The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-06-03

esteemed lady of the court, and fire
 quently becomes Valide sultana.
 The above tells all I know-yes, ant
 all that I don't know, perhaps-of thu
 sultan's harena. I will not vouch tha
 it is correct picture as it exists to-day
 but as changes are slow in Turkey, il
 is probably near enough. It must bI
 said of the present sultan, however, that
 while he has a numerous progeny, he is
 not considered voluptuary, but rath-
 CT the contrary. Of course, there are
 'Ikbals" and "Guezdes," but not as
 many as in former reigns.
 Now word regarding his majesty's
 subjects at large:
 Turks have no family names. For
 example, A man named Mohammed
 has son named Ahmed and a daugh- tier named Sophia. The son will always
 be known merely as Ahmed and the
 daughter always merely as Sophia, in
 the latter case even after marriage. The result is that members of families
 after one or two generations become
 lost to each other. In fact, the sisters
 and the cousins and the aunts" business I is not much exploited here. One may
 
 ters without the fact being made known
 There being no family names or ties, there are no great families--no aristoc- recy. The grand vizier of to-day may
 have been a canal driver or q servant. i His rise is not due to any family influ- ence or connection.
 As before stated, the Koran permits 8 I Moslem to lave four wives, but except ing in the case of the sultan, of higth dignitaries and very rich men, one wife 1 is the rule. One reason for this is that lpclygamy, even in Turkey, is expensive. For each wife separate apartments must be provided, as we'll as special slaves, attendants, eunuchs etc As to the marriage ceremony some say it is en- tirely civil, others say religious cere- mony The manner of it appears to be that the mother, or other female repre- sentatives of the man visits various harems to inspect the marriageable in- mates. When she has found one that she thinks fills the bill the fact is re- ported to the young man and his fath- CT. If they are satisfied with the report the maiden's family is informed and a betrothal takes place by the groom that is to be sending the girl such pres ents as as his position warrants, and he receives in return such present as Is deemed suitable. sum of money is then sent to the brides father by the young mans father toward paying ex renses-the outfit, festivities, etc. Sev- eral days afterward the marriage takes place. First, however, there is con- tract agreed upon by which the man engages to pay q certain sum to the woman in the event of divorce or death. This done, the groom declares three times his desire to wed his Betsy Jane, upon which the priest goes to the door of the harem-behind which Betsy Jane is listening-and asks if she accepts. When the affirmative answer is repeat ed three times the contract is signed and the parties are declared married. They do not however, see or hold any communication with each other until the wedding festivities are concluded generally lasting a week. During this period the bride holds receptions and flummerjes generally-sometime to the verge of bankrupting the family.
 THE BRIDE AT HOME.
 When, finally, the bride proceeds to | her new home, she is accompanied by | an immense throng-the women in car | riages, the men on horseback, band | etc. The groom meets her at the door and escorts her to the bower | in the bridal chamber--then vanishes to his own quarters. The bride then re- mains on view to her female friends un- til the evening, when the groom, pur- | sued by friends throwing shoes and | giving him smart blows upon the back, Is ushered into the bridal chamber by and for the first time sees his wife unveiled. From all this you will l see that MT Ahmed and Miss Sophia's marriage is just about as large an event IS Willie Vanderbilt and Miss Fair-- only the Turkish newspapers are not yet up to date in recording it all
 It not infrequently happens, however, that a father may prefer his son not to marry free woman, in which event slave girl is purchased from some great ady's harem. This necessitates onlyf -he payment of the purchase money and trees the young womans family. Should the slave girl bear child, she free and generally marries the master.
 The only males that an unmarried ady of the harem may receive are her 'ather, brothers, uncles and nephews f married, she may receive her father, husbands father, her sons, lncles and nephews. In regard to oth- 1T near male relatives of her own and husbands families I am mixed but am ed to believe that while a woman may lot receive her cousins or her husbands brothers in the harems or unveiled, he may meet and converse with them 'eiled upon special occasions.-George }. Williams in the Lafayette Und) Times.
 PLAGUE OF THE PRICKLY PEAR.
 One of the most serious difficulties n the way of land settlement in some ,artS nf AIlstr lia is coid to bo q n. | (