Thirty years in the harem: or, The autobiography of Melek-Hanum, wife of H.H. Kibrizli-Mehemet-Pasha

THIRTY YEAES IN THE HAREM.

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM

OR, THE

AUTOBIOGKAPHY

OF

MELEK-HANUM WIFE OF H.H. KIBRIZLL
MEHEMET-PASHA.

LONDON:
CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY.

1872.

BRADBURY, EVANS, AND CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFR1ARS.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

My family— My mother's marriage— Extraordinary incident at my

birth 3

CHAPTER II.

/ ,

My chool-days — I am introduced to society — I receive an offer of

marriage — My marriage— My departure for Italy . , .11

CHAPTER III.

My return to Constantinople — Residence in the harem of Haider-
Effendi — The Ramazan — My intrigue with a Circassian lady :
she takes me to the Seraglio- Her escape — Character of Essemah-
Sultan 23

CHAPTER IV.

My marriage with Mehemet-Pasha— Gueuzluklti-Re'shid- Pasha asks
me to find him a wife — My proceedings— The daughter of Hafuz-
Pasha is bestowed upon him 33

VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

PAGE

Character of Sultan Abdul-Medjid — History of Besme-Hanum —
Disgrace of Mehemet- Pasha ; my wretched condition after his
degradation .......... 43

CHAPTER VI.

I resolve to petition Riza-Pasha in favour of my husband — I obtain
for him the command of Akiah — Shortly afterwards, he is ap-
pointed governor of Jerusalem — Our journey from Akiah to
that city ........... 60

CHAPTER VII.

Our entry into Jerusalem ; its inhabitants— How I set about getting
offers of presents^— Easter— A Greek conspiracy— I enter upon a
speculation in the grain trade ...... 69

CHAPTER VIII.

Revolt of the Arabs of Khair-Ackman — Deplorable condition of the

Ottoman troops 86

CHAPTER IX.

I undertake a journey to visit the Druses and the Bedouins ; the
reception they gave me — On my return to Jerusalem I succeed
in quelling an Arab emeute — I find a husband for a Circassian
Whom "I had: brought up ; the marriage ceremonies . .94

CHAPTER X.

Nazly-Hanum, daughter of Mehemet- Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, invites
me to visit her— My reception ; her character — I visit Alexan-
dria and Cairo 112

CONTENTS. Vll

CHAPTER XL

PAGE

Mehemet- Pasha is recalled — The journey from Jerusalem to Con-
stantinople— My husband is appointed governor of Belgrad : we
repair to that new post . . . . ' . . . .128

CHAPTER XII.

Residence at Belgrad —Monotony of our 'existence there — Revolt of

the Serbians, and my visit to the Prince . . . . .138

CHAPTER XIII.

Recall of Mehemet- Pasha— He is appointed Mushir— Invitation from

the Kadin-Effendi -Her History — Condition of Slaves in Turkey 151

CHAPTER XIV.

Object of the honour done me by the Kadin-Effendi— Intrigue of

Said-Pasha against Reshid- Pasha— Character of this Minister . 164

CHAPTER XV.

The promenades about Constantinople — The Bai'ram — Mehemet -

Pasha is appointed Ambassador to England . . . .171

CHAPTER XVI.

Departure of the Pasha for London— I remain at Constantinople —
My situation— Sickness of Djehad-Bey— My alarm — Fatmah,
my housekeeper— Her counsels — The borrowed infant — Conduct
of Fatmah and Beshir— Their rivalry — My proceedings — Mur-
der of Beshir . . 178

CHAPTER XVII.

Scene after the- murder— The assassins are given up to justice— Man-
oeuvres of my enemies — My imprisonment and trial— :The Pasha
is summoned to Constantinople— Reshid's policy — The Pasha's
marriage — Djehad's repudiation — Noble conduct of the Sultan
—Confiscation of my goods— My banishment ...» 194

viii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

PAGE

Life at Koniah —Hospitality of Hafiz-Pasha— Singular ideas of his
wives— I am invited to visit Tchelebi-Effendi, chief of the Der-
vishes— Description of this people — Frederick's arrival — Depar-
ture of Hafiz-Pasha . ,211

CHAPTER XIX.

I take flight from Koniah— Kutayeh— I reach Constantinople— Pro-
tection is extended to me by Reshid-Pasha .... 224

CHAPTER

Political events — Kibrizli- Pasha Grand- Vezir — Marriage of Ali-
Galyb-Pasha with the daughter of the Sultan— Deplorable con-
sequences of this union — Rivalry between Reshid and Mehemet-
Ali-Pasha 234

CHAPTER XXI.

Reshid-Pasha interferes between my husband and myself— Proceed-
ings before the Porte — Reshid-Pasha is replaced by Ali-Pasha —
Oath taken — My second imprisonment — I am let off . .244

CHAPTER XXII.

I leave Constantinople, and go to reside at Jalova — I meet a highway
robber— Unhappy condition of the inhabitants of the country-
Tyranny of the Mudirs . . . . . . . . 253

CHAPTER XXIII.

Death .of Abdul-Medjid— Kibrizli -Pasha raises Abdul- Aziz to the
Throne— Character of the new Sultan— Consequences of the pro-
tection afforded by the Consuls— Disgrace of Mehemet-Pasha . 265

CONTENTS. IX

CHAPTER XXIV.

PAGE

Aisheh's condition— Conduct of Ferideh— Family education— Family

life 273

CHAPTER XXV.

Apprehensions of Ferideh— Her manoeuvres— Marriage scheme —

Choice of Shevket 288

CHAPTER XXVI.

Coronation of Abdul- Aziz — Reception at the Seraglio— Extraordinary

custom — Incident at the reception — The lost jewel , , 298

CHAPTER XXVII.

Marriage schemes — Betrothal — Marriage festivals — The apartment of

the bride — Wedding ceremony 814

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Remarks on Aisheh's marriage— Aisheh's sorrows — I rejoin my

daughter— Crisis in the harem— Aisheh's flight . . . 334

CHAPTER XXIX.

Consequences of Aisheh's flight — Intrigues of Ferideh— Policy of
Kibrizli — Manoeuvres of Shevket — Our flight from Shevket —
Divorce of Aisheh , 851

CHAPTER XXX.

Efforts of Shevket —Confiscation— Law-suit— Mahmud-Bey— Pro-
tracted hostilities —My view of the case — Aisheh's sentiments . 367

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXXI.

PAGE

Departure for Egypt— Abib-Pasha— Arrival at Alexandria— Beha-
viour of the EgyptiansT-Departure for JMityJene— We are taken
by force— Exile to Koniah 383

CHAPTER XXXII.

Route to Koniah — Sojourn at Koniah — Escape from Koniah — We
arrive at Mersine — The* French Consul — Arrival at Constanti-
nople ...... 396

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Arrival at Constantinople — Our position — Designs of the Turks —

We decide to fly to Europe — My nephew Carlo Calix . . 411

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Our flight-1 We "disguise ourselves — We get on board the mail-
steamer — Our departure— Off at last for Europe .... 422

THIKTY YEAES IN THE
HAKEM.

CHAPTER I.

My family — My mother's marriage.

MY maternal grandmother, who was from the
isle of Chios, married an Armenian, a banker pa-
tronized by the then reigning Sultan Selim III.
(1789 — 1807). He was very rich, and — what is
always a perilous matter in the East — he was known
to possess a fortune.

The Janissaries were, at that time, the tyrants
of the country. They were a source of universal
terror, so resolutely did they devote themselves to
the most shameless depredations — to the most cruel
measures of vengeance, and to acts the most
arbitrary.

My grandfather one day received a warning that
the Janissaries had formed the design of paying a
visit to his house in order to lay hands upon his
treasures. Fear got the better of his courage ; his

B 2

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

reason was disturbed. Ascending to the terrace-roof^
common to the generality of old houses, he pre-
cipitated himself to the ground. When he was taken
up, horribly mutilated, life was found to be extinct.

The announcement which led to so lamentable a
result was unquestionably false, for the widow, the
son, and the three daughters of the deceased were
left in peaceable possession of his effects.

The family resided at Constantinople, in the
suburb of Galata, between the quarter named Sail-
bazar (the Tuesday bazaar) and Azdb-Capou (the
Refuge). The house they lived in was of great
antiquity. Built by the Genoese, it was the pro-
perty of a celebrated physician, named Hadji-
Mustapha. It was laid out in four flats, each
comprising four or five bed-rooms and a spacious
reception-room.. As it stood on a considerable
elevation, an agreeable prospect was enjoyed, even
from the first floor, ranging over the White Sea,
the tower of Leander (called by the Turks the
Maiden's Tower), and Scutari, with its forests of
lofty cypress.

The reason why the Turks call Leander 's Tower
Kiz-kulesi, or the Maiden's Tower, is referable to a
singular legend : —

A certain Sultan dreamt that his daughter would

MY FAMILY. 5

perish from the bite of a serpent. The muned-jims
(soothsayers), when consulted as to the means of
preserving the princess from the fatal calamity that
menaced her, could suggest nothing better than to
construct, out at sea, the tov/cr in question. The
young Sultana was confined in this tower, with
several of her ladies to bear her company. One
day, whilst surrounded by her attendants, and
seated upon the highest storey, she was amusing
herself by watching the boats passing below, when
she remarked in one of them some magnificent
fruits, especially grapes, for which she had a great
longing. In spite of the Sultan's prohibition, who
had ordained that nothing whatever should be
allowed access to his daughter, she purchased a
basketful of the beautiful, fresh, and rosy grapes
which she found so tempting. A cord, let down to
the boatman, enabled the basket to be drawn up ;
but scarcely had the princess laid her hand upon it
when a serpent, gliding out, bit her in the arm.
Every care was lavished upon her, but to no
purpose ; she expired after a few moments. So
-difficult is it to escape the destiny which is in store
for us.

