Year: 1869

Viceroy's oldest daughter. A truly Orient
al rumor that has excited our curiosity is
that twenty-eight dressmakers have been
imported from Constantinople for the oc-
casion, and are now engaged day and night
in sewing diamonds on the mosquito nett
ings OF the happy pair.


There has been some special festivity
every day and evening, besides the general
ones, but last night was the most extraor-
dinary one of all. 1t was an entertainment
in the Viceroys own harem, to which some
seventy-fve outsiders, including myself,
were invited in honor of the poor little
princess bride. / went with Russian lady.
wife of Count Gerbel.


We drove out about 3 O'Clock through
the suburbs Of the city and ON under the
long illuminated archways near the palace.
Leaving the envious crowd outside, we
turned in at the entrance of the palace
court, and drew up at door at which we
left the carriage, and gave up our tickets
of invitation to white aides-de-camp. in
European dress, who seemed to be masters
Of ceremony outside the palace. We were
then at once handed over to the iet-black
gentlemen whose business it is to watch
over the harem, and one Of them took us
IN friendly and parental manner under
his wing, giving us each an arm, and lead
ing us along the immensely long enclosed
corridor or arcade, which separates the
outer from the inner door, and up and
down which the great ugly fellows are al
ways walking on guard, to see that no hu-
man foot puts itself inside the sacred pre-.
cincts


When we got at last to the second door.
our friend handed US over in turn to the
white women slaves who were III waiting.
and who took away our cloaks and hoods,
and deposited them in little piles all over
the floor of an adjoining room. One of
them then took each lady in charge and
led us into a large saloon on the ground
floor, ~here quite q number of the harem
were sitting cross-legged on the floor, fin
ishing their dinner or supper; and hur-
rying us through this, they carried us to
the broad staircase opening into the saloon,
and far removed, you see, from the outer
door, and took US up to the top floor of the
building, to the great principal saloon and
reception room of the harem. And
what wouldn't l give if you could have
seen that extraordinary scene The room,
an immense and very handsome one, was
packed with women dressed in the most
gorgeous and picturesque Of costumes.
standing or sitting in close masses all
round the sides of the saloon, while in the
central space half dozen superbly dressed
dancers were dancing away with all their
might to the sound of wild, stirring Arab
music. The indescribably brilliant colors,
the light from thousands of wax candles,
the barbaric music and dancing, and the
consciousness that we were seeing, un-
yelled, the houris of the harem, made the
whole seem SO utterly unreal that / had to
pinch myself to be sure that I was not in
Bagdad thousand years ago.


We were led up the open space, the whole
length of the room, to the divan at the
upper end, to make our courtesies to the
mother of the Viceroy, the head of the
harem, and were then gwen armchairs just
on the edge of the open space where we
could see everything that went on. Part
of the harem, slaves, of course, but much
winter than [ am, were ''told off" to wait
on visitors; and they hoyered about US,
doing all they could without being able to
talk to us. Some Of them brought pipes
and cigarettes as soon as we were seated,
and coffee was always being handed about
III little ''fngans," or cups of gold enamel
and diamonds. Delicious coffee it was,
too.


All this time the dancing WAS kept up,
and the six or eight lady musicians twanged
away in splendid STYLE with all the energy
and precision of male performers. They
were seated across the lower side of the
room, and the dancers occupied pretty
much tile whole centre of it, for the dance
was the TurkishAone and quite another
thing from the one we saw up the Nile
That is best left undescribed, but this was
full of motion and variety, Some of the
figures were really beautiful, the shawl
dance particularly in which the swomen
draped them in white camel's hair long
shawls, wrapped round them in their full
length like mantles. These swayed with
them III all their movements, and sometimes
stretched out like sails to catch the air as
the dancers chased each other up and down
the room. Many of the figures were like
cid fashioned cotilions, with ''ladies' chain
and ''chassez down the middle" and pler-
tiful pigeon wings; and others, when the
women squatted IN the circle and bowed
backward and forward, were as wild as
dervishes. There were several different
sets of dancers who relieved each other,
and each new set were dressed more mag
nifcently than the last Heavily embroid-
cred satin or velvet ssshintvans, or trou-
sers, and a very short overdress made their
costume, which was first crimson and gold,
then blue and gold, and last white satin
and silver, which was the most picture
sque and effective of all. Most of them
had long, dark hair hanging free to thsir
waists, which played an important part
when they swung rapidly round or swayed
from side to side.


The music and dancing was kept up
sturdily for two or three hours, when sud
denly there was q movement at the extreme
lower end of the room, and the music
ceased the crowd was pushed back, and
out of some unknown region beyond came
the most novel feature of the evening, the
wedding procession. Great black men
came first, two and two, not merely half
dozen, as one would expect, but couple af-
ter couple, until some ninety or one hum
dred stood in solid black walls up and
down the room, each one grasping in his
hand a great three-foot candle, such as one
sees IN the Catholic churches, making a
double line of light and a double line
Of darkness the whole length Of the great
room. They were followed by young
girls IN the gayest eolors, each al
so holding a hght candelabrum of
wax tapers, who took their places side by
side with the black men, and made a won
derfal effect Of light and shade-first
great black fellow, then & brilliant little
white girl, then another black, and so on
After them came the musicians, the two
Arab bands, who had been playing through
the evening, and thIrd, of brass wind in
struments, played admirably by young
girls dressed IN g military costume; and
after this came q great number Of the Slaves
and special attendants Of the Princess and
the fat old dowagers who had her IN charge
When these had all passed up and taken
their places on each side Of the way, a roll
OF gold colored brccade was brought in
and carefully unrolled all The length Of the
rom @ and then, supported on each band
oi.,5 " 1er younger sisters, and surrounded by
l.1e S.Iii more slaves and attendants, came the
poor young bride, white and trembling.
asG, ana literally covered from head to foot with
.,,iaizi i1tf dless was heavy, white damask.
'aiS tniekiy embroidered with gold, and her
ven of mantle, was 50 loaded down with
soAils ana lfihKets that il had to be carried