Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-05-18
INMATES OF 4 HAREN.
WOMEN IN CLOSE sECLUsIoN BUT NOT
IN INCIDENCE.
One-Tenth of a Good Husband is Better
Than the Whole of a Bad One
-Odd-Looking Attires.

Constantinople, have an idea that Turk
ish women absolutely do nothing that is
either useful or ornamental aside from the
decoration of their own persons but that
Is not altogether true, as my residence of
over a year in their country taught me,
for they are really dexterous with the
needle and do work which is as fine as that
done by the sisters in the converts or that
of the wives of the feudal noblemen of
olden times
The favorite pastime of the Turkish
women is the bath, which brings together
the wives and slaves of all the well-to-do
Turks, and is like picnic of school chill
dren.
These wives, most of them very young
some, indeed, not over II and IA years old
take their lunch along, and they eat
and steam, plunge and splash, and play
pranks upon each other in widest glee
the whole day long.
They work in gold and silver threads to
great extent, and they make cushions for
their divans, which are stiff with the finest
of gold and silver needlework. Their
jackets are worked SO thickly over with
gold and silver arabesques and other pat
terms that they are almost as stiff as our
corsets.
Their slippers are ornamented as we'll
with gold and silver embroidery over vel
vet or satin, and seed pearls or fine coral
and turquoise beads are lavishly used with
beautiful effect. They also work gold bor-
ders to their outdoor wraps. This is done
in outline work in chain stitch. The little
Broussa neckties are worked in the same
manner, only that the hurah, or national
coat of arms, is always placed at the end,
with verse from the Koran worked in
gold thread at the bottom.
They make very beautiful and durable
lace knit of silk thread, which resembles
no lace l ever saw. The mesh is thick but
not heavy, and different flowers are fire.
quently made in relief upon it. / have
seen piece of this lace three yards in
length and quarter of a yard wide
The feridjees or outdoor wraps look, as
far as shape is concerned, about as graceful
as waterproof cloak; they are shaped
like big, loose nightgown, with loose
sleeves and long flap hanging from the
shoulders to the heels. These are usually
made of black alpaca or farmers satin,
but you often see them of the most brill
liant colored silk or satin. They are made
without trimming, for the most part, and
are simply hemmed, but these ladies make
narrow trimmings to go around the edges
of the most exquisite daintiness in the
shape of Shells diamond braids and many
other ingenious styles out of the same ma
terial as the feridjees, and not over half an
inch wide. l remember noticing one
which had trimming made of miniature
bears and leaves which was extremely
pretty. Another resembled a flight of
swallows done in dark blue satin.
We might suppose that these women
would take pleasure in making and EN-.
broidering their babies clothes as do other
women; but as babies are simply swathed
in endless rollers, like a mummy. until
they are six months old, ornament is un-
necessary. At the end of six months boy
babies are put into pantaloons and girls
into loose trousers, both being usually
made of large fiowered chintz.
About the only thing ever noticed the
Turkish women do for their little children
was tp make toys for them, and they make
the most grotesque looking dogs, lions,
COWS, rabbits, elephants, camels and doll
babies out of rags for their amusement
They never nurse their babies, for fear of
spelling the shape of the bust. They are
very poor mothers, as they are too ignor-
ant themselves to understand their respon-
sibilities or to teach their children. They
alternately slap them or caress and in
dulge them, just as their own humor hap
pens to be good or bad
The little girls are taught how to sew
and embroider, how to walk gracefully and
recline in the most negligent manner upon
the divans, how to play by ear little on
a lutte, and to sing their interminable love
songs. Their songs are like Barbara
Allen" Lovely Young Caroline of Edin-
boro' Town, ,""The Brown Girl" or "Gypsy
Dave"-all long, and telling whole ro-
nance to plaintive chant
/ never learned to speak Turkish, but /
got so that | could seize upon the meaning
of these songs. The singer always puts
all the life and sentiment she can into her
music, and often sheds tears as she sings,
as do her listeners. / have even seen one
or two OF them faint away at the most pa
thCtiS par. hio 10 very trait
among Turkish women, and | have not
yet been able to decide whether it is the
result of weak will or extreme sensi-
bility, but they faint on every possible oc-
casion.
The Turkish women love music passion
ately, and nearly all of them can play
some instrument with taste and feeling,
though almost always by ear. Their ma
tive music is always sad and plaintive, and
often full of such a piercing sorrow that
it is no wonder it brings tears. They
love flowers, too, and you rarely see one
without flower in her hand when it is
possible to get them, and they are fond of
birds, and raise a great many themselves.
Many of the Turkish women show con-
siderable talent in drawing and painting,
though the poor things never have any
chance to learn. They simply ''pick it
up"
As found the Turkish women-and /
| happened to have obtained, by fortunate
circumstance, a chance to know them in
their homes accorded to very few foreign
women, and absolutely no foreign man
| they are gentle, submissive, loving, and
| with many natural gifts in addition to
their beauty. If they were educated they
would be the equals of any women in
Europe. 1t does not seem to me that they
are unhappy in their peculiar marriage
relations. They reminded me of lot of
irresponsible young girls in boarding
school, and the only jealousy such as smight
be felt of the teachers pet.n Instead of
the poisoned and rindictive murder sup
posed always ready to be inflicted upon
each other, the worst they ever do is to
pull each others hair occasionally or box
each others ears
| don't think the Turkish women are
really lazy or indolent, but for many rea-
sons they appear SO. The husband con-
siders his wife as an irresponsible being,
prone to mischief land he is rarely mis-.
taken), and all he expects or requires Of
her is 10 look pretty, be cheerful and pleas
ant when he is near, and it would be a
mark of disrespect for her to do anything
in the way of work when he is present. So
these women are early taught to be grace
fully idle.
Girls reach their majority at nine, and
are frequently married a year Later,
though not usually until fifteen. By that
time all the education they get is ac-
quired. Instead of being taught all the
abstruse sciences she is tauohf all tho