My grandmother, as I have said before, was in
easy circumstances ; so her house was tastefully

6 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

furnished. On the three sides of each room other
than that which contained the doorway, were
ranged large divans of cloth or velvet, supplied
with cushions. Ancient Turkey carpets covered
the floor in winter ; [in the summer they were
replaced by mats. Fresco paintings of flowers
adorned the walls, and the air was cooled by vases
of water placed in niches. Every room had a
chimney ; whilst in modern houses people warm
themselves solely by means of huge chafing-dishes
resembling Eoman braziers, or by means of the
tandour.

This last-named system of warming is so pecu-
liar as to be^deserving here of special mention. To
make this original stove, a large iron foot-warmer is
placed under a kind of flat, circular wooden chest,
lined with sheet-iron, and about a foot-and-a-half
high. It is pierced at intervals with holes suffi-
ciently large] to allow persons sitting on it to pass-
their legs underneath. , The whole is covered with
stuffs moi e or less rich, according to the resources
of the owner. In the centre is placed a circular
table-cloth, or covering, of silk or cashmere. Before
each of the persons who take their seats on this
novel divan is a drawer, in which fruit and other
things can be placed.

MY FAMILY. 7

The inmates, male and female, of the same house
can all seat themselves in this fashion and remain
for many hours, without perceiving any attack of
cold. Their heads alone are visible, for their bodies,
up to their shoulders, are under cover. When the *
circle is composed of young girls they become ex-
tremely animated, tease each other, throw fruit and
nuts, and excite themselves by playful interchanges
of kicks and blows. This kind of entertainment is
sometimes attended with serious results, as the foot-
warmer occasionally gets overturned, and sets fire to
the house. Fires are of frequent occurrence at
Constantinople, and their origin is often merely "the
upsetting of a tandur,

My two aunts and their brother were already
married when my mother (who was named Con-
stance), although twenty-five years of age, found
herself still free, at a time when women in Turkey
married at fourteen.

It was not that numerous opportunities did not
present themselves. Extremely intelligent, she had
received but little education, as is customary in the
East in the case of girls. She only knew her mother-
tongue, Greek. Tall, and with magnificent black
hair, her dark complexion and dauntless carriage
gave her an air of energy which was not belied by

8 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

her character. She had preferred to remain single
sooner than put up with an unsuitable match.

As my mother's house was situated in the native
quarter, where very few Europeans made their
appearance, those who did venture into that neigh-
f bourhood could not fail to excite remark. A young
European was frequently seen to pass, of tall stature
and of graceful bearing, always armed with a long
and slender sword. The ladies of that quarter
amused themselves by looking at him through the
wooden grating of their djumbd. One evening,
when my mother had half opened the wicket con-
trived in the thick lattice, in order to obtain a better
view of the stranger, the latter stopped to survey her,
and was struck with the beauty of her countenance.
Next day he appeared again before the window, and
threw my mother a note in French, in which he
avowed his passion for her. She caused him to
explain himself through the servant of a Marseilles
merchant, who moreover told her that she knew the
author of the letter to be a Frenchman, named
Charles Dejean, living at Constantinople on the
proceeds of a considerable quantity of valuables
which he possessed, and which he was selling by
degrees.

Satisfied with these particulars, my mother replied

MY MOTHERS MARRIAGE. 9

in a note, which she sent him the next time he
passed through the street, that she accepted his
addresses, and that if he would demand her in mar-
riage of my uncle, she was ready to marry him.

Next day the Frenchman called on my mother's
brother, who could speak a little Italian ; they came
to an understanding, and my uncle being assured of
his sister's consent, she was married to M. Dejean
before the French consul. This occurred in 1810.

I was the second daughter, issue of this marriage,
and I was born three years after it, during the
temporary absence of my father, who had been
compelled to take a journey into Wallachia. He
had been there only a short time when a pestilent
epidemic, which was prevalent in that country
carried him off in the course of a few days. Thus
it happened that I never saw my father.

My mother was a fervent Catholic, and had the
reputation of being the most saintly woman at
Constantinople. She had, however, very great
trouble with me, on account of my resolute and
wayward nature.. There was an extraordinary in-
cident connected with my birth, and to which my
mother attached great importance. A severe pesti-
lence having broken out in Constantinople, and
•several of her relations having died of it, my mother

10 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

became so alarmed that she removed from the city to
the little village of Kandili, about two leagues off.
The loss of her relatives and fear of the plague had
such an effect on her that sudden and unexpected
symptoms of maternity manifested themselves. She*
knew no one, and there was no doctor in the
place. In this sad state she sent her servant to
seek a nurse, or some one to come to her aid.
The servant had not gone far down the street when
she saw an old woman hobbling along, and leaning
on a stick. She stopped her, and asked if she
knew of a nurse who would come to her mistress.
The old woman instantly replied, " I will come
directly." Without saying another word, she fol-
lowed the servant back to the house, and was
present at my birth. After muttering a great
many prayers and benedictions over me, in an
unknown tongue, she took her departure with
that extraordinary taciturn -and prompt manner
with which she had entered. On leaving the room,
however, it was remarked that she took from two
capacious pockets handfuls of wh^at, and strewed
them on the floor as she walked ; she scattered
the grain down the staircase and throughout the
house. This was thought very strange ; however
no questions were asked, as it was expected she

EXTRAORDINARY INCIDENT AT MY BIRTH, 11

would come back in the morning to be paid for
her services. But she never returned, and my
mother frequently sent all over the place, far and
wide in the country, to search for the old crea-
ture, but she could not be found ; in fact, it was
denied that such a person had ever been seen or *
heard of. My mother being very credulous, en-
tertained the firm belief that her nurse was a good
old fairy-midwife, who had kindly given her ser-
vices. I believe corn and wheat are, in all coun-
tries, emblematical of abundance and plenty ; if
so, the kind intentions of the stranger (whether
in the flesh or not) in the supernatural sprinkling
of the grain have often failed to be faithfully
accomplished. My poor mother, who had but too
frequent cause to correct me for my wild doings,
always ended her reprovals by saying, " I can do
nothing with you ; I am certain that old woman
bewitched you at your birth, for you are not like
other children." I readily own to being of a very
remarkable nature, endowed with a restless tem-
perament and untiring energy — qualities that have
enabled ine to endure many hazardous events and
vicissitudes that any ordinary mortal would cer-
tainly have succumbed to.

My sister, who was of a very gentle disposition, bora

12 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

a strong personal resemblance to my mother ;. I differed
entirely from both, of them, as well from a physical
as from a moral point of view. I was told that my
features and my character had much similarity with
those of my father.

All counted we were twelve children in my grand-
mother's house. Though the youngest, I assumed a
certain authority over all the others ; they listened
to me, and obeyed me more readily than their own
parents.

From the age of eight years I was specially re-
marked for my facility of learning and my high
spirit. The master who came to teach us to read
French and Greek, always questioned me last,
although the youngest, and he seemed perfectly
astonished to find that every day I knew my
lessons better than did my elder companions. At
the same time I was so boisterous that I could
not be kept in order against my will ; so far did I
carry my pranks that I would often come home with
my dress all in rags, from climbing the very tallest
of the trees in our garden.

During the summer we left Constantinople to
pass the season at Prince's Islands. It was in this
semi-peaceful and semi-boisterous manner that my
early years flowed on.

CHAPTER II.

My school-days — I am introduced to society — 1 receive an offer of
marriage— My marriage — My departure for Europe.

WHEN I was thirteen years old, my mother sent
me to a school kept by a Madame Barbiani, to learn
a little embroidery and the rudiments of a simple
education, such as at that time was ordinarily
given to girls in the East. Having little or no
taste for study, I learnt next to nothing during my
stay, which lasted two years, as my nature could
ill brook restraint of any kind ; school discipline
least of all. I was now a little more than fifteen,
when one day my mother surprised me by saying
she intended me to accompany her to an evening
party. I was delighted at this, it being my first
introduction into society. I must confess to a
degree of vanity when I caught sight of myself
attired for this grand occasion. How, indeed, could
I be blind to the beauty I saw reflected in my
mirror ? I felt quite satisfied with myself, and

14 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

went off highly elated. A new life was about to
open before me.

That evening proved an eventful one. Amongst
the guests there was a gentleman, lately arrived in
Constantinople, who had been in the suite of Lord
Byron during his sojourn in Greece. He was a
tall, fine-looking man, of distinguished manners,
intellectual, and a good linguist, speaking Greek
almost like a native. Within a brief period, he
asked my mother's consent to become my suitor.
She at first hesitated, an account of his being a
Protestant, but eventually, acceding to his repeated
wishes, we were married soon afterwards by a
priest of the Greek Church, my husband having a
dislike to the ceremony being performed by a
Catholic priest. This union, contracted so hastily,
was not of long duration. There existed no sym-
pathy between us, either in taste, temper, or habits.
My husband was a serious, stern, and learned man,
and I was a giddy, uneducated girl of fifteen ; the
disparity in our respective ages also contributed
towards estrangement, and at the expiration of five
years we mutually agreed on being divorced.

I left Constantinople soon after, and being
desirous of visiting Europe, I placed my children
under the care of an amiable relative residing in

MY MARRIAGE. 15

Eome ; and there I remained for several months,
without feeling much change in the life compared
with that I had been leading ; for, owing to the
curious habits of my friends, who were strict de-
votees, I spent the time in almost as utter seclusion »
as though I were in a Turkish harem.

