty consists in counting beads
! could be charmed with sucl m0n0t0ny
and silence. The man of energy and
thought would think it cruel punish.
ment to be forced to undergo the ordeal OF
| intellectual stagnation amid a people
whose ignorance and Incidence fill their
minds with egotism, obstinacy and self
importance. 1t is a common thing for
Egyptians who have been educated by
order of the government in the best col
leges in Europe to come back to Eastern
life and Immediately throw away their
books, abandon intercourse with
intelligent foreigners, shut them
! selves in harem among
/ ignorant women and there end their ex-
istence. This is probably what they mean
when they say that Sin their education OF
mind they do not neglect the heart" An
Eastern man will sit for hours inhaling
the perfume of a sweet flower and enjoy
ing the music of fountain (murmuring
| at the time a chapter in the Koran, with
out stopping to understand its meaning
and the beautiful objects of nature which
Allah has spread before him. He enjoys
| to-day, but never thinks of preserving OBJ
/ jects which please him in sculpture or
/ painting, however dear to him, for the
sake of the pleasure they might give in
the future. This their writers call life
rich in sensations.
Gen. Lorlng speaks of the extreme
| cleanliness of the Egyptian women, part
| of whose religion 1t is to battle and per-
I FFtss hon cn1tr =