Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-03-11
TURKISH HAREMS.
Mrs. Lew Wallace Opens
the Doors of For
hidden Rooms.
BATHROOMS OF ALABASTER.
Gardens Where Nightingales Sing
and Rushing Waters Cool
the Air.

slavery Is nOmlnally aDollSneu IL
the Ottoman Empire, but it is said
| know not how truely-that ter
thousand are annually bought, the
larger portion being women, who be-
come inmates of the Turkish harems
and this mingling with the faires'
race has subdued the original ugli.
ness of the Tartar.
There are boundless possibilities in
their exchange of circumstance
Each one may become an odalisque,
the mother OF Princes, even Sultana.
For by this strange code of Moslem,
the Sultan must marry q slave, one
who has been bought and sold,
and the lowest on whom he casts a
passing look has hope of such high
destiny.
The Turk can have four lawful
wives, though few have more than
one. "We copy father Jacob" they
plead, and if you hint at forbidden
numbers, "We are like Solomon the
wise, and David, his father"
No Oriental woman makes secret
her wish to marry, any more than the
widow of Moab in the barley fields
among the cleaners of Bethlehem, and
her prayer is yet the prayer of Ra-
chel: "Give me children else I die. "
With this underfow of feeling,
Caucasian women willingly leave their
wretched homes, and when ships
touch at the coast come to the trav-
elers and implore them to carry them
away as servants. They have seen
their brothers-handsom and fear
less as leopards-marched off to
service in foreign armies. Their cos
tune of Persian embroideries belted
with siloco girdtes, their sharp scime-
tars enamelled with gol |, dazzle the
sight. The women long to follow and
tempt fate in the city which they
have heard lies like a bird sfloat on
the waters of the Golden Horn.
These young girls have little ten
derness to remember. In one gar
ment they have herded sheep and
carried water jars en- bruised shoul-
ders in the fierce heat Of summer, and !,
rolled in skins, on the mud floor of q
smoky den they have shivered in bit
ing winds blowing across glaciers
which never melt.
They do not sigh for freedom, they
have had freedom in their own hills !;
they want to thrust their bare feet in
to velvet slippers spangled with gold, !,
and loll on soft divans in rooms lined
with bright marbles.
The trade is carried on by Jews and
is necessary part of polygamy. The
they leave, are usually kindly treat
ed, and by law are free at the end Of
seven years. The whole system is
patriarchal and was ancient before
the coming of the Father OF the
Faithful.
Contracts for marriage are oftenest
made by the mother Of the bride, who
sometimes does not see her fiance
till she is robed for the ceremony, and
old maids are unknown in the en-
pire, where maids are manageable
at sixteen or younger.
Wedding festivities sometimes last
a whole week. The men in their
rooms smoke solemnly and sip coffee.
Laughter" says their proverb, "is
for women and children" And
merrily laughter rings through the
seemed doors of the apartments Of
the women. Their gayety overhows in
jests and playful tricks, trivial and
meaningless to us, but delightful to
them. Charms are practiced, for
tunes foretold and dreams in which
they have childlike faith, are related.
Sometimes a marriage is delayed on
account of a bad omen or unlucky
dream.
The presents of the wealthy are jew
els, ,furs and embroideries, shawls from
the goats OF Thibet, silks of Indian
dyes, rich as coronation robes; scarfs
of Mecca, woven of pure white silk,
shot with silver. The larger garments
are strung on a cord stretched against
the walls of the bridal chamber. A
wreath of art fetal flowers borders its
ceiling and the draperies below make
vari-colored lining, gay as the shawl
lined tent Of Haroun- -Al-Raschid. All
is arranged with the unerring eye for
color which distinguishes The Oriental,
and the work goes on with intervals
of feasting, eating sugar plums and
wild, fantastic music, at once harsh
and sorrowful.
The bride is radiant in white or
rose pink wrought with gold; her
nails and finger tips are dyed with
henna, and an amulet of cornelian,
inscribed with verse from the Koran,
is hung round the neck-a defense
against the evil eye.
When the hour comes for the be-
trothed strangers to see each other
face to face for the first time, her
friends kiss the bride between the
eyebrows, removes her veil and
spreads it on the floor. The bride
groom kneels upon it and offers the
touching prayer appointed by Lord
Mahomet. regarded as the most ac'
ceptable that can be addressed to the
deity on this occasion.
IN THE HAREM.
The word harem means holy o.
sanctifed, and in general sense i.
given to any spot peculiarly hallowed
/ was long while learning that the
name applies to the spacious inclosed
court about mosques; not a barred
prison, but consecrated ground ,revere(
as a sanctuary. However blank anc
bare the remainder OF the house may
be-and usually is-the forbidden
rooms are we'll furnished according
to Moslem fancy, in which is copied
as far as possible, their idea
paradise-an adorable palace will
q thousand windows, and before
every window a sparkling fountain
Free light, abundant space,
shady gardens where the nightingale
sings among the roses, and rushing
waters cool the air. These are thu
luxuries which foreshadow the COLDER
pleasure-fe'ds kept for the Faithful b.
the Houris.
The women, old and young, Assem-
BILE in the sacred rooms, with thei