The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-07
TEE HAREM OF THE SHAH.
SECLUDED LIFE OF 4 PERSTAN
 PRINCESS

How an Unorthodox Practitioner Won
 the Good Will of a Fayorite-Foud-
 ness of the Women for Dress and
 Jewelry-Plaace of sleep-welrd
 Medicines.
 With the exception of the Shah and the eunuchs, no men but a few doc tors are permitted to enter that sane tuary, the harem of the Shah, Thar em' being an Arab word which means sacred. The special doctor of. the fav- orite who shall be called Solyman 10 preserve his incognito, has lifted the corner of the jealous veil which en- velops this feminine city. The secluded life and the lack of education make the women of the Anderoun very diff ficult patients Dr. Solyman com plains bitterly of their childish nai- vete and superstition, which obliged him to depend more on diplomatic talent than medical science.
 lIODQOD, |, where he had spent some years at St. Bartholomew Hospital, he was ap- pointed, says the London Daily Graph is, one of the doctors of the harem of his majesty. Hdebut was difficult, for the other Persian doctors jealous of his science, and fearing to see him grow at their expense, leagued against him. i They criticised his prescriptions, and advised the patients not to take medi- cines prepared by man who had re- mained so long in contact with un- clean Christians that he was impreg- mated with their impunity; and furthl CT, his prescriptions were declared to be contrary to all the principles laid down by the kings of medicine, Lok- man, Galen and Avicenna. Had he not ordered a patient suffering from fever co give up his iced drinks for hot potion, winch is the surest way to in- crease fever, since Mahomet himself l has said that fever is the fire of hell.
 and that it must be combated with cold water? The Prophet, when he was attacked by a violent fever, used to call his wives to throw cold water over his head.
 pr. Solyman, in spite of his appoint ment as official doctor of the harem, was not consulted by any of the royal wives. Only servants and slaves had | recourse to his services.
 However, on a hot spring afternoon, when he was retained to attend a slave of the favorite, whose grave state necessitated his constant presence, some one came to tell him that the Princess, who was having her siesta, had started out oftherssleep screaming, being prey to terrible pains As there was no other doctor within call he was asked to come and treat her.
 The favortie was In the Zirzabn, the underground chamber with a low vaulteF ceiling paved with white mar ble, and with richly tiled walls, which Is the favorlte refuge of Persian wo- men in summer. Sunk in the center was q fountain, wthsa, jet of water which distributed a refreshing cool ness. A crowd of women surrounded the Princess. She was lying on a thin mattress spread on the marble in one of the arehed recesses, between the two doorWays. facing each other to create continual draught. These are the characteristics of the Zirzamin.
 On the arrival of Dr. Solyman, the women drew their sveils over their faces, and the eunuch rushed to the gate and stopped him while q curtain was erected in front of the recess to allow the doctor to approach the Princess without seeing her. When the doctor was at her side he could at first only elicit moans in reply to his oues- tions; but the patients at last gave him to understand, in sentences broken by lamentations, that after her lunch she had fallen asleep as usual, and that she had seen herself in her sleep, sur rounded by bad diinns, who had pierced her chest with invisible darts which gave her horrible pains.
 Upon that to the astonishment of the people present, pr. Solyman turned to the eunch and asked without pay ing any attention to the diinns, what the Princess had eaten for lunch. When he learned that her menu consisted of iced "mast-Khyar' cucumber and curds) he understood that nothing was the matter except indigestion. How ever, being a conventional man, he wanted to draw an exact diagnosis of the case. She consented to let him feel her pulse, and arm emerged from the curtain. He felt the pulse, but when he desired to see the togue he had to enter on q lengthy barley before the curtain opened far enough to let the Princess closely yelled show him the tip of her tongue.
 Dr. Solyman wrote his prescription, and the mother of the Princess, a very superstitious person, performed the "stekhareh," seized her beads at a chance place, and then began to tell them off to the end as we count cherry stones of plate. But at the same moment the regular doctor of the Prin- cess, who had been sent for, arrived. Everbody turned from Dr. Solyman and his prescription as if he had never been there.
 When the regular doctor had pres cribed in his cribed in his turn, the "Estekhareh" was performed again, and this time the result was unfavor- able. Heaven had declared itself; Dr.. solyman triumphed. His prescription produced such a good and prompt effect that the delighted Princess would have no other doctor from that day forward.
 Let us now enter the Porte des Vol a antns with Tn. Srolyn1an If Is i,, tLa