My desire to escape from such thraldom, there-
fore, grew stronger every day, and the want of some
fixed income on which I could depend in the future
alone detained me. My husband at this time con-
templated another marriage, and made overtures to
me by which he hoped to obtain my acquiescence.
I was informed that at Paris I would find deposited
in the hands of a relative stipulations which, if I
signed, would secure for me ample provision for my
future maintenance, if I would consent 'to live in
that capital ; and thither I went, with a heart full
of joyful anticipations. My dreams of happiness,
however, were cruelly dashed when I found the
conditions attached to the agreement I was to
sign totally repugnant to my feelings as a mother.
In this extremity, the change from the seclusion at
Eome to an equally dull lodging in Paris was not
to be endured. At Eome I found society endurable,
and even sympathetic, but in Paris I was* thrown
amongst unfriendly strangers. I almost sunk under

]"6 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

the weight of my difficulty. Then it was that the
happy idea came into my head of laying my case
before the Turkish Minister, and appealing to him
for his aid and sympathy.

At this period Fety-Pasha was Ambassador for
Turkey at the court of Louis-Philippe. My cousin
presented me to his Excellency, who received me
very graciously. Fety-Pasha was a Turk of the old
school — an honest, good-hearted, and perfectly
straightforward man. Such a one is rarely to be
found now-a-days in Turkey. He was rather a
fanatic, but I have no right to blame him on
that account. In purity of mind and manners he
was a bright example. He told me he was
delighted to see me in Europe, and that he would
do all in his power to render my stay in Paris
agreeable. "But/7 he continued, "I shall not be here
many months longer, as I intend returning to Con-
stantinople, as I am going to marry a daughter of
the Sultan Mahmud."

A few days after my arrival, tli3 Ambassador
sent me an invitation, by his secretary, to a ball at
the hotel of the Minister for War. This was my
first ball in Europe, and I was greatly charmed and
astonishe'd at the elegance and brilliancy of the
salle-de-danse : the dresses of the ladies absorbed

VISIT TO PARIS. 17

my attention, and above all I was puzzled at the
stooping, extraordinary posture of the French
gentlemen, who, hat in hand, advanced towards the
ladies with such a strange gait that I imagined they
were all rather lame and deformed. Great, how-
ever, was my surprise and pleasure on seeing
Keshid-Pasha, an old friend, talking to Fety-Pasha
as they were seated side by side on the ottoman.
As I knew Reshid-Pasha and his family intimately
at Constantinople, I went up to speak to him ; he
was very glad to see me, and told me he was going
to London, where he was appointed Ambassador
from the Porte. He added also, for my information,
that he was very pleased at the idea of going to
England, and that the young queen of that country
was very pretty and clever. He then made me
laugh very much by drawing my attention to the
same peculiar gestures of the French gentlemen I
had already noticed. "Look," said he, " Look at
them, with their hats in their hands, going up
to the ladies and entreating them to favour them
by dancing with them. How different it is with
us. "We Turks, on the contrary, remain seated on
our divans, and expect the ladies to come and ask
us to grant them the favour of a few words." " I
hope," he went on to say, " that you will not be

18 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

persuaded to dance, for you know we could not
endure to see you do such a thing." I said I had
no idea of doing so ; but as soon as Reshid and
Fety had taken their departure I accepted every
invitation for quadrilles, and even waltzes, and I
must confess that I passed a most charming
evening. I heard with sincere regret, some years
afterwards, that poor Beshid-Pasha had been
poisoned by some of his enemies at Constantinople.
I have often lamented his loss, for in all my after
troubles up to the time of that lamentable event, he
was always my friend, and ever ready to afford me
his good advice and commiseration.

Soon after my first appearance in the salons of
Paris I made the acquaintance of Kibrizli-Mehemet-
Pasha, who was then military attache to the lega-
tion. From our first interview the Pasha paid me
great attention, and wherever we met in society he
strove to make himself agreeable. These assiduities
were soon followed by an offer of marriage, which I
was rather disposed to accept, but I hesitated
on account of my suitor's creed and nationality.
I also felt a dread of the harem, the seclusion
of which seemed to me an awful prospect. How-
ever a second and third offer proved irresistible, for
Kibrizli-Pasha had gained my affections. I there-

STATE BALL. 19

fore decided on accepting him, thinking that, with
his love, it would be far better for me to be in the
harem even to remaining in Paris. It must be re-«
membered that I was then only twenty-two years
of age, with no experience of the world, and deprived
of my natural protector.

On the occasion of a grand bal-costum£ given at
the palace of the Tuileries, I received an invitation,
and had an opportunity of seeing the good Louis-
Philippe and his interesting family. It was a very
brilliant affair, and the diversity of costumes dazzled
me greatly. I was, however, surprised to find that
a description of the costume I appeared in had
been given in the French journals the following
day, and had been much admired. My English
lady readers will perhaps like to know what it
was like. It was a Greek costume, which I had
brought from Constantinople, and consisted of a
very full and rather short skirt of pink silk,
embroidered with gold. A white Broussa silk
waistcoat, trimmed with Turkish point lace and
large hanging sleeves of the same material. A
green velvet jacket embroidered with gold, and a
crimson tarboosh, or Greek cap, embroidered with
pearls and long pearl tassels. My hair drawn off
the forehead and fastened with a diamond pin, I

20 — 22 THIRTY YEAES IN THE HAREM.

was allowed to fall in two long thick plaits. The
ornaments consisted of a necklace and bracelets of
diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, of Greek patterns.
I was invited to dance several times, but of course
was obliged to refuse in the presence of so many
Turkish gentlemen ; so I contented myself with
looking on. At last S.A. Le Due d'Orleans ad-
vanced and asked me for a waltz, and as etiquette
forbade me to decline this mark of favour, I rose
and took a few turns with my royal partner. The
conversation of the Duke was very amiable, and he
did me the honour to admire my costume, telling
me that it was the prettiest in the room.

My stay in Paris was not of very long duration,
for the departure of Fety-Pasha for Constantinople
obliged me to follow the fortunes of my betrothed,
who was the Pasha's aide-de-camp. I took with
me a servant, a young negro, who had come from
Bordeaux, and to whom I gave the name of
Mustapha.

CHAPTER III.

My return to Constantinople — Residence in the harem of Haider-Effendi —
The Ramazan — My intrigue with a Circassian lady : she takes me to
the Seraglio^Her escape — Character of Essemah-Sultan.

ON my arrival at Constantinople I waited on
Fety-Pasha. He referred me to one of his friends,
whose hospitality he had bespoken in my favour.
I therefore took up my residence in the palace of
Haider-Effendi, which was situated in the quarter
of St. Sophia.

In this palace resided fifteen or twenty ladies, — *
mothers, step-mothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, step-
sisters, and other relatives of the master of the
house. It was a spacious abode, and luxuriously
furnished.

We passed the time very pleasantly together, in
conversation, dancing, music, listening to and telling
stories; in fact, seeking to entertain ourselves in
every way we could imagine.

24 THIRTY YEAKS IN THE HAREM.

It was then the time of the Ramazan, the Mussul-
* man Lent. During this season their religion forbids
them to eat, drink, or smoke all day long. At
midnight a crier goes through the streets, beating a
large drum (daul), and rousing all the inhabitants.
The women then make ready the repast, for it
is allowable to eat and drink till day-break. Then
another cry goes round, forbid ding them to take any-
thing ; they rinse their mouths, and sleep till night-
fall. As I did not at all like to take my meals at

night and sleep in the day-time, I used to put

.
certain articles of nourishment on one side, and eat

them secretly in the course of the day. This scheme
was not my own invention, for very many people, in-
cluding Pashas, do not scruple to provide for thern-
* selves in secret. At the same time, when they
appear in the streets by day they keep up the farce*
and assume the languid and fainting air of one
suffering from starvation.

All through this month the rich keep open
house. They receive all comers, and every
poor person, after making his repast, is dismissed
with a small present of money wrapped in a hand-
kerchief.

During the nights of the Kamazan, the Mussulman
youth of both sexes spend their time in wandering

JAMAZAN. 25

through the streets of Stambul, visiting the
mosques, and frequenting the cafe's and other places
of amusement. They usually carry small lanterns
of different colours — green, red, blue, &c. The
effect produced by these masses of lanterns, casting
a mysterious glimmer, was extremely original and
attractive.

A Circassian lady, named Nazib-Hanum, the
adopted daughter of the Sultan's sister, came on one
of these nights to pay us a visit. She was of a
spirited and playful disposition ; and, as for myself,
I may venture to say, speaking for both, we were
a good match.

Turning to me, she said, " If you are willing, my
dear, let us go and dress ourselves up like men (for
women are not allowed to enter the mosques), and
we will go together to St. Sophia, to see the festival
which is held to-night."

Putting on male apparel, and carrying small
lanterns, we went to the mosque. On entering it
we were completely dazzled. The columns were
decked from top to bottom, with lustres of coloured
glass ; the Sultan's band was performing ; and the
crowd was so dense that it was almost impossible
to get in. After remaining for some time prostrated
like the celebrants themselves, we wished to retire,

26 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

and tried to find the door by which we had entered,
but as there were a great number, we found our
way out by a different one from that which we were
seeking.

Presently, we heard two young men behind us
call out, "Beyler ! beyler !" that is to say, "Gentle-
men ! gentlemen ! don't go so fast ; come with us
to a cafe, and take some refreshment." At these
words, supposing that they had discovered our stra-
tagem, we quickened our pace, without replying.
They persisted, however, in following and speaking
to us.

Seriously alarmed, we hurried on faster and faster.
" I fear, my dear," said my companion, " if we are
pursued much longer I shall be obliged to stop.
These men must have suspected our trick, and are
now pursuing us in earnest."

