The Penn's Grove record., 1894-05-11

Mosque Of Yenl. CHER, and l was sent to
Constantlnople.
The slave dealer to whom I was taket
was a woman who knew nothing OF our
language, so that I was obliged to learn
Turkish in order to understand my new
mistress. Numbers Of customers came
to her, aud every day one or other OF my
companion slaves went away with theU
uew owners.
Alasl my lot seemed terrible to mo.
l was nothing bat a slave, au as such |
had to humble myself to the dust 10 tho
presence Of my mistress, who brought US
up to be able to listen with the most i'm.
movable expression on our faces, aud
With smiles on our lips, to all the good
qualities or faults thst her customers
found in us.
The first time that / was taken to the
sclamlik reception ROOM I was ten years
old. / was considered very pretty, and
my mistress had bought me q costume OF
pink cotton, covered with q floral dc.
sign; she had had my nails tinted and
my hair plated, and expected to get a
very good price for me. ] had been
taught I o dance, to courtesy humbly to
the men and to kiss the ladies' feradje
~(cIoaks), to hand the coffee (shile
knecling) to the visitors, or stand Dy the
doors with my arms folded ready &c
answer the first
felt very agitated on finding myself
among the other slaves who were waiting
for purchasers. Most of them were poor
girls who had been brought there to be
exchanged. They had been SEM away
from one harem and would probably
have to go to some other. My heart was
filled with 4 vague kind Of dread of l
knew not what, when suddenly my eyes
rested on three men who had como there
to buy some slaves for their Pashs. They
were all three leaning back on the sofa
discussing the merits and defects Of the
various girls standing around them.
"Her eyes are too near together
said one OF them.
.'Tbst one looks ILL.,"
"This tall one is round backed"
/ shiyered on hearing these remarks,
while the poor girls themselves blushed
or turned livid with anger.
s'Come here, Feliknsz," called out my
mistress, for I was hiding behind my
companions. ] went forward with low.
cred eyes, but my heart was beating
wildly with indignation and fear. As
soon as the men caught sight Of me they
said something in Arabic and laughed,
and this was not lost on my mistress.
"Where does this one CONF FRONT"
asked one OF them, after examining M
sttentively.
"She is a Circassian. She has cost mt
q lot OF money, for bought her four
years ago and have been bringing her up
carefully, She Is very intelligent. Gnd
will be very pretty. Biz sstmay fouite a
d%iamond),' she Ged1ded, In a whisper.
ne 2eMknaz, dance for US, and show u,
how graceful you can be-"
I drew back, blushlng, and muir.
INJURED, "There Is no music for me to
dance TO-"
.'Ihat doesn't matter at all. I'll sing
something for you. Come, commence at
once
l bowed silently and went back TO the
end Of the room, and then came forward
again dancing, bowling to the right and
lett on my way, while my mistress beat
time on an old drum and sang the air of
the ysssedi dance in q hoarse voice. In
spite OF my pride and terror my dancing
appeared to please these men.
ave will certainly buy Felikn,z,"
said one Of them, show much will you
take for hort"
"Twelve k~esatchiesi not q fraction
iess."
The man drew a large purse out OF hn
pocket and counted tine money over'te
my mistress. As soon as she had 70
ceived it she turned to me and saidi
"You ought to be thankful, Feliknaz,
for you are, the first time you have beer
shown, bought for the wealthy Sale
eashs, and you are to wait upon a charm
ing Hanoum Of your own age. Mind and
be obedient, Feliknaz; it 10 the only
thing for o slave"
bent to kiss my mistress's hand, but
she raised my face aud kissed my fore
head. This caress was too much for me
at such a moment, and my eyes filled witt
tears.
The men laughed at my sensitivcness
and pushed me toward the door, saying,
"You've got a soft heart and a faco OF
marble, but you will change as you gel
older"
The old slave oms had told me th.
truth. My new mistress, Adile. Hanoum,
was good and kind, aud to this day my
hearts, Allied with gratitude when Think
of her.
Allah had certainly cared for me. 30
many OF my companion slaves had, at ten
years old, been obliged to go and live in
some poor Mussulman's house to do the
rough work and look after the children.
I had only one trouble In my new
home, and that was the cruelty and the
fear l felt Of my little MISTRESS brother,
M~ourad-boy. It seemed as though, for
some iuexplicable reason, he hated me;
and he took every opportunity Of teasing
me, and was only satisfied when I took
refuge at his sisters feet and burst into
FEARS.
In spite OF all this I liked Mourad. hey
He was sig years older than I, and was
so strong aud handsome that I could not
hoip iOA6isAuS Aiht uuuB iauocNs = JuSt
Iwcrshiped him. WAen Adile- lianoum
was fourteen her parents engaged her to
Q young Boy who lived az Sslonica, aud
whom she would not see until the eve OF
her marriage. This Turkish custom OF
marrying a perfect stranger seemed to
me terrible, and I spoke OF 1t to my
Young mistress.
"Shs replied In a resigned tone
"Why should we trouble ourselves about
a future which Allah has afranxedH
Each star Is safe Ia the armament, no
matter in what place II Is"
ole evening I was walking up and
down on the closed balcony outside the
baremlik. l was feeling very sad AMI
lonely, when suddenly l heard steps be-
hind me, aud By the beating Of my heart
know that It was Mourad hey.
"FeliEnaE," he sail, Selling mo by
the arm, "That are you doing here, all
llonef"
az was thinking Of my country, Bay