The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-15

Nearly an the Turkish ladies nowadays
wear European dresses beneath the outer
cloak which enEelops them and on their
heads, bensttth tins very tain wells, they wear
Parisian-znade bonuets.
There are probably few such charming
spots In the world as that which the sultan
| mas CHOSEN as the Site Of his permanent resi-
denca. When Abdul Hamid came to the
throne he determined 10 turn his back upon
the melancholy magnificence of D1lma-
bagcne, the, former palace, and built for
himself residences after his own heart on
the picturesque nights Of. Yldiz
The palace be has reared for himself is
one OF rareSt beauty. From the terraced
roof he can at bis pleasure look upon the
snow-covered crests of distant mountains,
upon the blue sparkling waters of the
bosphorus, and upon the hazy outline of
Islands dotting the Asiatic coast. He can
see the domes and minarets of STEAMBOAT.
and through the rich foliage of the park are
to be caught ghmpses of the Golden Horn
and the streets and villas of Pera. A tall
wall, hidden from sight beneath a mass of
ivy and creepers and fringed by date palms
and Towering trees, incloses both palace and
park. Inside the palace the Furnishing is a
dream of oriental luxury
How many wives does he maintain! Well,
there are between 30 and 300 ladies in the
harem, but only those VINO are mothers
really hold the rank of wives. In the
sultan's harem, though, as in every other
Turkish harem for that matter, there is al
ways one who is the favorite She is viz
tually the sultana, and she generally man.
ages to keep tne head of the household
pretty well to herself Turkish women are
not much different from any other women
IN their leanings toward monopoly as re-
CARDS the possession of a man. There are
many women in the imperial harem who
have never exchanged ten words with the
sultan.
The harems are mostly recruited from
Georgia and Circassia. Dealers 90 into
these districts and purchase the girls from
their parents at prices ranging from a few
hundred to thousands of dollars. The price
entirely depends upon the appearance of the
article. The poorer looking girls are kept
at home to supply the home demand. The
Georgian or Circassian young man who
wants wife gets his mother or some other
female relative in whose judgment he has
confidence, TO select a wife Tor him from
the local narens, and he pays for her. in
sheep, In goats or in asses. as his means will
allow. Recently, | have been told, the in
stallment plan of paying for a wife has
been introduced with great success in Cir
cassia. 1t enables you e man to secure
an article of better quality than if he had
10 pay value down.
The best looking girls, however, all go to
the brokers or dealers. Money talks in
Georgia and Circassia just as loud as in
London or New York. The girls thus pur-
chased are handled with great care, and are
disposed of at profits ranging from 200 to
800 per cent. in the markets of Constanti-
nople, Smyrna and other large cities
In the higher realms of Turkish society it
is considered quite the handsome thing to
give friend as birthday present plump
young Georgian or pretty fair-skinned
Circassian.
Upon receiving a notification from the
chief eunuch the dealer in wares from
Georgia, or Circassia, is bound to give the
imperial harem the first pick. This picking
is usually done by the chief eunuch.
This official is a very important person
age i'll the Turkish empire. He ranks with
field marshal and receives salary equal
to that of the prime minister On his
fingers he wears diamonds worth q kings
ransom, and his sable 1eet are kissed by pos
tulants for his favor who seek to secure the
indirect Influence which he can exert upon
his royal ma ster.
The eunuchs are usually recruited In up
per Egypt aud are selected in early child
hood for the career they are to fill The
blAcker and ugier the eunuch is, the bigger
price he brings. A tall, well-developed, i'm
posing looking eunuch, with the requisi te
amount of swartaineSi and uglineSS is
worth from $4,000 to $1,000.
The eunuchs are required to keep strict
watch over the harem and to hold the ip-
mates in order. Tney are pretty careful in
their bearing toward those inmates who are
mothers, aud consequently have certain
rank, but they frequently cuff and spank
the other ladies, and upon occasi IN even
resort to the bastinaio which consists of a
whipping administered to the soles of the
feet.
In the harem the ladies spend their time
in SLIPPING chocolate, eating sweetmeats,
playing cards and talking together. One
would imagine that there was very little
food for discussion among them, but il is
strange how much news from the outer
world leaks into these harems Scandals
and divorce cases which have taken place in
European capitals are the favorite subjects
of discussion.