Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-05-24


| intrigue. plot and sudden death. But Sir
| Mortimer Durand. whose kindness / can
never forget. sent daily from the legation
my surrounders that q was an English
| citizen. Notwithstanding this, three at
| tempts We're made after my husbands
| protection OF the British minister We
| should certainly not be in England to-day
Asked as TO her daily life. the "Beebee'
Although much was terribly unhappy.
| there were some pleasures. My husband
| built me a pretty English-iOoking house
| ana sent me home for seeds and plants. and
grew English flowers most successfully.
/ The climate is lovely and / frequently rode
out on horseback, closely yeiltd, which took
away much OF the enjoyment. for the
Persian veil completely covers the eyes and
leaves no inch of skin visible.
The demeannr of Persian men toward
| women IS very insulting and. though in
our walks abroad We We're preceded by a
soldier and guarded by four black ser
wants. We had very unpleasant experiences.
So we preferred to drive or go on horse
back. SOm@GmeS We ventured on eXpedi-
tions to shops and other public places pro-
scribed by Persian etiquette. and on such
occasions disguised ourselves in servants
clothes and saw the sights of the town
without detection: Persian women" she
amusement from the outer world without
the permission of husbands. Thus we
visited the public baths and mixed with
many interesting and forbidden phases of
Are Persian women very beautifuI?"
THE veil gives an impression of supreme
loveliness. In reality the faces are most
disappointing. and figures square and un-
graceful The ideal of beauty in Persia
is to have dark eyes-blue or gray eyes are
rarely seen-and black eyebrows, painted
so as to meet across the forehead. If the
hair is naturally light etiquette demands
that it shall be dyed black. this being done
"a IA h1t his a hat in arSia las from
early morning till late at night. the hair
alone being washed seven times with soap
and water. Fair-haired children, even.
must have their locks stained black. Per-
sia Is the land of paint, powder and dyes,
and magnificent dress. favOrits dress
trimming consists of a bordering many in
ches deep of real pearls, and our beds and
the cushions on which We lOunged were
heavily beaded and adorned with pearls
Of price. When went TO Persia my gowns
attracted interesting attention, the ladies'
being particularly amused at the number
Look they said, the Beebee had so
little stuff she was Obliged to join and
patch her dress
But they soon understood that these
seams caused the gown to 1T and show
Off the figure, and the shah'S sister was
so pleased with the innovation that she
introduced the many-seamed bodice at
court, so that | can claim the distinction
of setting the style to fashionable Persia.
THE Persian does not take kindly to ar
tificial waists. ! remember trying TO initi-
ate a stout woman into a corset. Before
/ had properly drawn the cords she gasp
ed; turned black in the face and begged
Asked as to the education of Persian
women, the "Beebee" said:
Many prinCeSSeS can neither read nor
write and find life terribly duh. They sat
for hours listening to my descriptions Of
the freedom and happy lives of English
women. Ard many of them long for lib
eFty and edecation. Their dances, CONVEX
sation and habits are very modifying, and
they badly need the discipline of schools.
n toll nf fhfar onaf
lishmen to their wives they sighed and
said: Ah, how nice to marry an English
man. for these poor ladies receive very
cruel treatment from angry husbands, who
punish them by twisting their long hair
so tightly around their arms that the
women scream with pain For trtning Of
fenses they are beaten or otherwise hu-
INFLATED. Only wives with money and in
fiuence can obtain a divorce from neglect
ful or cruel husbands, and divorces are
free to marry again.
'Harem life is very mOnotonOus. Bands
of professional women dancers are en-
plcyed to enliven weary hours, but their
darCes and those of the ladies are most
Objectionable. One man musician was al
lowed to play for us because he was stone
bind, Harem ladies' must see no other man
but a husband, grandfather or uncle. be-
cause marriage with these latter Is imPos-
sitle. 1t Is prerogatiVe OF the shan that
every women in the kingdom must unven
before him, and any woman he takes a
fancy to forthwith belongs to him-be she
the wife of the most powerful nobleman
in the country. i Knew every OHo VI Nh6
shah's leo wives, as l constantly visited his
horem.
PERSIAN women dress their hair In doz-
ems of tiny plaits, and on very grand oc-
casions these are unplaited ana the falr
combed to stand out in htdeous thick
frfz round the head. My sister and de-
lighted the shah's sister and several Frtn-
cesses by teaching their black maids TO
dress hair In English fashion. Nearly all
the servants are Arabian slaves. but IL Is
becoming very difficult TO buy them. Ny
bows nurse was an Arab whom We bought
for T. 400 and we had absolute power over
her. ,,
ut is common enough to have slaves BE-
headed for trifiing offenses, and most peo-
pie make their children behave nicely oy
whipping the nurses for the misdoings OF
the children. Consequently the nurses in
culcate good manners and force She chill
dren to bow the regulation three times
whenever they see their mothers.
PERSIAN mothers Of the better class take
very little interest I'm their children, whose
Property in Persia is divided
onI,aIiv among sons. while each girl takes
a half share only for her dot. out Of which
when married she buys her dresses and
Iuxuries. This accounts for the distinction
of dr.ss among harem women, the riCh-
ness Of this depending on the amount OF
the dOwry.
But. remember Nasrit" she said, you
are English now, and civilized little boys
here do not smoke cigarettes"
WhereupOn Nasrit demanded 10 be taken
back 20 his own country