Omaha daily bee., 1895-10-12
WITHIN A HAREM'S WALLS
Oriental Beauties Visited tie Citadel Of
Tangiers.
INVESTIGATING THE EUROPEAN VISITOR
sracefnI Costumes worn by the
Morocco WomeB-Lnws that Rule
the Domestic Affairs of the E<udi
Privileges of wives.

Writing from Tangiers, under date OF Sep
tember 10, Else Won Schalcelsky correspond
ent Of the Cincinnati Enquirer, says she had
not been In the harem OF the kadi of the
Tangers citadel ten minutes when the small
army of many-colored beauties. "signoras"
Legitimate wives) and slaves, asked her to
undress, exclaiming in French, English, Ara
blan aud hat-tongue-n that 1t
would be no end Of joke to see me In trous-
ers, veil and burnus. or bernouse, as the loose
mantle of the Arabs is called here. l knew
they were dying to observe the intricacies OF
the European toilet, and consented the more
readily as had dressed elaborately for that
very purpose, following the advice of the
proprietress OF the French hotel in Tangers
whose influence had opened the doors of the
harem to me. | wore a fashionable dress OF
changeabe silk, cut low in front, the decollete
part being covered by laces. 1t was all new
to them. They touched and smelled OF the
novel material, apparently thinking Its luster
was produced by some outward cause. The
whalebone in the waist struck them as no
less grotesque, and when they came to un-
fasten my corsets their astonishment knew no
bounds. Even the big sleeves, which half
minute before they had admired so assidu-
ously, lost interest,
When a woman takes off her stays she
usually gives little cry Of relief as the
respiratory motion vibrates quicker, because
unimpeded, through her body. The day was
very hot, and the act of casting off the mod
ern coat of mail, therefore, a genuine COM
fort You should have seen the glances-
curiosity mixed with kndness-wth which
the harem ladies regarded my quivering form.
Some of the bolder ones pressed their ears
against the flesh to hear my heart beat, and
then assured their doubling sisters that my
clock Of life was really beating. They would
not have believed 1t possible except upon
the word Of one Of them.
The garters next attracted their undi-
vided attention "Why compress the flesh
Just above the knee?" they asked all at once
"It leaves a nasty mark. Does not your
master object to it?"
THE lady wears gloves on her feet"
This astounding announcement by one of
the slave girls was Offset by another still
more startling; Her feet have two skins-one
black and one white"
UNKNOWN ARTICLES OF APPAREL.
Stockings and stays are unknown in Mo-
rocco; so Is the fashion of exposing any part
of the neck or shoulders. When the ladies
got through admiring my hose and corsets,
and wondering at their alleged usefulness, the
oldest signora undertook to point out to me
that It was very sinful, and indeed horrible,
to wear low-cut dresses. No noble-born Ara
bian would think Of doing that which the
slaves were commanded to do. Still, herself
and friends would be willing to try on my
dress before the arrival of the kadi
That gentleman's youngest wife, girl of
IA, half Arab, half Egyptian, summoned up
courage enough to attire herself European
fashion. She was a beautiful creature,
graceful 1.-the Of figure, with fine eyes and
hair, and so little developed as to be able to
slide up my bracelet to under her arm pits.
Zueima, as they called her, threw off all
her garments except shift and trousers, but
notwithstanding that, all attempts at but
tonng the dress In front were futile. Here
then was figure graceful and classical of
outline, one over which artists would rave,
and which the greatest connosseurs would
pronounce perfect, that stubbornly refused to
submit to the dictates Of Nine. La Mode. All
the harems ladies' came to look at the won
der and demanded to know my age, shak-
ing their heads at the information given. No
doubt they thought l was foong them. A
woman Of 35, having smaller waist than a
girl twenty years younger "But she does
not breathe, this French woman" said one
OF the slaves
PUT HER TO THE TEST.
''surely she won't be able to eat with her
things on!' exclaimed another.
To put me to the test, l was allowed to
dress again after a little while whereupon
all of us sat down on the pink silk mattresses
strewn upon the floor in the shadow of the
wooden balconies above. The kadis harem
to which | have introduced you Is the best
appointed in Tangiers, for the reason that
Its proprietor, one Of the chief tax collectors
Ol tne empire, is the rlcneSt man In town.
1t Is situated in the midst of the works of
fertilization on a small hill overlooking the
narrows OF Gibraltar. donkey and guide
had brought me hither, and sentinel in
white mantle that seemed to come from the
property chest of an American barber shop
had admitted us upon payment of silver 5
franc piece. The citadel as far as | can
Judge consists of a confusion of high and
very thick walls, all cleanly whitewashed.
Even the buildings where the officials live
tci uvin
the walls are broken by small doors of iron
and wood, plentlfuly decorated with metal
For twenty minutes l rode through the
narrow lanes without meeting living soul,
man or horse, mule or dog There were no
signs of life anywhere.
Having reached the kads house my guide
used the knocker with much energy, pre-
ducing sounds that in the interior were
echoed by shrill bell After five minutes
negro servant opened the door and after
glancing at our sealed credentials bade us
enter. We walked about thirty PAGES In
darkness. when suddenly we found ourselves
IN the inner court which was stepped In
brightest sunlight. The inner court NAV he
called the living apartment of an Arabian
mousse All the windows and rooms received
light and air from It, The floor is usually
covered with granite, or in the more pre-
tentious houses with mosaic The inner court
in the kadi's house was gorgeous with rich car
pets, flowers, fountain, looking glasses and
vases. The walls, up to the second floor
were covered with tiles and the balconies in
front of all the windows were richly carved
and gilded. The roof Of the house was dat
and as clean and white as the walls. The
ladies OF the harem used the roofs to prom
: enade and visit each other by bridging over
the distance from one roof to another with
boards. ~
PLENTY OF WIVES.
In the shadows of the balconies on small
silk covered mattresses the ladies OF the
house were found, six full hedged wives
"signoras," as they are called, each at
tended by two or three female slaves All
of the ladies were OF the purest Arabian
blood. with occasionally an intermixture of
Egyption. They had small, delicate fea-
lures the lines OF their faces were regularly
drawn their hair was long and silky and
their eyes were almond-shaped.
The ladies', according to the prevailing etf-
quette did not rise at once when | entered
ana Tor moment or so l thought them to
be wax figures, so pale and bloodless were
their cheeks and foreheads. From the pallid
background red lips and deep black brows
showed with conspicuous vivacty. At last
the Oldest wife invited me to a seat among
them, and all at once each began to jabber
In thc tongues which l was known TO under
stand-French English and Arabic. 1t was a
veritabie Babel OF voices, as the slave
women, who lived on footing of perfect
equality with their mistresses unceremo-