Wearied of this pursuit, we saw approaching us
an old man of venerable appearance. We accosted
him, and begged that he would escort us to the
house where we were staying. Our followers
asked him if he knew us. " They are stran-
gers," he replied, "whom I am conducting to
their home." When we returned we were worn
out with fatigue. Nazib-Hanum stayed that
night with me. In the morning she left, inviting

AN INTRIGUE.

me to visit her at the palace on the following
day.

I went, accordingly, and she showed me over the
ladies' apartments and those of the Sultan. The
divan in her chamber was of red velvet, embroidered
with pearls. Afterwards she made me -seat myself
in an immense room, and then Essemah-Sultan, the
sister of the Sultan Mahmud, a lady already of
considerable age, joined us. She was accompanied
by several young ladies, one half of whom were
dressed in male attire, and took her seat on a large
gilded chair.

Some of them began to dance, and the princess
invited me to follow their example. I was dressed
in a magnificent costume, and mingled with the
other young women. Nazib-Hanum, who had
introduced me, accompanied us, in the most en-
chanting style, on a kind of guitar. Then there
was a cry of " The Sultan ! " We were going to
withdraw, when his sister invited us to remain,
saying, " His Highness will be much pleased to see
you thus/'

Mahmud looked at us for some time, and then
offered his hand to Nazib-Hanum, my chaperon,
and took several turns about the room with her,
conversing in the most animated manner. Keturning

28 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to Essemah-Sultan, he told her that it would greatly
oblige him if she would give him that young
lady. She refused, saying that, if she gave him
what he asked, he would keep to his new wife for
three or four days, and then she would have to
pass the rest of her life in a corner of the palace.
He thereupon retired, and betook himself to his
repast.

He did not appear to be a long time over it, for
almost immediately after his departure we had all
the dishes brought us that had appeared at his table.
I was not sorry for this, for I had tasted nothing
since morning.

When bed-time arrived Nazib showed me to her
chamber, where a bed had been prepared for me
beside her own. I was in bed, when I heard a
knocking at the door. A young woman had come
to ascertain whether she had found any letter.
Opening a little wicket formed in the lattice of the
window, she drew in a string, to which was attached
a letter. She forthwith burst into peals of laughter,
and quickly wrote another, which she fastened to
the string and let down.

Calling the treasurer, she said to her in great
glee : " It is the little rascal whom we have met so
often that has written to me. I have replied that

NAZIB'S ESCAPE. 29

I shall be happy to see him, and that he will see us
to-morrow on the promenade, in the principal pas-
sage of the Bazaar."

On the morrow Nazib-Hanum took the princess's
carriage, and I accompanied her, while two pretty
little slaves dressed like men were following us on
horseback. We soon saw a young gentleman ap-
proaching, who threw into the carriage some flowers,
and a note. The young Circassian alighted, fur-
tively spoke a few words to him, and contrived to
hand him a letter unobserved.

This person was a Greek merchant of the
Bazaar, of whom Nazib was enamoured. He was
in no way remarkable for good looks, and as to
money, he was a mere pauper, an adventurer who
was seeking to make his fortune by marrying one
of the court ladies. It must be said that Nazib
was playing a dangerous game, for in selecting a
Christian for a lover she ran the risk of being
thrown into the Bosphorus in a sack weighted with

_^)

shot.

Some time afterwards the news was spread that she
had taken flight. This is how she managed it. She
wrote to her lover to come to her, on a certain day,
with a boat all ready before the palace, on the side
nearest to the sea. Through some of the Greek women

30 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

who are allowed into the harems to sell various ar-
ticles to the inmates, she procured European clothing,
including a thick veil to disguise her features. She
took with her some diamonds and other valuables,
which formed part of the marriage trousseau pre-
sented to her by Essemah-Sultan, who had intended
shortly to give her in marriage. Taking advantage
of the circumstance that European ladies frequently
paid visits at the palace, while their husbands
waited for them outside, she passed rapidly before
the guards, who remarked among themselves
that she bore a strong resemblance to the
adopted daughter of the Sultan's sister. With
the utmost coolness she took the arm of him
who was awaiting her ; they got into a boat,
embarked on board a vessel that was moving
off, and took their leave of Constantinople and of
Turkey.

The next day Essemah-Sultan sent for her
protegee to go and pay homage to the Sultan
Abdul-Medjid, her nephew, who had just come to
the throne. In spite of all researches they were
unable to discover the hiding-place of the young
Circassian. It was only after a considerable interval
that they learned she was married at Galatz to the
lover who had carried her off.

ESSEM AH-SULTAN. 3 1

After her marriage with the Greek, Nazib-
Hanum had to endure many vicissitudes. Her hus-
band made away with all her treasures, and ended
his career with his bankruptcy. The poor woman
was left a widow with twelve children. Finding it
impossible • to live and support her large family,
Nazib decided on seeking refuge among her former
masters, and returned to Constantinople, an old
woman and in rags. The Turks, instead of reproach- «
ing her for her conduct, received her kindly, and
they furnished her with the means of subsistence up
to the present day.

The princess was a woman of strong passions,
but, at the same time, of a most cruel disposition.
She exercised great influence over her brother, the
Sultan Mahmud. It is related of her that she '
used to amuse herself by collecting together in her
presence ten young Greeks duly shaved and painted,
and making them dance in female costume. On
several occasions her brother, hearing of the de-
bauches to which she gave herself up with these
dancers, had them seized and put to death, whereat
his sister seemed to be not in the least degree
affected.

Once, while taking a walk in the country, seeing
a young peasant of prepossessing appearance, she

32 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

invited him to come to the palace with some
flowers, and other trifles. Once admitted, nothing
more was ever heard of the unhappy youth : he was
massacred, after having afforded a pastime to this
capricious and cruel woman.

CHAPTER IV.

My marriage with Mehem et- Pasha— - Gueuzluklu-Reshid-Pasha asks me
to find him a wife— My proceedings— The daughter of Hafuz-Paslia
is bestowed upon him.

THE Ramazan once at an end, my lover, Kibrizli-
Mehemet-Bey hastened to make the necessary pre-
parations for the celebration of our marriage. Fety-
Pasha, who had taken us under his protection, bore
the greater part of the expense, and assisted us by
every means in his power.

It was now the day following the night called
Kadir-Gedjessi, which precedes by three days the
termination of the Ramazan. During this night
the minarets are illuminated with blackened lustres,
forming verses and other sentences from the
Koran. The Sultan repairs, with great pomp, to
one of the mosques, amid the glare of torches,
escorted by troops, preceded by bands of music, and
accompanied by the great officers of state. The
Turkish ladies take advantage of this occasion to

84? THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

go out, and to converse more freely than they
could in the daytime with those who drew near
to their carriages to pay them compliments, and
present them with bouquets and bonbons.

In the course of this day an old lady, the wife of
the imam who was to celebrate our nuptials, called on
me in her carriage and took me to the house of my
future husband, which stood on an eminence over-
looking Tophane. This building, surrounded by a
garden, was very small ; it comprised only three
bed-chambers and a reception-room, forming the
harem, besides a small chamber for the use of the
men, or selamliL From this elevation there was a
magnificent view. At our feet was the Bosphorus,
and in the far distance, on the opposite shore, the
smiling hills of Scutari. The furniture in the
Oriental fashion, was of the greatest simplicity.

After accompanying the Sultan to the mosque,
Kibrizli-Mehemet-Bey arrived, followed by a general
and another officer of rank, and the imam or priest.
The nuptial ceremony is very simple in the case of
those who have been married before. The lady
draws near to the door of the harem ; the bride-
groom and the imam are on the other side. The
latter asks each of the parties three times whether
he or she respectively will take the other in

MY MARRIAGE. 35

marriage ; on receiving a response in the affirmative
thrice repeated, he recites a few prayers, and retires
after taking a glass of sherbet. The witnesses then
take their leave, the husband enters the harem, offers
his hand to his bride, and remains alone with her.

In the morning the husband goes out, and his
wife avails herself of his absence to bring forth her
most beautiful attire. She adorns her head with a
rich head-dress decked with brilliants, and placed
over her loose-flowing locks, and dresses herself in
long sweeping robes of silk embroidered with gold.

Our establishment was limited to an old woman
and a black slave. All the windows were guarded
by wooden gratings, some of them having in addition
small balconies surrounded with trellis work, called
in the language of the country djumba. We could
see out of these windows without being seen. I
could perceive that our garden was very fine, and,
moreover, that there were four small doors giving
access to the houses of some of our neighbours.

These doors presently opened, and admitted num-
bers of ladies, young and old, accompanied by their
children, both girls and little boys of from six to
eight years old. They entered my chamber without
ceremony, to see, as they said, the new comer.

They made me the subject of their comments : —

D 2

36 THIETY YEAES IN THE HAREM.

" This lady is indeed beautiful, MashaUah!" said
one.

" Are you a Turk or a Circassian ? " enquired
another, on coming near me.

(t I am a Georgian/' I replied.

" Have you not a sister?" asked a third; " because
I have a son to whom I should be happy to give a
wife such as you."

" I have no sister."

After each question they conversed together,
either in Turkish or Circassian. As some of them left,
others came in, and plied me with questions as idle
as the preceding, without giving me a moment's truce.

Seeing that they lived in the same quarter with
myself, and that they were all the mothers or wives
of officers, I treated them with due Consideration,
and avoided giving them umbrage. I did not dare
>to take any repose in their presence, and feared I
should offend them if I begged them to retire.
They only left me towards nightfall.

Prudence constrained me to act in this manner.
Indeed, the promotion of the officers is independent
of any fixed rule ; favour and caprice dictate their
selection ; the women also employ themselves
actively in the matter, on behalf of their sons, their
brothers, and their husbands. As they visit a good

GUEUZLUKLU-PASHA. 37

deal, they try to ingratiate themselves with the *
wives of the ministers or the generals in chief, and
these speak in favour of their protegees, when they
find themselves alone with their husbands, and, by
dint of importunity, obtain from them the steps
which they desire. It is nothing unusual for a
young man of five-and-twenty, who has never seei\
active service, to be nominated general of brigade \
or division, or promoted to some important naval or !
military post. It is easy to understand that, with /
such an organisation, the Ottoman troops lose the /
benefit of the personal valour of the soldiers who
compose them.

