Life of women in the East.
The following description, taken from a work entitled the ‘"Egyptian Sepulchres and Syrian Shrines,"’ written by two sisters, the
Misses Beaufort, is interesting:
‘
The gayest sight we saw was the
Sweet Waters of
Asia, to which
Lady Bulwer kindly took us, on the great day of the year — the
Friday after Kourban Bairam.
This is the summer
Hyde Park of
Constantinople — the
Sweet Waters of
Europe being only in fashion during the winter season; there is no beauty in the spot, save that of a few fine trees, beneath whose shade the women sit the whole day. The place was excessively crowded, and one could not have a better opoortunity of studying Turkish women; they did not seem to be enormously unlike the pictures drawn of them by those of our modern poets, who describe them as fair and modest pearls, sitting like snowdrops enclosed in one on
Ward's patent sealed cases, the damp dews of the inside of the glass answering to the jealousies through which the almond-shaped eyes gleam in half-veiled light.
Here the gay flaunting flowers of the Bosphorine harems were sitting in a closely-packed mass upon the greensward, under the shade of the oak and the elm, the colors jumbled into each other, like the pattern of a brilliant Parisian carpet, thrown up upon a groundwork of their white veils, almost dazzling in its confused brightness, while the harsh, bird-like, ceaseless chatter of the ladies' tongues was almost relieved by the occasional cry of a spoiled child or the squeak of a swaddled baby.
Each group of two or three women had their own mattress,
goolleh (clay jar) of water, and an embroidered handkerchief, containing their comestibles for the day — chiefly raw cucumbers, of which they eat from morning till night — and most of them were smoking nargilens.
The richer ladies were driving round and round the small meadow, seated in gilded and painted
telegas, something like our royal state coach, only two or three of which had curtains drawn to conceal the inmates.
Some of the
Sultan's family were there, each lady with a couple of slaves on the back seat of the carriage, dressed as gaily, if not as richly, as herself; many of the slaves are petted up almost as much as their mistresses, and their slavedom is sometimes the extreme of luxury.
Since the last few years, the yasmak has ceased to be a ‘"snare,"’ and has become only a ‘"delusion"’--once it concealed the features of its wearer, now it only sets off and enhances their beauty--
"Like the indistinct, golden and vaparous fleese.
Which surrounded and hid the Celestials in
Greece,
From the glances of men,"
the single fold of gossamer gauze across the mouth and chin acting far less jealously on the fair faces of the Constantinople ladies than the ‘"violettes,"’ or the shady riding-hats of the ladies of our own country.
There were some beauties among them, and some of those more remarkable for intelligence than the others, reminded me of sweet gentle faces at home: but these were few, for, in general, they looked sadly insane.
And yet we were assured on the best authority that they do not now by any means lead the entirely vacant lives we are accustomed to believe they do; there is scarcely a harem belonging to a tolerably rich person, where the ladies do not read French and play on the piano-forte, besides occupying themselves with many kinds of embroidery, and some even sing and draw; one Pasha's wife was mentioned to us who had lately played the whole of the ‘"Trovators"’ by heart to our informant.
But these accomplishments are all learned from French governesses and
femmes de chambre, with whom they are liberally supplied; and with these accomplishments they learn also the morals, or rather immortals, of their teachers, who are invariably a very disreputable class.
‘"Progress"’ has indeed begun even in the Turkish harems, but it is the progress of vice only; formerly, if they had not intelligence enough to be useful and good, they were at least in happy ignorance of many of the vices to which they are now addicted.
Perhaps the sight of
European women does them more harm than good; for when they see us going and coming and rejoicing in our own liberty, they fancy that we must use that liberty for only the same objects as they would; they can conceive no other kind of restraint upon ourselves than that of brick walls and strong locks, and they long for the freedom which would enable them to obtain the paradise of passing the whole day in endless coquetry, flirting and admiration.
’
