Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-12-18
ORIENTAL BATHING.
ATrAveler Tells of a Pleasant Experience,
at COnStantinopIe.

at Constnntinople.
The Americans and Europeans wash
themselves and think they have bathed;
they SILVER under cold showers, and
perform laborious antics with coarse
towels. The genius of the bath, whose
home is in the East, would be convulsed
with scornful laughter could he behold
that aqueous Diogenes sitting in his
tub. AS the rose in the east sheds
rarer perfume, so does the oriental
bath impart a more exquisite en-
1oyment. If anyone doubts this let
him go to the bath of Mahmoud at
Constantinople and take a perfect
bath.
The master of the bath receives us
courteously and conducts us to a couch.
The work of disrobing now commences.
He then thrusts pair of wooden clops
upon our feet, and leads US trough a
low door and a warm ante-chamber in
to the first hall of the bath. The at
tendant spreads linen sheet in one of
The vacant places, on marble plat
form, puts pillow at one end, takes
off our clogs, deposits US gently on our
back and leaves us, and the first breath
we draw gives us a sense of suffocatiou.
SAS IA OoA AAAS dAOC-"OOO has 1uSC
been carried through the hall, and the
steam is penetrated with fragrance. A
dark-eyed boy appears with narghilet,
which he places beside us, offer
ing the amber mouthpiece to our
submissive lips. The smoke we inhale
has an odor of roses; and as the pipe
bubbles with our breathing we feel
that the dews of perspiration gather
heavily upon us. The attendant now
reappears, kneels beside us, and gently
kneads us with dextrous hands until
we become plastic in his hands. He
turns us upon our face, repeats the
same process upon our back, and leaves
us little longer to lie there passively,
gllstenlng in our own dew.
The attendant reappears, and lead us
into an inner hall, with a steaming
tank in the center. Here he slip US off
the brink, and we are submerged, head
and ears in the fiery fluid Once-twice
we dip into the delicious heat, and
then we are led into marble alcove, and
seated fiat upon the floor The attend
ant stands behind us, and we now per-
ceive that his hands are encased in dark
hair gloves. He pounces upon an arm,
which he rubs until, like serpent we
slough the WORKOUT skin, and resume
our infantile smoothness and fairness.
The other arm follows, then the back
and the rest of the body. Next, we are
aIternatively flooded with hot and cold
streams of water. Under this process
the whole frame seems purged of it's
earthly nature, and transformed into
something of a finer and more delicate
texture.
Next, foamy mass of snowy lather
is dashed into our face and the world
vanishes; we have become nebulous.
Again the basin comes into play Then
final plunge into the seethinp tank.
when graceful boy comes, with clean,
cool, lavendered napkins. which he
wraps around our head and waist, and
we are led back to our couch. We sink
gently upon the cool linen and the boy
covers us with a perfumed sheet, care
fully drying and rubbing our languid
body. Then the boy kneeling, hands
us cup of coffee, followed by glass
of sherbet cooled with the snow of
Lebanon. He presently returns with a
narghilet, which we smoke by the ef-
fortress inhalation of the lungs Thus
we lie in perfect repose, soothed by the
fragrant weed. Mind and body are
drowned in delicious rest, and we no
longer remember what we are The
gentliest sleep lies upon our senses-a
half-conscious sleep. wherein we know
that we behold light and inhale
fragrance. AS gently the clouds dis
sipate into air, and we are born again
into the world. The bath is at an end.
We arise and put on our garment, and
as we walk forth into the sunny streets
of Constantinople, we feel so light that
we seem to be capable of soaring above
the house-tops.-No Name Magazine