Soon after our marriage, my husband received,
through the interest of Fety-Pasha, the title of l>ey>
or colonel, and three or four months afterwards, that
of liwa, or general of brigade. On this occasion he
had the honour of a visit from his general of division,
Gueuzluklu-Keshid-Pasha. After the customary
salutations, the latter imparted to Mehemet-Bey his
.determination to marry. He begged my husband to
call me close to the door, so that, without being
seen, I could hear what he had to say on this subject.
Having no family connections, being a native of
Georgia, he was desirous that I should take upon
myself, in his behalf, those duties which, in the

88 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

choosing of a wife, ordinarily devolve upon some
female relative.

As he had lived in Europe, he explained that he
wished his wife to be tall and slender, as Europeans
generally are, and that she should, moreover, have
an agreeable expression of countenance.

I immediately entered upon the campaign; I
dressed myself to the best possible advantage, and
went, in succession, amongst all the families of equal
rank with that of the general. In conformity with
established usage, I contrived my visits of this kind
in the following manner :—

I presented myself at the door of a house where I
knew there was a marriageable daughter. " What
do you want, Madam ? " <( I wish to see your young
lady/1 Forthwith I was introduced into the draw-
ing-room, where I sat down on a divan, whi]st the
young person was getting arrayed in her finest
clothes. She made her appearance, saluted me with
the handkerchief which she carried in her hand,
and, with her eyes always fixed on the ground,
proceeded to sit down on a seat placed in front of
mine, and arranged expressly for her. Then coffee
was brought in a small silver cup. The young lady-
stays all the time while it is in course of drinking ;
as soon as the cup is empty she withdraws ; so that

GUEUZLUKLU-PASHA. 39

it is taken as slowly as possible, in order to afford a
thorough inspection of that which one has come
to see.

As soon as she has disappeared, one of her rela-
tives, her mother or eldest sister, enters and inquires
what one thinks of the young lady. To such a
question one most naturally makes answer in the
most eulogistic terms. Then the lady explains what
the damsel is possessed of, both in clothes and
jewelry, and states the amount of her dowry.

However, it does not do to trust implicitly to !
these representations. It often happens that after
promising more than they are able or willing to give,
the parents, when once the marriage is concluded,
furnish a provision greatly inferior to what was
held out in the first instance. There are no means
of compelling them to fulfil their promise, because a
contract previous to marriage is a thing unrecognised,
and contrary to all received usages.

On taking my leave, I assured the family that I
would explain everything to the person who had
commissioned me, and that I would let them know
if the match proved acceptable to him.

Every evening I gave my husband an account of
my visits, and he reported the same to Gueuzluklu-
Ke'shid-Pasha, who showed himself very hard to

40 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

please. In one case he found too many relations ;
in another not sufficient fortune : this one was built
on too large a scale, or had blue eyes, whereas he
preferred black ; that one was too old. In fact, not
one of them could secure his choice. For twenty
days I ceased not to assail the houses of the ul6mas,
the generals, the ministers and all the high digni-
taries.

Weary of so much going about, and such use-
less applications, I resolved to speak, on behalf
of the Pasha, to the very next damsel whom I
happened to visit. He had sent me, with this
view, a bouquet, enriched with a magnificent
diamond. I entrusted it to a Circassian whom
I took with me, and directed my steps to the
palace of Hafuz-Pasha, situated at Stiniah, on
the Bosphorus. His own wife came to receive me.
Though about fifty years old, this lady had a
magnificent arm and hand, of which I still pre-
serve the recollection. She made me come into
the drawing-room, where I found great delight in
her conversation, on account both of the charming
sweetness of her voice, and the spirit and brilliancy
of her remarks. To hear and see the mother
could not but dispose one favourably towards the
daughter.

GUEUZLUKLU-PASHA. 41

The latter soon appeared. She was tall, full of
health, with regular features, and fair complexion ;
she had a hand and an arm as beautiful as her
mother's, but her hair and eyebrows were red, and
her eyes were of a light chestnut colour. This
was by no means what Gueuzluklu-Be'shid-Pasha
wanted, for he was seeking some one slight, and
with black hair and eyes.

Tired of having gone to no purpose into so
many houses, I decided at once in favour of this
young lady, whose fortune was, moreover, very
considerable. I placed on her head the present I
had brought her, saying that his Excellency took her
for his wife. When I returned home I rendered an
account of my embassy, taking care to say nothing
about the red hair of the betrothed maiden.

Some days after an apartment, superbly fur-
nished, was prepared at the residence of Hafuz-
Pasha for the future bride and bridegroom. I went
to see the young lady, to ascertain whether she had
procured suitable wedding attire. I took with me
a skilled Greek woman, who died her hair, eye-
brows, and eyelashes black, and this, added to the
natural fairness of her skin, gave her a very agree-
able appearance.

In spite of this precaution I had some fear as to

42 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

the result ; indeed Gueuzluklu-Kdshid-Pasha had
threatened to discard his wife after the very first
night, if he did not find her to his taste, and to
make serious complaint of the matter both to my
husband and myself.

The next morning Gueuzluklu-Eeshid-Pasha came
to the house, and, so far from making any complaint,
highly commended my choice. He appeared well
satisfied with the charms of his bride.

Some time afterwards he was appointed to the
command of a military expedition, sent out to
reduce the Koords to submission. When he set
forth on this enterprise he took his wife with him,
and so pleased was he with her that he never
cast her off, nor took any other wife in addition.
On his death, which occurred at Bagdad in 1864,
he left her a considerable fortune.

CHAPTEE V.

Character of Sultan Abdul-Medjid — History of Besme-Hanum — Disgrace
of Mehemet-Pasha ; my wretched condition after his degradation.

His former superior having departed, my hus-
band had over him no longer a friend but an
enemy, their political opinions being different.
The chiefs successively in command belonged, in
fact to a court clique, composed of worthless and
corrupt individuals. There was first a son-in-law
of the late Sultan Mahmud, Mehemet-Ali-Pasha,
and then came Kiza-Pasha, formerly chamberlain to
the late Sultan. Both of them hid the real state
of affairs from Abdul-Medjid ; their sole care being
to augment their fortunes. On the contrary,
Mehemet -Pasha was contented with his rights, and
tried by every means to ameliorate the condition of
his country.

Abdul-Medjid, when he came to the throne, had
applied himself ardently to the furtherance of the

44 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

civilizing movement inaugurated by his predecessor,
Mahmud. He saw plainly that the old system
threatened the empire with certain ruin. It was,
in fact, entirely based upon the formidable mili-
tia forces of the Janissaries — men of indomitable
courage, and of unbounded devotion to the interests
of the nation, and whose authority kept the people
in complete subjection. Unhappily they were not
content to play a subordinate part to the Sultan ;
they wished to be his masters, and it was this that
worked their destruction. When once this militia
was put down, means must be found of giving a
new basis to the Ottoman organization. The Sultan
thought that this could only be obtained through
the reform of abuses.

Of a character extremely gentle, and little formed
for strife, Abdul-Medjid met with invincible resist-
ance to the execution of his designs from the old
Mussulman party, very numerous to this day, but
at that time represented . by an immense majority,
both amongst the government officials and the
people, who believed the safety of the empire to
consist in the rigorous application of Mohamedan
principles, the abasement of infidels, and their ex-
termination both at home and abroad.

The Sultan, paralysed in regard to his projects

ABDUL-MEDJID. 45

relative to internal administration, was thrown into
consternation at the progress which foreign policy
was making at this epoch, in seeking to profit by-
all the misdeeds of the Ottoman government to-
wards Christian populations, by extending dominion
over them. In utter despair he saw that his efforts
would be powerless to retard the fall of the power
of the Osmanlis.

His ministers, far from endeavouring to revive
his hopes, persuaded him to forget, in sensual
delights, the sombre thoughts that assailed him.
" You are our Sultan/' they would say ; "to you
belong repose and pleasures ; the bustle and fatigue
of public affairs are our portion." While speaking
thus, they made it a rule to offer their master, as
frequently as possible, the most sumptuous repasts,
at which they induced him to drink copiously ; in
this manner they habituated him to the immoderate
use of wine and other strong drink, and led him to
abandon to themselves the reins of government.

They also endeavoured to distract him from
public affairs, by favouring his natural taste for
luxury and- dissipation. They provided him with
as much money as he asked for, knowing that they
could have their own way as long as the sovereign,
confining himself to his palace, knew nothing of

46

THIKTY YEAPwS IN THE HAREM.

what was passing out-of-doors, except through their
own reports.

f The Sultan's love for his wives — and very numer-
ous they were — was ruining the country. They
contrived at once to gratify their caprices, whatever
might be their object. They availed themselves of
it to obtain from him the most costly presents.
Covered with diamonds, and attended by numerous
slaves, almost as sumptuously attired as their mis-
tresses, they drove out in carriages, each of which,
with its equipments, costs about 900,000 piastres
(£8,000). Their apartments were constantly re-
plenished with new furniture. In the space of two
years the Seraglio was furnished about four times
over.

Far from recompensing their master for his kind-
nesses by their fidelity, they were seen driving
about, almost entirely unveiled, and conversing
with the young men in the most lively manner.
At night, sitting at their windows, they accosted
the passers-by, and introduced them into the
palace. Those who were without paramours formed
quite the exception. Frequently the faveurs of one
of the Sultan's wives, or odalisques, were attended
with bounties and presents big enough to make the
fortune of him who received it. In fact, these

ABDUL-MEDJID. 47

women were utterly regardless of the costliness of
what they bestowed; it was a regular case of
pillage.

