The Washington times., 1920-09-26

the sacred books, who appropriated unto N
himself the public property, who has 6lched
the public money, who has broken his vow to
govern according to the Sherat, and who, II
by Of money, has been the cause Of
civil and led the nation to kill EN
anotherf" M
To this the Shekh -ul-islam replied: I
''He must abdicate or be deposed."
The Senate denied to Abdul the right to
abdicate. So commission appointed I
to wait upon him at his palace and notify TWI
him that the twenty fourth of the Otto
dynasty had to end, and that \
he must go into exile.
Selila, my Turkish friend, who had been
inmate of the harem in those exciting
days, and of whom told great deal last
Sunday, described to me the events inside
the palace which followed the signing of the
proclamation of the fetva.
Within the serai haremlik, there
were at that time thirteen hundred women.
Nine hundred of these belonged to the
classes of concubinage-besides the four le-
gitimate wives score or more of Hanoum
Efendis, mothers of the Sultan children a
hundred gueuzdes, or slaves who ;,
had at least attracted the Sultan's eye;
several hundred aaiks or student slaves Y,
girls brought into the harem while very
young and attached, during their tuteagc,
to the persons of the more favored gueuzdes 81
Hanoum Efendis, and scores of beauties Co
from the various Mohammedan tribes who
had been bought for him by the Sultans
agents. In addition to these there the work slaves
four hundred of them, mostly negro girls stolen from
Africa who the bath attendants for the concubines
and did the menal work And then there were, Of
course the hundreds of hundreds of blacks-eunuchs
1t world within ITSELF speaking even a Ian
guage different in many respects from that which
spoken outside the walls Only the most favored inmates
permitted outside the haremk and then only
with the permission OF the Imperial Mother On such
excursions the of the harem guarded by her
eunuchs and besides, from the Imperial Moth
er's own bodyguard.
Since Abdul Hamid appropriated to himself about
half the entire of the Turkish Empire he could
afford to be ndugent husband to these nine hundred
women and generous master to the four hundred who
could not think of him with such intimacy And he was
indulgent In the harem there two hundred pianos
of European make, each one owned by slave who had
pleased the King Of Kings. 1t estimated when the
Sultan FELL that the Yildz Palace Committee, which in
vesgated the affairs Of this strange world Of women
that than four hundred thousand feminine costumes
from elaborate French ball gowns, down to the diaphan
pantaoon costumes Of early sultanates were found
in harem closets Besmi had given way by that time,
to the beautiful Roxana, "The Lady of Cairo Egyp
tan slave girl who had become the favorite, and in the
fair Roxapa apartments there were found great cedar
chests filed with the dantes and most expensive slken
pieces Of European ingeriemore than twelve thousand
separate garments And it said that each one of
hundred other slaves who had attracted the masters at
tcnton, had quite generous store Of fnery from the
most expensive shops in Paris and London
No committee discovered how many jewels,
what their value, in the harem when it dis
rupted by the dethronement Even the humbest Of the
concubine slaves had her jewel chest The gueuzde and
Hanoum Efendis very afeconate toward the less
important slaves attached to their persons, and
many of them showered upon these loyal attaches gifts
from their store of surplus jewels.
Each member Of the higher orders Of the harem also
had her own private purse plentifuy supplied by the
Sultan in proportion to the peasanness OF his memories
OF her visits to his apartments
The Sultan 8 private apartments consisted of
tire wing OF YDdiz Palace, great corridors and open
spaces enclosed gardens and pools divnned lounging
and separate for hundred Of his youngest