Huntsville gazette., 1885-11-28
TURKISH GIRLS.
Accomplished Coqusttes Who Delight b
Startling Romances.


Accomplished Coquettes Who Delight IN
Startling Romances.
The male slaves hatter and tease the
little girls so that long before they ap-
proach maturity they are accomplished
coquettes and know the full value Of
their charms. When girl gets to be
fourteen or fifteen she begins to look
around for q romance. Some mar
riageable young fellow sees or hears of
her and is conquered. He never dares
to WOO her openly. If he did the
probabilities are that he would get the
bottoms of his feet tickled with the
bastinado. No, he adopts more
subtle plan. When the fair one walks
out she finds a hyacinth or blush rose
dropped mysteriously in her path. He1
curiosity is piqued, and it does not take
many repetitions of this move to con-
vince her that she has an invisible
lover. There is a regular formula
which the maiden passes through of
blushing, being scornful then timid,
and then pleased. A token being sug-
gested as calculated to stimulate his
yearning and keep it from going over
to another, she futteringly hands over
a charm from her person, a flower
symbolic of affection returned, or a
Glove neatly done up in napkin. This
token finds its way without delay to
the young man. As soon as it is re-
ceived he, or representative, waits on
the father of the girl, states the ab-
sorbing and uncomfortable ma
ture of the passion that is
consuming him and demands
how much bonus will be given him if
he takes the girl off the old mans
hands. The old man is conventionally
horror-struck, and instead of bonus
proposes that something be given for
the girl. He has the advantage of the
lover. in that he is fully posted in the
commercial valuation of the girl, and
as rule gets the best of the trade. If
the dicker is successful the Cadi is
called in, there is signing of con-
tracts, and the young lady is conducted
to the house of her intended. There,
in the harem, for the first time she sees
and speaks with her husband-elect. OF
course there are many curious cere-
monies connected with marriage
in Turkey. In fact, every one
of the innumerable tribes that
60 to make up the nation have
usages peculiarly their own. But the
real ceremony is civil and depends for
the most part on the contract of the
parties. The picturesque features are
rapidly falling away before the en-
croachments of modern civilization.
AS in France, married life gives the
Turkish woman freedom they never
had as girls. They can go visiting then
and receive their friends, and an un-
dreamt of vision of pleasuring in the
way of trips in the caiques on the
Golden Horn, promenades in the gar
dens and lunches in the graveyards
opens to their view. But, like her Euro
pean sisters, the thing dearest to the FEM
mime heart Of the young married Turk
| is an hour of gossip in the seclusion OF
the harem with congenial friends. Let
a half-dozen Turkish women get to-
gether on an indolent afternoon. with
cushions. and sherbets, and fans to their
taste. and more accomplished scan
dal-factory could not well be imagined.
One will be bubbling over with sup
pressed excitement about the discovery
she has made that mutual acquaint-
ance is embroidering a vest for
stranger without her husbands S knowl-
edge. Another has surprised Alis
daughter giving flower to passing
man. A third is horror-struck that her
| friend should be immodest enough to let
her veil down in the street. And if they
want to be particularly venomous to-
ward fair acquaintance they tell in con-
cert that she is in love with man that
wears hat. This last is the worst re-
| proach that can be heaped on a Turkish
woman. No Mohammedan ever wears
| hat-the fez is universal And to
say that woman loves man with a
hat implies not only that she has for
| gotten her modesty, but her religion.
| The Turkish women are much more
narrow and conservative than the men.
Except in out-of-the-way districts
| Christians are no longer liable to insult
from masculine Mohammedans, but
nine out of ten of the older women,
even in Constantinople, will look
askance at Christian unbeliever and
greet him with the cheerful salutation:
'May the dogs devour your bones. -
C0astantinople Cor journal des Debats