The Sultan, who was of a kindliness of disposi-
tion carried to the very verge of weakness, refused
to credit the reports that reached him, either against
those whom he loved or any other lady. If he paid
little attention to what was told him against his
wives, he was so ready, on the other hand, to listen
to the latter that he could deny them nothing. It was
sufficient to be, or be acquainted with the favourite
of one of the ladies of the Seraglio to arrive at
wealth or one of the highest dignities. The Valide-
Sultan, the mother of the sovereign, was the most
powerful of all, and far surpassed all the other
ladies of the palace by her libertinism and thirst for
power. Judge what consequences such a system
must produce throughout the whole range of
administration.

The way Abdul-Medjid behaved to Besme-Hanum,
one of his wives, will show how far he pushed his
weakness. Having gone one day to pay a visit to
Missirli-Hanum, widow of the famous Ibrahim,
Pasha of Egypt, he perceived a slave whose beauty
made so lively an impression on his heart, that he
had only one desire — to gain possession of her.

48 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

She, informed of the passion with which her
charms had inspired him, refused to become the
Sultan's concubine. She would not consent to
hearken to his addresses unless he would take her
to wife. At this reply the Padishah was greatly
embarrassed. His power, great as it was, availed
not to compel a slave to yield to his desires (the
slaves are of much less consequence than might be
supposed) ; on the other hand, a Sultan had never
contracted marriage ; in taking a wife, he was vio-
lating all established usages.

His passion and his character coming to his aid,
Abdul-Medjid decided on the pleasant course ; he
consented to marry the object of his affections.
Their nuptials were celebrated with dazzling magni-
ficence, and — a rare thing with an Ottoman sove-
reign— he proved faithful. He not only loved his
wife but esteemed her. He went so far as to con-
fide to her his own son, a boy of about seven years
old, whose mother was dead.

The Sultana, instead of responding to the pas-
sionate love which had been testified for her,
preferred to engage in intrigues with the humblest
servants in the palace — gardeners, porters, etc.
Inspired with jealousy, she regarded with hatred the
infant whose young age and rank she ought to have

BESMti-HANUM. 49

respected. She saw in him an insurmountable
obstacle in this respect, that, if she gave birth to a
son, her offspring could never reign. She inces-
santly maltreated the young prince ; she went so
far as to bite him severely in the arm. No one
dared to inform his Majesty of what was taking
place; enamoured as Abdul-Medjid was, he might
refuse to believe what was told him, and then woe
to the informer !

A faithful servant, however, found an opportunity
of making known to his master the state of affairs,
without compromising himself. Being occasionally
employed to divert the Sultan with the entertain-
ment called the Kara-Gheuz (theatre of Chinese
shadows), he had the privilege of composing small
pieces. He availed himself of this licence to repre-
sent before his sovereign a kind of comedy, in which
the leading characters were an amorous Sultan who
marries a slave, and a Sultana who prostitutes her
favours to the lowest servants of her household, and
ill-treats the heir to the throne, ending by killing
him, and being forgiven by her weak and infatuated
husband.

Abdul-Medjid understood the allusion. He sent
for the young prince, questioned him, drew from
him the avowal of his sufferings, and discovered on

50 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

his person the marks of the cruel treatment which
he had undergone. The reader, perhaps, supposes
that, infuriated with jealousy, and indignant at the
conduct of Besmd towards his son, he had her sewn
up in a sack, and thrown into the sea. Far from it.
Temperate even in his rage, he sent for the Valide-
Sultan, and, without giving any motive for his
conduct, he ordered her to have Besme'-Hanum,
together with all the riches he had heaped upon her,
sent away on the morrow, in a pleasure-galley
which he had presented to her.

Once outside the Seraglio, this woman continued,
with revolting effrontery, the series of her misdeeds.
Having openly formed intimate relations with a
certain Tefik-Pasha, she succeeded in getting herself
married to him, braving the displeasure of the
Padishah. This is the first case recorded in Otto-
man history where the wife of a Sultan has inter-
married with an ordinary mortal.

The Pasha in question, notwithstanding his very
limited salary, passed his life in the midst of
amusements, contracted debts, and swindled all who
had any dealings with him.

Tefik's rash conduct was naturally calculated to
bring upon him the anger of Abdul-Medjid, and the
scorn of his faithful subjects. It is true that the

BESM6-HANUM. 51

unhappy man was the victim of a violent passion, for
he loved Besme to distraction ; but the Turks are
inexorable towards treasonable offences. To take a
woman to wife who had been kept by the repre-
sentative of Mohamed is to them a kind of religious
and political sacrilege.

It was not long before Tefik-Pasha expiated his
crime by a premature death. This capital penalty
was exacted with all the ingenuity and circumspec-
tion of which Oriental diplomacy is capable.

At first Abdul-Medjid made a show of regarding
with an indifferent eye the marriage of his former
wife ; and he even carried the deception so far as to
give up to Besme' one of the palaces belonging to
the crown. Having thus succeeded in bringing
about a change in public opinion, the Sultan, under
an entirely futile pretext, exiled both Besme and
her husband to Brussa. There Tefik would, un-
doubtedly, have been made away with, but caution
was necessary, and it was decided to make the un-
happy Pasha return to Constantinople to drink
hemlock. Tefik therefore received a pardon, and
returned to Constantinople, where he died a few
months afterwards. The former caresses and the
latter pardon produced the desired effect, for no one
ever suspected the cause of Tefik's death. Besme

B 2

52 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

was the object of the Imperial clemency, and her
life was spared.

At the period of my marriage Eiza-Pasha was
Minister for War, and Mehemet-Ali-Pasha com-
mander at Tophane ; my husband served under the
latter. These two came to an understanding with
several other officials of high rank, and induced the
Sultan to accept an invitation to the Seraskeriate,
the residence of the Minister for War. Their object
was to prejudice their sovereign against Mehemet-
Pasha and his political friends. " You ought," said
they to his Highness, in the course of the entertain-
ment, "to purge the army of certain incompetent
officers, who occupy important posts without doing
any service. Mehemet-Pasha, for instance, gives
himself up to culpable idleness; and, more than
that, his arrogance is most overbearing, and his
character rude and obstinate. He sets an example
of failure of respect towards his superiors, and we
think that his degradation, and that of others like
him, would be a wholesome example to the army ;
it would afford an opportunity of replacing ineffi-
cient officers by men of, more energy, and endued
with the zeal and knowledge necessary for com-
mand."

As we have seen, the Ministers had habituated

DISGRACE OF MY HUSBAND. 53

their master to excess in drink. Whenever they
wanted to get anything out of him, they took care
to ply him with wine to such a degree that he was
no longer in complete possession of his faculties.
This plan they adopted at the banquet in question,
so Abdul-Medjid replied that they had his entire
confidence, and that he approved beforehand of the
course they were going to take.

On the morrow, the degradation of twelve generals
was proclaimed, my husband being of the number.
Before we had learnt anything of what was going
on, the Seraskier sent to demand from Mehemet-
Pasha the surrender of his sword, and his decoration
in diamonds, the distinctive marks of his dignity.
This was a terrible blow, which our enemies dealt
him to effect the ruin of both of us.

After some time we left the rented house which
we had occupied, and purchased a new residence.
One half of the price, about 20,000 francs (800Z.), was
paid through the sale of what little property we had
left. This house contained twenty-seven apartments,
but required many repairs, having been built more
than one hundred and twenty years before. The
reception-rooms were lighted by fourteen windows,
arranged in two rows, one above the other, the upper
being filled with small stained glass. In the centre

54. THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

of the largest room was a handsome fountain, open
to the air, and entirely of white marble ; the spacious
and magnificent bath, of the same material, had cost
upwards of 40,000 francs (1,600?.).

Our furniture was barely sufficient to furnish
two chambers in the harem and one in the selamlik,
or men's quarters.

The garden, in which there was a pretty kiosque,
was planted with abundance of shrubs, flowers and
fruit trees, as various as they were rare.

The purchase of this house had exhausted all our
resources. Consequent on his degradation, Mehemet-
Pasha's salary was reduced to 300 francs (£12) a
month ; all the ordinary allowances of fuel, rice,
oats, bread, and other things which constitute the
wealth of an officer's household, were stopped. We
found ourselves exposed to the claims of workmen
whom we had employed on improvements absolutely
necessary to render some of the rooms habitable.
All this placed us in a situation of great embarrass-
ment, notwithstanding that two black slaves formed
our entire domestic establishment.

Claims became more and more pressing. We
had no means of satisfying them, and they reached
such a point that my husband was obliged to con-
ceal himself whenever creditors presented their

OUR SAD CONDITION. 55

appearance at his door. As we lived in a some-
what remote quarter, they generally came mounted
on asses. As soon as the step of one of these
animals was heard, Mehemet-Pasha shut himself up „
in a closet. The creditor, having asked to see the
master of the house, and been told in reply that he
was not at home, proceeded to seek for him all over,
and to shout out demands for payment. We used
to hear of course their abuses and harsh words, but
we endured all these humiliations without a word.

My sole consolation, under these annoyances, •
was in the society of the ladies of the neighbour-
hood, who often paid me visits to soothe my vexa-
tion. One of the most assiduous callers was the
daughter of old Kauf-Pasha, who had been nine
or ten times grand vezir. Barely three feet high,
she had extremely small eyes, and, to crown her
defects, her chin wagged incessantly. She told me
her history, and I think I shall entertain my readers
by relating it here : —

" My father married four wives in succession —
three Circassians and a Georgian; and they pre-
sented him with a numerous family. But my
mother (wife No. 1), never had any child but
myself. She displayed great disappointment on
seeing me grow up to be what I am, since all the

66 THIRTY YEAES IN THE HAREM.

rest of the Pasha's offspring were well-grown, and
endowed with good looks. I have seen all my
brothers and sisters united, one after another, to
the families of ministers, generals and other high
functionaries; it seemed impossible that I could
ever find a husband.

