Woman's chronicle. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1888-1???, 1889-06-22


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 market. The Geor-
gian or Circassian young man who wants wife
gets his mother or some other female relative In
whose Judgment he has confidence to select wife
for him from the local harems and he pays for her
in Sheep in goats or in asses, as his means Will al
low. Recently [ have been told, the installment
plan of paying for wife has been introduced
with great success in Crcassia. 1t enables young
man to secure an articles of better value than if
he had to 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 purchased are handled with great
care, and are disposed of at profits ranging from
200 to 800 per cent in the markets of Constantine
pie, Smyrna and other large cities.
In the higher realms of Turkish society it is
considered quite the handsome thing to give
friend as a birthday present aplump young Geor-
gian or pretty, fair-skinned Clrcassian.
Upon receiving notification from the chief
eunuch, the dealer in wares from Georgia, or Cir
cassia, 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 parsonage in 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
kings ransom, and his sable feet are kissed by
postulants for his favor who seek TO secure the in
direct influence which he can exert upon his royal
master.
The eunuchs are usually recruited in Upper
Egypt and are selected in early childhood for the
career they are to fill. The blacker and ugGer the
eunuch is the bigger price he brings A tall,
well-developed, imposing looking eunuch, with the
requisite amount of swartiness and ughness, IS
worth from 81, 900 to $1,000.
The eunuchs are required to keep strict watch
over the harem and to hold the inmates in order
They are pretty careful in their bearing toward
those inmates who are mothers, and consequently
have certain rank, but they frequently cuff and
spank he other ladies, and upon occasion even re-
sort to the bastinado, which consists of a whip
ping administered to the soles of the feet
In the harem the ladies spend their time in SIP
ping of chocolate, eating sweetmeats, playing
cards and talking together. One would imagine
budU Juclc WClC NCly iiVuio AOoN iVi Ni"N'''i"'i
among them, but it 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 subject of
discussion. Some time ago, am informed when
Mr. Sunset Cox was the United States Minister to
Turkey, some of his stories found their way into
the harems and were related with keen apprecia-
ton and great gusto.
The annual meeting of the New England Suf-
frage Association was held last week in Boston. The
wit and merriment bear witness to the good time
INDUCED in by those fortunate enough to attend
We are indebted to the Woman's journal for this
report;
Hon. John G. Wyman, of Providence, r. l.,
said he wished that the men who think women are
not intelligent enough to vote could be made to
stand on this platform, and be compared. with the
EClE Inn