Morning journal and courier., 1885-11-20
FEC GYPTIAN I1AREMS.

gests the regularity of it's use as stimulant narcotic.
 EGYPTIAN IIAREMs.
 Life of the women-Their Habits
 Food and Cooking.
 From the New York Star.l
 You ask if there is any home life in Egypt, that cd, old land of science, legend and su- perstition, of sensuous coloring, of semi bar barrie splendor, of Isis and Osiris, of Cleopa- tra the magnificent, and the mysterious pyra- mids-is there any home-life theres
 No, certainly not, as we understand it.. Of course, the people there must eat, drink and sleep in obedience to the memorable laws of our common humanity, but there can be no domestic life where there is no woman at the head of the household, and the Egyptian women are mere utilities. There is no mid dle class, so they are not divided into two class extremes of high and low.
 The high life is that of the harem, as they call it, and not harem, and is much better known throughout Europe than that of the lower class Egyptian women. During my residence at Cairo I was frequently admitted to the harem upon invitation of the mother of the viceroy of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, father of the present pasha Ismail was the viceroy, or second of distinction to the Sultan, of Egypt.
 The pasha was go afraid of being poisoned that his mother cooked all he ate, and for that purpose she accompanied him wherever he went. Poisoning is the favorite method in that country of getting rid of an obnoxious and infinitely less expensive than state trial With the exception of the viceroys mother, I never knew woman of high position to know anything at all of the culinary art.
 l used often to spend 8 whole day in the harem, and never saw any of the women doing anything useful. They are very sell dom taught to read and write. Conversation is generally carried on with a foreigner in French, through the aid of an interpreter I soon picked up enough Arabic to converse with them without aid.
 They live in great splendor and total idle ness. They have no pictures in their palaces and possess no foreign or native literature. They never sew, nor even embreider, and their only recreation consists in seeing girls dance and in listening to some barbaric music or to stories told them by old women in true Arabian Nights style.
 The Egyptian women are fully developed at the age of thirteen, and old at thirty. Their forms are usually most exquisite until fat-that bane of both men and women in high ife-destroys the delicate beauty of their outline. The upper portion of their faces, eyes, brows and forehead ,are wondrous- ly lovely, but the lower part, below the nose, is ugly, badly formed and heavy, as rule. Fortunately for them, they are enabled to conceal these defects by the veil they wear.
 So far from being discontented with their lot, the women of Egypt have the utmost pity for their civilized sisters, especially in matters of heart. They say our husbands can care nothing for us or they wouldn't allow other men to look upon our faces, and think oT,- go unveiled.
 To amuse them, I told them once of the great surplus of female population in the New England States-largely maiden-and of the struggles so many of our girls there and elsewhere are obliged to undergo in order to earn their own living. They laughingly quoted a proverb answering to ours of half a loaf being better than no bread at all, and declared that the fractional possession of 8 husband was better than no husband at all They were much surprised, even indignant, that we should call ourselves civilized and yet make laws compelling q rich man to have or more and so husbands and support for our hard-Working single women would be provided.
 As the men do the cooking and the main part of the sewing in Egypt, it is easy to see why there is employment for women. Ex- cept in rare cases, their intelligence does not exceed that of an American child ten or
  though themselves not much superior, still have hardly any respect for them, as there is little of the sentiment of love among them; they seem to look upon their women only as indispensable adjuncts of the continuance of the race.
 Let me describe 0 dinner in the harem when guest is present Their tables are in height. They sit like dolls around them on cushions. The old, inactive and fat, once down, have to be pulled up. They serve but one dish at 8 time, and that in 8 large circular salver of silver, brass or sometimes gold They have no forks, knives or spoons; but each dips two fingers of the right hand into the dish and takes out bit, the meat having previously been cut into small pieces in the kitchen.
 If they wish to particularly distinguish a visitor they select dainty piece and place it in her mouth. It would be an insult to be- tray any feeling but delight at such a mark of favor.
 A great dish for feast, and one which few Christian women have ever tasted, is that of lamb roasted whole. After the manner of a nest of Chinese boxes, each smaller than the ether the lamb is stuffed with whole turkey, the turkey with a chicken, the chicken with pigeon, the pigeon with a quail, d quail with becafica, the smallest bird known except the humming bird. It
  only just one mouthful.
 The lamb is roasted over a slow fire, until it is cooked into shreds and melts into one, as it were. The Egyptians have no systemat- ized way of eating, no set time for meals, but keep up continual munching of sweets, of which they have great many varieties un- known to us, and all sickeningly sweet to 8 European palate. They use honey for sugar. In an Egyptian kitchen there is a total ab- sence of what civilized cook would consid- CT indispensable in the way of cooking uten- sils and appliances. There is no dresser up on which to arrange the dishes; there is no sink, no running water, nor anything like our cooking stove or range, but upon one | side of the kitchen there is erected struc- ture of masonry which resembles great square shelf with deep drawers, the open | ings of which are on top.
 This queer object is the Egyptian range l The openings are charcoal furnaces, and, as l they are disconnected, a cook can have g dozen fires, or only one, he desires. have often been astonished at the excellence and delicacy of dinner cooked upon one o1 ! these rude ranges.
 The Hartford Times has a story to the eff. 1 feet that Mrs. Clark of that city, 94 years old, has been troubled long time with 6 cancer that threatened to be fatal She is g devout Methodist and resolved to try the l f'prayer cure," So she asked minister liv. 1 ing at distance to pray for the removal o1 | the cancer at time she specified, and at the same time she also prayed alone in her room for relief Since that day the cancer has been rapidly disappearing and is now gone l A case of smallpox was discovered in Rock vile Tuesday night at Fl Prospect street | The patient is a young man of 20 named l Edward Sloane, and arrived in town Satur day from Providence. The disease is in ar advanced stage and many persons have beer exposed. The doctors were very busy yes terday vaccinating and the health authori ties will probably compel all persons to be l thus Dr K K aonard has charoe of tht