Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-05-20

|
oughly enjoyed them" She was one Of
the eighty legitimate wives of Nazzred-
din Shah q am not indiscreet; among
eighty I may surely describe one and
| be forgiven). When she was seated.
she took an orange. and, having peeled
it, stuck little three -pronged fork into
it, and handed it to me. This was the
sign for all to eat: they exchanged
sweets from table to table, talking lit
, tie
One woman who arrived late was
brilliant in q cherry damask gown.
and, flashing her eyes down the room
to one old woman who had remained
sitting when the others rose at her en-
trance, called across: "Why do you not
salute me? Why do you not speak to
me?" Quite a flutter greeted her re-
mark. She continued, why do you
not speak," The woman addressed an
| swered hurriedly. II am speaking; hear
me-" The first woman sank back paci-
fled, and the excited rustic of craning
heads stopped.
A tiny little girl Of 10, quite lovely,
came and talked to me. / opened my
| bag and took out a Sachet of violet
scent which l had and handed it to
her, saying, Take it: it is yours" She
held 1t to iler nose; then pushed 1t
away, answering, mo, l don't want 1t;
it has a nasty smell" At the same
time, while her great eyes watched me,
she took up q mandarin orange and
ate It, dipping it, piece by piece, deep
into the salt Verify, we taste with diff
ferent tongues and smell with different
noses, as well as see with different
eyes from the east.
Another hour we sat, eating; then
we were moved to the terrace, given a
high place, and told 20 watch the dan
GERS. They faced us below, beyond the
bonfire, and were unique-girls from II
to 20, no more, their hair cut like the
pages in a pantOmime, bushy and curl
ed and dyed with henna; they kept
tossing it about like a pony's name.
| Dressed in mems trousers with a
plated cloth skirt above the knee, a
girdle of silver with a jerkin-like coat,
they were strange figures. They clash
ed tiny cymbals while they danced;
every now and tnen two would rush
off and returned dressed in European
mems uniforms, meaningless and i'll
fitting and dance an inane dance. Now
and then a couple would come back
dressed in shapeless low-necked pink
satin gowns, corsetless. with sagginS
skirts, and then a couple in the old
costumes of Persia would come. diSni-
fed and graceful, and the spirit OF
| the music would seem satisfied by the
change. Some old woman would Groom
the love song which the dance express
ed, and harmony was the result
Suddenly there was a cOmmotion, a
moment of expectancy, as a still more
| important and more ancient lady ar
rived than "the oldest woman" She
was dressed in beige cloth, with no COL
or about her: her white Golf surround
ed the face of some old abbess. Such a
calm, intelligent old face l have never
seen. She might have sat for the po-
trait of st. Elizabeth. She beamed on
all as she was escorted and passed up.
| She was seated on the terrace and a
special table brought to her. A gold
| chair was set opposite to her and the
whisper went round, Now she is here,
the bride may come" l asked who the
ancient lady was and was answered.:
"A very great lady-the brides fathers
mother"
| A stiffness fell on all, and from q
| doorway down the courtyard the bride
came slowly. The dancing girls walked
backward in front of her and the fami-
| ly and friends scattered sweets to the
crowd. Such q quiet, well-behaved
crowd; they did not fight or scramble,
but bent quietly and took what sweets
| they could reach, while the throwers
saw that all were satisfied. The little
bride came toward me; she was a pref
ty, simple, sweet-faced little girl of
16 when l had seen her last. AS she
came l could not control the shock
which went through me at the cnanSe
| they had made in her. Her head was
held high and draped with golden
Christmas tree hair, her eyes were
cast down, her face colored scarlet and
white, while a pair of beetle eyebrows
met in a point over her nose an inch
broad, and on her upper lip was shaded
| ln L, fon pr111n-
the sign of a man? / shuddered at the
thought that passed underlined, but un-
derstood, through my mind.
They seated her speechless in the
great gold chair; then she raised her
eyes to the ancient lady's face and they
looked into each others eyes for quite
three or four minutes. 1t was a Won
derfuu look Then the girl dropped hers
and the old woman's expression soft
ened as she leaned toward her and
continued gazing. For half an hour we
sat in silence like this: then the old
woman removed her eyes and turned
to the crowd Of women watching her
as she pointed at the bride, saying:
she is all good; what fault can you
find? l am responsible for her" Then
the crowd Of flowers came a little for
ward and poured compliments into the
brides ear. Sne listened Speechless
with her eyes cast down. The old lady
continued: Tell the foreigners she
Is all good; they may give her their
best gift, praise" and | leaned toward
the little girl and said: Il hope you
will have happiness and sons to bless
you"
We left after the fifth cup Of tea; on
ordinary occasions the second is the
signal for departure. The mothers
eyes filled with tears as she said:
"G0odby, you will come again, but you
will not find i1er here" She pointed
to the bride, whose head was dropping
partly from WEAKNESS and partly be-
cause of the three or four necklaces
that were hung under her chin from