The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-12-22

Naturally the Sultan of Turkey keeps
the largest harem in the east. But while
all this dangerous war talk menaces the
sultan's empire, causing the son of the
prophet anxiety and sleepless nights, his
three hundred and more wives, who
crowd the many palaces of Turkey, re
main in blissful ignorance of the state
These are chiefly Georgian or Circas-
sian girls, presented by the pashas. Once
of the house, the poor women spend
their time as spoiled idle children would,
eating, dancing, frolicking, and, as
rule, do not find in the present sultan
cRlel master. This ruler of Turkey is in
deed a gentle enough soul, with only two
strong passions, fear Of such assassina-
ton as overlook his brother, and delight
in digging Subte1Tanean passages. AS q
young man, with no aspirations or hopes
Of the throne, he was well considered in
Constantinople and but lately, when an
English physician was summoned to the
palace on the hill above the city to OPP
crate upon the eye of one of the sultan's
little daughters, the tender-hearted mon
arch could not bear the sight of her
heartily in sympathetic anguish. OF his
children he is exceedingly fond, says a
lady. long resident of Constantinople.
The Seven Sultanas.
There are seven of his slaves known
as official wives" she explained. "From
the children of these heirs to the throne
are selected, and should this sultan die
or be deposed, the state must undertake
to support these women and their emil
dren.''
Now to be the mother of a sultan is
to enjoy the highest honor a, woman can
reach in Turkey. The sultan's mother has
her own palaces, her slaves, the affec-
tionate consideration of her son and
an opportunity to exert some power. But
owing to the degrading influences of the
harem few women, afforded even this
freedom and influence, care to know
how. to wisely exert it. The great grand
parently the most intelligent woman of
her kind, for she has left a grateful
memory through Turkey in the number
Of fine wells she caused to be dug. Many
of the wells bear her name, and to pro-
places is the highest form of phiIan-
| thropy in that eastern country.
To the Highest Bidders.
What becomes of the other wives"
| Those who have borne no children and
therefore have no claim on the state,
those who are old and out of favor, it
would be almost impossible to say. The
old and ugly ones drift out into the
world and earn such iVelihoodS as they
can find. some of the pretty ones are
retained for the harem of the succeed
ing sultan and many are bought up, at
! a sort of auction, by the pashas or men
who can afford to keep slaves at all.
Of the outside world, since to speak to
Turk of his wife and family to men
ton his harem-lik to a, pasha, is to Of
fer a serious insult.
According to Mohammed no man can
keep more wives than he is able to sup
port, so that the average 'rurk keeps
only one, and should he at any time fail
TO provide her maintenance suitable to
their station in life, this one wife is
completely at liberty to collect her chill
| dren and belongings and desert her kus-
| band. This rule does not hold good how
ever. in the harem.
In the Harem-LiIz.
The sultan's favorites rule those be-
meath them, the wives and the slaves
! alike. European women who have en-
| tered the houses as governesses to the
royal children, quickly escape from the
| pitiful sights and sounds, the cruel trag-
edieS and crueler comedies that are en-
| acted every day among these women.
! Yet do not continue in the common err
ror that the harem inhabitants live all
| in one great hall and garden. Each mem
Der of this ill-assorted household has her
own separate apartments and every
| woman may keep her children with her
| but no woman can be sure when some
new favorite will encroach On her liber-
ties, when to set a new jewel in the ia
voriteS diadem, her allowance will be
Stinted and the favorite in the harem
is as implacable as JuggernauS TO those
who stand in her path.
MARY ARNOLD.