" In the meantime, however, a certain old
governor died, leaving an only son, a very good-
looking youth, named Mustapha-Bey, to whom he
left nothing but a dilapidated mansion. He, find-
ing himself bereft of all resources, resolved to marry
some one whose family was in a position to further
his career in public life. He therefore engaged the
services of an old woman, who suggested to him
that he should take me for his wife. When my
father heard of this extravagant project he was
greatly astonished at it, and could not refrain from
expressing the scorn which he felt for the young man,
who, from motives of ambition, was willing to take
such a woman as myself. He declared that he
would give nothing for such a marriage.

" My mother, anxious to see me provided for, as
were the daughters of her rivals, summoned her
future son-in-law, and told him that her husband
would grant no dowry to his daughter. As the
suitor had not calculated on money, he agreed

THE VEZIU'S DAUGHTER. 57

without hesitation to take me to wife. Although
no mystery had been made with him about my
insignificant stature, he was far from suspecting
that I was of such singular plainness as he beheld
the moment he raised my veil.

" Driven to desperation, he left me at home, and
went off immediately to join the army. He had no-
relation among the superior officers, but as they
were aware that he was the son of a governor,
and the son-in-law of a- Grand- vezir, they pro-
moted him rapidly, thinking by that means to pay
their court to the father-in-law. This young man
had seen six months' service when the title of liey
(colonel) was conferred upon him ; shortly after-
wards he received his nominations as liwa (general
of brigade) ; and scarcely three years had elapsed
when he was promoted, first to the rank of ferik
(general of division), and then to that of mushir
(field-marshal). To earn all these distinctions he
had nothing to do but to stay quietly at home,
drinking, smoking, and sleeping.

" Seeing that it was on account of his wife that
such great advantages were accorded him, he be-
came reconciled to me; we live on very good terms,
and I am now quite satisfied with my lot. You
see " (she added, to comfort me), " that after finding

58 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

myself most wretched when my husband had de-
serted me, I have now everything that I can wish
for. Do not be discouraged ; perhaps your present
embarrassments will be succeeded by an unlooked-
for turn of fortune/'

While speaking to me in these terms, the poor
lady little suspected that the husband with whom
she was so well pleased, had taken a house, where
he used to go on the sly, and divert himself with
the society of two young slaves whom he had
purchased.

In spite of the privations which our narrow
circumstances imposed upon me, I was not so
despondent as might be imagined ; my attachment
to my husband sufficed to make me forget both our
debts and our penury.

As for Mehemet-Pasha, he was completely broken
down ; his evil fortune so affected him that he fell
ill, and though he recovered by slow degrees, his
health was never completely re-established.

Knowing what abrupt changes take place in
Turkey, where the same caprice that has brought
you low may replace you on the highest pinnacle of
greatness, I endeavoured, but in vain, to console
him. " Ojie day the privileges of which you have
been deprived will be restored to you/' I said; "to-

OUR SAD CONDITION. 59

day our enemies triumph, but they will not be
always in power. Take care of your health, and do
not abandon yourself to these despairing thoughts,
otherwise, when you are again received into favour,
you will be suffering from the consequences which
illnesses leave behind them, and then you will be
unable to enjoy in peace the good things that for-
tune will offer you."

The master of the household was not the only one
to disorder himself. The two black slaves, of one of
whom I was extremely fond, and one of whom was
an Abyssinian of great beauty, were so deeply
touched at the sight of our sufferings that they con-
tracted a fatal sickness which carried them off in
the course of one and the same month. I remained
alone with two young children whom I then had.

Whilst my husband was confined to his bed by
rheumatism, my little boy, Moharem-Bey, fell sick
and died. His father felt such grief at his loss that,
in his despair, he beat his head against the wall.
For my part, I assumed a delusive tranquillity, and,
concealing the agony I endured, I strove, to the
utmost of my power, to raise my husband's spirits.

CHAPTER VI.

I resolve to petition Kiza-Pasha in favour of my husband — I obtain for
him the command of Akiah — Shortly afterwards, he is appointed
governor of Jerusalem — Our journey from Akiah to that city.

WE continued for two whole years in the unhappy
condition which the degradation of my husband had
brought about. At the end of this period I re-
solved to call on Eiza-Pasha. "Your Highness,"
said I, "I am the wife of Mehemet-Pasha. For
three years past he has been oppressed by claims of
every description ; so great is his despair on seeing
himself deprived of every resource, and rendered
wholly incapable of supplying the wants of his
family, that his life is in danger. I am come to
demand from you the reason of such disgrace. If
caprice has been the only motive, then a fresh
exercise of good pleasure may restore to him the
employment he has lost." " Madam," replied the
Seraskier, " the recall of Mehemet-Pasha was caused
by the insubordinate language, which he sometimes,
indulged in, regarding certain persons in high

PETITION TO KIZA-PASHA. 61

station, of whom he should have spoken with great
reserve/' " That/' I replied, " would scarcely have
called for a punishment of from fifteen to twenty
days, and certainly does not merit so great an inflic-
tion as to be given up for two years to all the
sufferings which poverty brings in its train. Your
Excellency," I added, "it is in vain for you to
conceal from me the true cause of my husband's
disgrace. His enemies are enemies to me ; filled
with hatred, they wished to destroy us because they
saw us happy. It is on my account that my hus-
band is persecuted, and for no other reason. If my
enemies thirst for my blood, let them attack me
openly and frankly ; but I must say that it is un-
worthy of the Imperial Government to refuse its
protection to a woman who has sought refuge be-
neath the shadow of the throne. Pray, therefore,
give my husband some situation which will allow
him to meet his duties as father of a family : if, how-
ever, your Excellency is determined not^to employ
him, at least restore him to part of the salary which
has been withdrawn. I am determined not to go
hence until you have acceded to my demands."

He returned me no answer ; I therefore remained
at his house, in a chamber which his favourite wife,
Seraili-Hanum, had provided for me in the suite

62 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

reserved for herself. Morning and night I went to
renew my application to Kiza-Pasha. In the mean-
time I had left with my husband a personal friend
to take care of him. On the tenth day the Seras-
kier cried out, as soon as he saw me : "I see you
are a determined woman, and it will -be impossible
to escape from you. To satisfy you, I appoint
Mehemet-Pasha governor of Akiah ( St. Jean
d'Acre) ; he will receive his nomination without
delay" (1843).

The commission was sent us shortly afterwards,
but we could not leave Constantinople without
satisfying our creditors ; and, moreover, we wanted
money for the journey. I went a second time to
Kiza-Pasha, who granted us funds for the expenses
of our departure and the payment of our debts.
Still the amount allowed was very moderate ; and,
after converting all our furniture into money, and
paying our creditors, my husband had barely enough
left for his own expenses, and found it impossible
to take me with him.

I remained, therefore, at Constantinople, at the
house of one of his friends. At the end of eight
months Mehemet-Pasha sent his cavasbaschi (chief
of the cavas, or police) to escort me to his quarters,
together with my daughter A'isheh, then two years

AKIAH. 63

old. I purchased a slave ; we set out for Beyrout,
and on our arrival took a sailing vessel, which
landed us at Akiah. The Pasha was waiting for us
with an escort.

The town, built entirely of mud (pise), presented
a deplorable .aspect. The houses, low and covered
with mats, looked like the ruins of a conflagration.
That which was called the palace — the governor's
residence, — also of mud, contained two chambers ;
that on the upper storey was reached by means of a
staircase outside the building ; when it rained the
water soaked through the roof. Two other rooms,
situated in the garden, served as my husband's
government offices.

The population was Arab. These creatures,
naturally thieves and cheats, carried habits of
uncleanliness to the most extreme degree. The only
tolerable place in the whole town was the palace
of Abdallah-Pasha, then away at Constantinople,
the garden of which, planted with orange-trees,
citron, olives, palms, and other Oriental trees, was
the only promenade, and the most beautiful spot
in the neighbourhood. As will readily be seen, the
post, though defended by imposing fortifications,
did not offer many advantages, nor many oppor-
tunities of enjoyment.

64 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

After we had been there three months a messen-
ger, arriving at night, announced to my husband
that he had been nominated to the command
of Jerusalem, with the rank of Wali, or
governor. We set off on our journey thither soon
afterwards.

In going from Akiah to Jerusalem, we had to
traverse an extremely poverty-stricken country.
The sheiks of the several villages came on horse-
back, making profound bows as they raised them-
selves in the stirrups, but none of them ventured
to cast their eyes on the litter in which I was
seated. This modesty, real or assumed, is one
of the characteristics of Oriental etiquette and
manners.

While the sheiks were thus passing in review
before us, their escorts received us with the sound
of tamburois, amid various evolutions performed by
the dehliSj or bravos of the troop. As for the
lodging accommodation placed at our disposal,
throughout our route, in the different villages, all
I can say is that we were lodged in frightful
hovels, infested with vermin. We were obliged to
content ourselves with the food prepared for the
inhabitants. It is impossible to mention what re-
finement of nastiness formed a leading feature in

JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 65

this horrible cuisine. The ODly place at all suit-
able that we met with on our route was Jaffa, f
where we spent some days.

"We stayed at the palace of the governor, Mus-
tapha-Bey, who lodged us in his kiosque, which was
surrounded by eight gardens planted with orange
and other trees, that filled the air with their de-
licious perfume. I remained there while my hus-
band turned his time to account by visiting the
neighbourhood ; for, in the capacity of Wall of
Jerusa]em, he held command over the whole pro-
vince, or vilayet , and the mudir of Jaffa was under
his control.

