Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-12-26
ORIENTAL LADIES.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO SEE THEM.
BUT NOT AT ALI EASY.
Interesting Things About the Homes
and the Home Life of the People
q OF Mohammedan Countries
--Inquisitive Beauties.


wholly cut off from the civilized world.
Men, indeed, are absolutely forbidden TO
approach them, and so strict is this pro-
hibition that it extends itself not merely
to foreigners and unbelievers, but to those
of their own race and creed and even to
their nearest relations. From the day Of
her marriage to the day of her death a
Moslem bride must never see or be seen
by any man save her husband. But with
lady visitors it is quite different matter.
Seldom, indeed, does the most jealous
and fanatical of Mussulman husl ands OBJ
iect to admit them to the society of his
wives, and, in fact, such visits are often
looked upon by the honest Bluebeard in
the light Of a favor rather than an affront,
inasmuch as it keeps his own ladies in
good humor for the time being and saves
him the trouble OF doing aDTthing to
entertain them.
Let US suppose that you are European
or American lady travelling along the
North African seaboard and about to pay
a visit to the Gagged beauties IN the home
of some great Moorish dignity in Mo-
rocco. Following the two tall, red
capped, white-frocked Moorish soldiers
sent to conduct you, you thread your
way through cobweb of narrow, gloomy,
filthy lanes, almost blocked at times by
heaps Of dust and garbage, among which
numbers of gaunt, wolish dogs are root
ing hungrily Meanwhile your two guides
clear the way for your horse or donkey
through the eddying whirl of men, boys,
camels, asses, horses and old women by
constant shouts of 'Chelohl chelohw
Cook OUT and remorseless punches with
the brass -shod butts of their rifles.
At length you halt in front of high,
bare. windowless wall, the only visible
opening in which is a deep, shsdowy
porch of the key-shaped form, peculiar
to Sa-acenic architecture, edged with
curious fretwork, and brilliantly paint
ed with alternate s,ripes Of crimson
and blue. This leads into marble
paved quadrangle with tiny fountain
smashing and tinkling in the centre
th1 "natio" Of the Standards. in fact,
borrowed bv them from their Moorish
cornuerors. SHADY cOlonusdes run along
rs four sides, above which are clustered
passages protected by screens Of lattice
work. And now you discover why the
outside of a Moorish house is always
windowless, for with a Jealous p-ecau-
ton thoroughly characteristic of The
East all the windows open upon the in.
ner court!
Visitors being frequently received in
the court itself it is strewn with mats OF
carpets aud shaded from the weather by
colorei awning. which subdues the
burning African sunshine into rich
summer gloom Of purple twilight, such
as thai which fills the aisles of some vast
cathedral Beyond this lies a spacious
saloon. with richly carpeted hcor and
paneled ceiling. for which any Vene-
tian noble Of the fourteenth century
would gladly have given half his yearly
revenue. No chairs are to be seen, but
the soft ushiOns scattered about the
floor and the velvet or damask holsters
placed along the sides Of the room show
where the inmates are wont to squat or
reclinc. The upper part of the wall is
frescoed with appropriate texts from the
Koran in quaint, arrowy, Eastern char
scters. while along the lower part da-
mask haugings Of white. scarlet or blue
mask the doorways of several bedrooms
from which three or four steps Of pol
ished white marble lead down into the
saloon itself.
Suddenly the hangings of & curtained
archwsy at the far end of the room are
thrust aside, and the master of the house
in person comes forward to greet you-a
stately old Eastern gentleman in flowing
Moorish robes, whose long silky beard is
as white as the many folded turban that
oyershadOws it. He puts his hand to
his forehead in graceful oriental saluta.
ton, aud begs you Gn broken French or
Spanish il you do not understand Ara
bic to consider his house and all that it
contains as your own, after which you
are requested 10 ''hOnor with the touch
Of your foot the threshold of his home"
Following the old gentlenans guild
ance, you are led through maze Of dark
passages and low dOorways till you feel
as if playing a never-ending game Of
hide-and-seek. At length you halt be-
fore fight of broad marble steps lead
ing up to high archway, through the
curtains of which come the ripple Of fe-
male voices and the silver tinkle of girl
ish laughter. Beside the steps stand
like bronze statues two gigantic black
slaves, gorgeous in white and crimson,
with drawn swords cleaning in their
huge bony hands. But at the sight of
the "master" and the 'Faringhi khs-
noon" foreign LADY, the sabres are low
cred h salute, the curtains fall back and
you are ushered into the midst of a scene
which appears to have come bodily out