Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-31

tracts from letters
Mrs. james Broom Potter. written by her to
her friends in New York, and published in
the Herald, of that city, give the following
description of her visit:
On the right as we entered the inner
court and covering an area, should say, as
large as the Fifth Avenue Hotel, is the
zenana or harem, which had when saw 1T
400 inmates and was also the residence Of
the Nizam's wife. Naturally enough ap-
preciated the honor that this great prince
did me when he asked if would recite in
the courtyard of the zenana, in the presence
of himself and his wife, and near enough to
the women for me to hear the rustic OF their
robes and to see now and then, through the
meshes of the fairy-like marble screens, the
fash and futter of their great, soft eyes.
Rare Beauty Of the Interior.
The zenana has a little courtyard Of
its own, around which on four sides rise
galleries of marble supported by columns of
what appeared to me to be mosaic. In the
center Of the court great fountain threw
Jet of perfume water to the height Of at
least 40 feet Above the court was open to
the sky; below the mosaic pavement, of ex-
ceedingly ingenious patterns of colors as
glittering and bewildering in their bright
ness and contrasts as the kaleidoscope itself
was dotted here and there by divans and
cushions and shaded by palms, a large num-
Der of which appeared to be growing here.
The marble screens, behind which the
beauties took shelter from my eyes, had
delicate meshes which seemed almost plia-
BILE and as light as feather, so minute were
the designs Of their traeery and SO delicate
their outlines. Each of these screens alone
represented the labor of years, am told,
but after all what does that amount to in a
country where even the skilled labor of q
marble worker commands not much more
than cents day The high class Moslem
women are never allowed to be seen. They
lead the most desperately dull lives. II
their faces are only once even seen by men
outside of their own blood relations, they
are, according to the Koran and the customs
of their country, disgraced forever I have
seen these beautiful creatures covered with
lovely Jewels, loaded with wealth, decked
in the most magnificent scarfs and silks, in
all the great zenanas Of India, but can they
be happy?
Poems in Marble and Flesh.
Ascending the marble stairway on the
right, after entering the zenana, we reached
the first balcony, on which were the private
rooms of the princess From these we pro-
ceeded to the gallery above by another curl
ously carved stairway. A hundred women,
most of them young, and all that I saw at
least notwithstanding to the Indian
ideas, which highly esteem avoirdupois-
have apartments on this balcony. Invent
no higher, but I understood a hundred more
were quartered on the balconies above. The
hopeless isolation of these lovely creatures
for whom nature has done so much and man
so little impressed me painfully as Isauntered
from one apartment to the other under ex-
quisite doOrways of marble, through cur
tains whose fabric was so delicate that any
one of them might almost have been drawn
through finger ring; over mosaics whose
patterns and finish would alone have at
tracted crowds of the curious in our coun-
try, and watched them as they lazily reused
themselves to q sitting position on their
cushions and with faint flush of curiosity
and interest in their dusky cheeks and OK
like eyes seemed almost about to make the
effort to inquire who was and what I
wanted.
] asked what they ate, and was told rice
and sweetmeats, rice and sweetmeats, moth
ing but rice and sweetmeats. They had
sherbet to drink when they were thirsty
and their cushions to sleep upon when they
were sleepy. Food, drink, slumber, the de-
sire for fine apparel and .glittering jewels,
which were undoubtedly theirs-these
seemed the sum and limit Of their wants.
The Nizam Is an Apollo.
The Nizam himself has most impressive
physique. should say he was one of the
handsomest human beings ever met-tall,
athletic, yet spare of frame, deep-chested
and long grave almost to sternness,
yet as courteous as a cavalier of the olden
times. The Nizam was awaiting me when
returned to the courtyard. Messengers were
dispatched through the galleries of the
zenana to inform the inmates that in ten
minutes would recite for them.
By and by soft futter of silky garments
was heard on all sides, and I became con-
scious of being the target for hundreds of
bright eyes which peeped at me over the
marble balustrades and through the inter-
stices of the queer stone lattices. A carpet
was spread upon the mosaic, or rather, a
rug about ten feet square, and standing on
this, facing the Nizam, who followed all my
movements with grave interest, began by
reciting-what do you think? "The Pride of
Battery B." OF course, they didn't under
stand it, but I felt irresistfbly impelled to
get in touch with them, so to speak, by de-
grees. When finished there was painful
pause and then a little rustling of gowns
again and subdued murmurs on all sides.
Three of the women = daughters, as /
learned, of three of the Nizam's most power
full subjects and themselves princesses by
birth and blood-were permitted to sit on o
divan about ten feet to my left, q marble
screen about four feet high having been put
between me and them. Now was the time
when had resolved to make my coup, if at
all. / did the mad scene from Romeo and
Juliet" and know that my auditors had
never seen ANYTHING like it before-that is
the women at least-for they say the Nizam
himself had seen everything and done
everything.
Melted by Ju1iets Woe.
As I dragged myself across the carpet to
take the poison vial from the fingers Of my
imaginary Romeo. Stimulating the mingled
love and agony of the dying Juliet as well as
1 knew how, and better, believe, than /
ever did elsewhere was at last assured by
the sobs from the galleries and by the undis-
guised grief of the three pr1ncesses on my left
that had touched their hearts. The Nizam
himself showed no emotioh h except sne gray
tempted to call sort Of q dummy, played
with the rings on her fingers and didn't even
pretend to watch nae. But the women of the
then had been the dance of nautch girls OF
the jugglery of snake charmers had at last
been ardused from their torpor
did OpItelia then and-you would hardly
believe it--followed this with "Ostler Joe.n
think ",Ostler Joe'' was much the most af-
fectionate weapon in my repertoire, judg-
ing from the signs and tears with which it was
greeted.
Coffee and sweetmeats were served in the
Turkish fashion, for the Nizam Is Moham-
medan monarch, and was then courteously
escorted to my carriage. OF all my Indian
experiences IN Calcutta, Bombay, Madras
and Hyderbad, shall cherish my visit 70 the
ssnans a. the Nissan - the most dslishtfai.