The Dickinson press., 1888-01-28
In A TURKS H.AREM.
WOMEN OF DIFFERENT RATIONALE
TIES NOT ALWAYS HARMONIOUS.

highlands of AMcrica'-A Scns;,-
tioual story.
In the harcm of n we'll to do Turk there is
n leading lady called the buyuk hanoum.
She is the principal of the cstablishmcnt-tlc
only wife. perhaps. of the p.sha. Her homo
may "" fun of female relatives. for the Turk
is nothing il ,ot li">pitallc. Now and then
n hui?"on is NJ good crms with 'hr family,
and especially with the children. Oncthing,
however. is 10 he remarkrd: the very Young
children do not wear the yaslnnak or the
foridi; c, but otherwise their costume is al
most the same as their mothers, AID that Of
the boy is VERY comical. Almost ietorcthcy
are weanel they are dressed up III the full
uniform of Il pasha OF military officer
sword, belt, fez and c%,aulets. Imagine such
a child, when tired Of his uniform, rushing
to his milk mother for his natural refresh
mcnt.
Generally a hareln is made up of woncnof
various nalionalitics. Sometimes it is diff
cult to harmonic them. should imagine
that in the winter season, owing to the pc
culiar structure of the houses and the insult
fcient caloric of the people, there would not
be very much visiting, and probably not as
much contentment, as i'll spring or summer.
There is something inside the harem which
reminds one of the lloniadic ancestors of
these people. Tho very beds lie around as if
about to he picked up, packed and carried off.
Great wicker trunks and calnci'S hair sacks
nre handy, ill which Tie rich stutia, apparel
and furniture may he slowed away i'll n
hurry, SO that ri tho shortest notice the do
mestic paraphernalia of a family may either
he packed in these round wicker trunks,
ready for the caique or tie back OF a DON
key, or in these camel hair sacks, which sug-
gest the wandering Scljukians of six centuries
ago. Besides, rs fires are common, it is coll
vcnicnt to pouncc upon lii" dresses and fulni-
turc, put it in portable Shape and savei it from
the flames. In the larger houses there is y
Waterman, kept going her or his rounds
about Til. building, so as to prevent aud c2-
tinguish coniiagrntions.
In the lkanlazan season this life of the
hareln is much modified 1t is an error to
suppose that Ike women are regarded, either
in the teachings of the Koran or otherwise,
us soullcss persons.
When these inmates take the opportunity
of their freedom to move around the city with
Their peerless beauty half displayed, either
nlen foot or i'll the SLOW progress of Jheirral'-
riaSes at the grand promennles, there maybe
chances Tor some Irritation. y forward girl
may make mischief for n whole liare.n or
family. Sh" may not mean it, she may he
childish and smile Inadvertently III strangers.
Her signs and coluetry really so for nothing;
but the vanity of the other sex is inilanlc,l,
and trouble ens,lcs. Existence inside tho
harem is too vapil for some constitutions.
Some of the harsh %ahiurations about these
beauties may have a piquant foundation.
| 1n11hf loco thpro ic ,pry, c,,,.1., tl,o,, TIM, II,
these stories. When we read inan American
paper of the fascinating and mysterious beau
tics of Consiauti;!c)ile, and their harem life,
1 fail 10 find the facts to bear out the 10
maMcirg.
lave been told by a gentleman, now u
leading lawyer Of New York, and formerly
Il teacher of mathematics i'll the Alncri-
can Rob"rt) college, upon the hills
of Eoumcli-llissar, that when he and
the students We're accustomed To
promenade along the stony quays,
even as far down as Beckitush, i'll tho
time of Abdul Aziz, the palace was full
of the wives and odalisqucs of this amorous
sultan. They could be seen only in dim pro-
file, by our professor and the students, be-
hind the %lattices. Were they heard. They
knew who the young men We're and where
from. They w"r" i'll the habit of hailing
them without the fear of eunuch. the Tines
being troubiols and the ebony people full of
intrigue. What do you il,ink these ho,lri
call our innocent ~rcripatetics of the quay!
In sweet notes they cry out:
"kuZu Anerikanec.." Lamb of America!
Sometimes they add:
'Sheker, . Which is tho Arab root of our
word sugar. 1t must havc been provoking
to hear their salutation:
"Sllerifiniz hair ola chok kuzu,' or, to
translate freely:
"Good evening, much confcctionatcl
lamb"
These students still live to make autonomy
in Bulgaria, preach the gospel in Armenia,
and practice law i'll New York. They wcro
not made lamb chops by the Leadsman of
AziZ. These young men We're as Innocent as
the lambs to which they were liiiened: and
the young women equally so. Still, they were
~playful-lunllH are playful.
The most beautiful of the women of the
capital arc not very closely yelled. They have
Il way, in the presence of the sterncr sex, of
revealing, in spite of the veil, the contour of
their face, and the exquisite complexion
which their inceSSant bathing bestows. ! have
In my mind an article in an American paper
purportiny to ave been written last May
from SolSlanlllolle. III pfetelltls TO give a
sensational account of the conduct of these
beauties i'll their promenadcs by the ''Sweet
Waters"
These stories tire born of the sensual pen.
Some writer desires to get his penny a line,
and he represents the lanoum, not as giving
her numerous lovers the sack, in our homcly
phrase, but as actually killing them for self
safety. And thus a story goes that Il beau
tiful houri of Il pasla's llarelm in Cairo
actually killed 120 beautiful Greek gentlemen
whom she had induced by her tlirtations TIC
enter her siren homeland all within three
brief years! And thus, too, the old story
about the sacks filled with such degenerate
beauties being sunk in the river wl".r it was
deepest. These are the illusions OF tho TO
mancist. The Moslrm cares more than i.
represented about the detection in his har.m
But is he not II Moslcm2 What is writ i.
writ, and lie can divorce and we'd again!-
From $. S.. CoX's ''Divcrsions Of Il Diplomat
i'll Turkey"
Thrift of the French People.
Eyrrv ciop GILL ov;e+c =, r... =,