Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-11-20
BRIDES OF THE ORIENT.
Many CircaSSian Beauties TRY We'd
lock in The East But Few
Like it.
The Wonderful Wife of the Khedive
and How She Saved His
Scepter.
Interesting Experience of a Saucy
Irish Actress in a Harem at
Cairo.

The recent rescue of the young woman.
Marie Marbles, from the harem of high
Morocco dlgnitary. and her return to he1
friends IN Algeria calls attention to the
TACT that several European women have
been. and are, among the willing consorts
OF Mohammetan potentates. There Is
only one sovereign today of the many who
adhere to the Mosem faith, who is known tC
have on " one wife, and she is acknowledge
ed by all the world as his queen. That rIlel
is Twefk, the khedi7e of Egypt. The
woman who holds this exceptional place
in the palace of Mohammetan prince. is
Emlneh Hamen, on her mothers side the
daughter of a circassian slave, her father be-
ing one of the brayest officers in the service
of lsmall, the predecessor and father of the
present khedive Emineh has played nc
unlmportant part in the politics Of the
world. That she holds her husband
heart within her sole keeping alone proves
her to be a remarkable woman. She is a
lovely type of womanhood. not a Cleopatra.
but rather Josephine. but with greater
ability than Josephine displayed in retain.
ing the affections of the lord of her youth.
She Is one of the most notable women that
the east has given to history, and ought tC
be pTe-eminent over the mediocre queens
of the day and generation.
1t was Emineh who guided the khedive
Alright In the dark days of 1882, who up,
held his courage when he felt like surren.
derlng to th4 rebel army, and who prompt
ed him to extend no terms to the insur-
gents, who then had nearly complete pos
session OF the country, except absolute sub
mission to him, their sovereign, he being
at the time almost without soldier. 1t
is true that Emineh knew, or felt, that
England would come to the rescue, but it
required more than ordinary prescience,
especially in an oriental to foresee the
bonbardment of Alexandria and the vic
tory of Tel-el-Kebir.
SAVED BY HIS WIFE.
The story of Twefk's escape from his
villa near Alexandria, when Arab Pasha
was endeavoring to get possession of the
persons who stood between him and a
throne, is worth telling. 1t was Emineh
who, with her faithful attendants, met at
the villa gate the horsemen OF Arabia, and
throwing aside for moment her womanly
reserve, forbade them to enter, saying that
Twefk had already departed Her regal
tone and commanding air overcame the
persistence of the officers, who had been
sent to arrest the khadive, under the pre-
tense Of escort, and he went back to Arab
without having fulfilled his mission. This
gave Twefk the required time to take
refuge with his loyal fleet. When Twefk
was once in power at Cairo and Arab a
prisoner, Queen Emineh was an earnest
pleader that the life OF the arch rebel
should be spared, and her plea had prob
ably as much influence III procuring the pen
atty of exile instead of death, as the inter
ference of England. She has always kept
her single hold upon Twefk, and the
household of the Egyptian monarch is a
model of domestic bliss. He is wrapped
up in her and Abbas, his only son and
heir.
The excellent domestic habits oe Twefk
are all the more singular in view of the
fact that his father, ex-Khedive, Ismail, is ii
man of very different character. Among
his numerous wives Ismail counts not less
than three of European igin. Educated
in Paris. lsmail seemed to imbibe the
vices while he eluded the virtues of west
ern civilization, and if woman impressed
Join his harem, When the harem became
too crowded small divorced certain num-
Der, usually elderly ladies, and had them
married to his officers. The honored Of
fetal YVES expected to receive this evidence
of the royal bounty with deep gratifca
ton. IF he did not ne heard from Ismail
later. One of these gentlemen, Mustapha
Bey who was being rapidly advanced in
the sunshine Of the royal favor, had the dar
ing to evince some repugnance when his
selected wife was presented to him.
Mustapha was himself a young man, and
presumably had an eye in another direc-
ton. He was soon afterward ordered to
in the most sickly part of the
Soudan Goaded to desperation Musta-
pha attempted a rebellion against the
khedive, whose forces, however, soon put
an end to the uprising, and young Bey,
once one of the most promising and bril-
liant officers in the Egyptian army, perish
ed miserably.
STAGE STRUCK.
The visit of an English theatrical troupe
to Carlo not long after lsmail's promotion
to the thrown was quite an event in
Egyptian society, especially as the physi-
Cal drama was then in earlier stages of de-
and its living illustrations
were still comparatively youthful. Ismail
went and saw and was conquered, more
particularly by the simple attractions of
an actress known by the stage name of
Clara Knollys. Clara, whatever her real
name may have been, was of Irish origin
and had temper as well as good looks.
The offer made in behalf of Ismail might
have daZzled a more scrupulous wom
an, and she consented to be added to
the indefinite list of royal wives. At first
she was given to understand that she
woulG be permitted 60 enjoy some of the
liberties accorded to her sex in western
but Ismail was of too selfish a
disposition for this to last, and one day
Clara S black attendant brought her a per-
emptory order to confne herself to the
harem. This was too -nuch for Clara.
After the command had been translated to
her, the attendant thought for a moment
that she was going into fit. But she
WASH tat least it was onlv fit of tenn
per. Brushing aside the sable shadow she
darted from the women's apartments, and
into the hall where lsmail was Just then
giving an audience, fortunately for Clara,
to the British envoy. The khedive was
seated cross-legged on divan, and the
envoy near him, both talking confidential
".
Suddenly a vision in female dress
rushed in and Lsnlail felt himself seized by
the beard.
Ill teach you, you old reprobate, to try
to make an Egyptian mummy of an Irish
girl" yelled Clara.
The attendants rushed up with drawn
swords and Clara would soon have been
carved but for the prompt interposition
Of tbs British officer, who saw hat the wo-
man was fellow-subject of the queen.
Che WAS narnit "a 90 nnharmed and