Daily Kennebec journal., 1895-12-09

| the harem and the home Will win. Ii the
swift flowing "Devils Current of the
Bosphorous could yield up its dark and
mysterious secrets, it could unfold tales
of darkness and horror that would make
humanity shudder. These crimes have
been treacherous, cowardly and silent.
OF the hundreds of women in the Sui
tan S harem few are said to ever grow
old. What becomes of them: What be-
comes, too, of the children born there, so
few of whom ever reach maturity? The
collective charnel houses of Ashantee,
can scarcely show a greater mortality
than the Sultan's palace. Every woman
within its walls is under a constant sys-
TEN of espionage, and it needs but the
shadow of suspicion to render her case
hopeless. The Sultan holds that there
may be infidelity even in a look. The
popular idea that the taking off such
offenders is made as merciful as possible
with such decree, and that the sacks in
which they are sewn are heavily
weighted before being committed to the
dark waters of the Bosphorus is erro-
neous. Torture of the most fiendish de-
scription, is a part of the dread penalty
paid by those who incur the displeasure
of the Mussulman potentate. A well
known American writer who resided for
IN, nd ho
chanced to know an eye witness of the
tragic death of one Of the Sultan's harem
favorites, has this to say of it.
"There is no romance in one of these
| frightful executions-all is harsh, un-
mitigated horror The victim may, or
may not, be young and beautiful; her ex-
ecutioners have no opportunity of judg-
| ing. She may be the impersonation Of
grace, and they must remain equally
| ignorant Of the fact, for she has neither
power nor opportunity to excite SYM
pathy, were she the lovelest houri who
ever escaped from the paradise of Ma
| homet.
II have a friend, a man in place and
power, who had been detained in the
palace OF one of the ministers until three
hours past midnight, and who, on passing
across tLe deep bay near the Castle of
Europe, was startled By perceiving two
caiques bearing lights, lying upon their
| oars in the centre of the stream. HIS
curiosity being excited, he desired his
boatman to pull towards them, when at
| the instant he came alongside he dis
covered that they were filled by police
officers; and at the same moment a
female, closely shrouded in sack, into
which her whole body has been thrust,
tied about her throat, was lifted in the
arms of two men from the bottom of the
furtherest caique and flung into the deep
| waters of the bay. AS no weight had
been appended to the sack, the mise rabe
woman almost instantly reappeared upon
the surface, when she was beaten down
by the oars of the boatmen, and this ruth
less and revolving ceremony was repeated
several times ere the body finally sank
1.-THE ministers Of death fingered yet
awhile to convince themselves that the
body would not reappear."
And how long will the great European
powers delay action: How long will they
permit the horrible and wholesale
butchery Of Armenian Christians by
Turkish fanatics to go unchecked? The
Christians OF the whole world are urging
prompt and decisive action. There has
already been too much Of irresolution and
parley. If the powers can arrange to cut
up the Turkish empire and divide it
among themselves, foul blot will be
wiped from the face of the earth, and
Christendom will be vastly the gamer
by 1t.