In the meantime, the neighbouring Arabs found
out that the Pasha had gone from home, leaving
his harem at Jaffa. My husband had given me for
my protection two hundred misracks, or lancers
of the irregular forces, commanded by a Dehly-
baschi, literally "head of the mad-men." This
officer, wearing red morocco boots, his loins enve-
loped in a large shawl, and a gigantic turban on
his head, always placed himself, on the march, at
the head of his troop of horse. These two hundred
men were encamped around the kiosque where I
was living with my daughter, four female slaves,
and a eunuch. One night a stone, passing through

66 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

the opening in the roof (for the houses in this
country were not closed in above), fell in the
hall which surrounded our apartments. This was
repeated twice ; I then got up, and told the eunuch
to go and inform the Dehly-baschi of what had
taken place.

" Tell your mistress not to be alarmed," he
replied ; " there is, in this garden the tomb of a
holy personage who has an antipathy to the people
of Constantinople ; every time they come into this
kiosque he makes stones fall in this manner. This
will continue all the time you are living here, but
if you do not go into the hall these stones will not
harm you."

The eunuch having returned with this reply, I
wrapped myself in a feradje, veiled myself with
my yashmak, went in quest of the Dehly-baschi, and
told him that I certainly did not believe it was a
dead man who threw the stones, and that he must
go the round, and see whether he could not discover
some thief concealed on the premises. He took
with him several of his men, and accompanied by
the eunuch, we went over the gardens in every
direction, without finding anything suspicious.
Scarcely had I re-entered my kiosque when I was
roused by another missile. From the manner in

JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 67

which it was sent, it must have been a man armed
with a sling who had hurled it over the roof.

In the morning I summoned the governor's wife,
and told her that, being greatly afraid of dead men,
I would stay there no longer. I wrote to my hus-
band to inform him of what had taken place, and to
ask him to come and take me away. He directed
me to go and wait for him at Eamleh, and he
would rejoin me there.

Before I left Jaffa the mudir's wife sent me a
present of a pair of ear-rings of brilliants and
emeralds, and upwards of 3,000 francs (£120) in
gold. " If you refuse my trifling gifts," she said, *
" I shall think you are dissatisfied with us, and that
you design to send another governor to Jaffa." I
thereupon accepted her offerings.

Before we left Constantinople, Eesh id-Pasha, my
husband's patron, whose sentiments he shared, had
spoken to me in the following terms : — " You are
going to Arabia : do not, I beseech you, accept any
present. We have promised upon oath that nothing
more shall be received by the governors and other
officials, on the part of their subordinates. I trust,
therefore, that you will give no cause of complaint
on that score."

"Surely not," I replied; "my husband shall not

68 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

receive any present, since you have forbidden him ;
but you cannot oblige me to refuse what the ladies
may choose to offer me ; that has nothing to do
with politics or with the administration."

" Of course not/' he rejoined, with a smile.

Mehemet-Pasha therefore refused all the presents
that were offered to him; and when this was ascer-
tained they were always sent to me.

Shortly after receiving the adieus of the family of
the mudir of Jaffa, I left that place, and betook
myself to Eamleh, where Mehemet-Pasha was
awaiting me, with a numerous escort, formed of the
authorities of various towns subject to his authority;
and so we continued our journey to Jerusalem.

CHAPTER VII.

Our entry into Jerusalem ; its inhabitants— How I set about getting offers
of presents — Easter — A Greek conspiracy — I enter upon a speculation
in the grain trade.

HALF a league from Jerusalem we were met by a
regiment of infantry, headed by its band, and a
crowd of inhabitants who had come to congratulate
the new Pasha. We entered the city amid the roar
of artillery, and proceeded to the palace, which con-
tained only four or five chambers in the harem,
and three for the selamlik, which was below the
women's apartments.

Facing our residence was the mosque called
Harem-Scherif, in which is preserved the stone
whereon Mohamed is said to have set his foot when
the angels had transported him to Jerusalem on the
night of his ascension to heaven. This stone,
about twelve feet high, was raised aloft at the
moment that the prophet left the earth, and it has
remained suspended ever since. I have indeed seen
it; but as it is quite close to the wall, and it is im-

70 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

possible to get round it, it may very probably be

«, supported by some clever contrivance. At the back
of this mosque is a street where they show you a very
thick piece of marble, into which people assure you
that the Virgin Mary was consigned immediately
after her birth.

In that locality is also to be seen the Golden
Gate, through which, according to Moslem tradition,
all men are to pass on the Eesurrection day.

The town of Jerusalem consists of narrow,
crooked, and dirty streets; it is only remarkable

* for its antiquities. The climate is very agreeable;
neither too hot in summer nor too cold in winter.
It may be compared to that of Nice.

» The inhabitants, for the most part Arabs, are very
troublesome to manage. They have no ]ack of in-
telligence, as is shown by their countenances, but
they are great cheats and robbers, and do not
scruple to commit murder. When they think they
have a favourable opportunity, they arrange their
plans together, sally forth from the city, to the
number of forty or fifty, and set to work, waylaying
and robbing travellers, sacking villages, and com-

* mitting other depredations. They are objects of
abhorrence to the Turks, who regard them as
miscreants ; instead of submitting quietly to the levy

JERUSALEM. 71

of taxes, and contributing readily, they only pay
under the stimulus of the bastinado.

As soon as they can secure a certain livelihood, »
they take three or four wives; the very poorest
have at least two. They lead them wretched lives.
Besides being excessively jealous, they are such
violent characters that they are constantly beating
their wives. It is true that three or four rivals, with
their children, all living with one husband, in one
room, huddled together like beasts, cannot be expected
to exist on the best of terms with one another.

There were three principal convents in Jerusalem
at that period: .the Franciscan, the Greek, and the
Armenian. No repairs, nor any change could be
effected in either of them without the permission of
the Pasha ; and he, having pledged himself to
accept no presents, was never in a hurry to accede
to their demands; so the good fathers adopted the
expedient of applying to me, and endeavouring to
secure my favour in their interest. One or other of
these bodies would send me, sometimes a beautiful
watch, sometimes a diamond pin or a pearl necklace ;
in fact they seemed to be rivalling each other in
their mania for making presents.

The Franciscans, though such a thing had never
been done before for any Turkish woman, invited

7'2 THIRTY YEAES IN THE HAREM.

me to a collation. I went; sixty young girls were
drawn up in line at the door of the monastery.
The fathers of the convent of the Holy Land came
out to meet me; they laid before me a magnificent
banquet; afterwards one of the priests played the
organ, whilst the others accompanied him with their
chants.

The Jews, as natural, remained at the tail of the
presents-offering multitude. The steward of our
household, a man who knew the secret of extract-
ing money from people's pockets, came one day to
say that, if I pleased, he would find the means
of getting me far more from the Jews than I had
obtained from all the others. " Do whatever you
think fit," I replied.

He went upon this and told the rabbis that he
warned them, in their own interest, the governor
intended to make them take away an enormous heap
of rubbish that impeded the traffic in the neighbour-
ing streets, and had been accumulating, for probably
forty years, at the back of one of their synagogues.
" I fear," added the crafty steward, "that you will
only be allowed one day to effect its removal."

At this news the Jews were thrown into con-
sternation.

" Alas ! " they cried, " it is impossible to remove

JERUSALEM. 73

such a mass in less than several months' labour, and
without great expense ; but, my friend," said they
to their informant, " there is surely some means of
appeasing your master/'

" No," he replied; "he is inaccessible to every
influence ; but, if you will listen to a friend, I will
.tell you that the best intercessor with the Pasha is
his wife."

"Ah! what good advice you give us!" they ex-
claimed ; "we know now how to escape from the
fatal difficulty, which, no doubt, some enemy of
ours has suggested to the governor."

On the morrow they sent me a beautiful casket,
containing several pearl necklaces, and 10,000 francs
in gold: it need not be said that they never heard
anything more about the nuisance, or its removal.

On another occasion the same steward informed
me that one of the judges had been guilty of
numerous exactions, and that, with my approbation,
he would squeeze him a little and obtain from him
a present.

" What will you do?" I asked.

"Very little. It will be sufficient," replied. the
steward, "to tell the judge that the governor desires
to speak to him."

Accordingly he called on the magistrate, who,

71 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

feeling that his conscience was by no means clear,
was greatly alarmed at such a summons.

" Oh," he cried, " those who administer justice
are sorely exposed to the risk of displeasing folks.
I am sure that some one has been making mischief
about me with his Excellency. What can I do to
appease him ? "

" You know," replied the smart steward, " that it
is impossible to bend him ; but, if you are willing to
believe me, and to charm away the danger that
menaces you, address yourself to his wife. She
alone has any influence over him."

Next day the judge's wife hastened to pay her
court to me, and laid at my feet a magnificent
present, worth upwards of 40,000 francs.

" Pray," said she, with a submissive air, " do me
the favour to accept what I offer you; if you refuse
me, I shall see that you desire my ruin; if, on the
contrary, you keep this little present, that will be as
much as to say that you approve of my humble ser-
vice. I shall have no longer anything to fear from
anyone, if you once grant me your protection."

All this took place unknown to the governor. In
a short time I amassed property to the value of up-
wards of four hundred thousand francs, partly in
specie, partly in jewellery and trinkets of every

THE GREEK CONSPIRACY. 75

description. This course of action was suggested by
the remembrance of previous reverses. It appeared
to me that, at any moment, we might find ourselves
anew in the painful situation from which we had
emerged so suddenly. In a country where one *
has no recognised rights and no security, it is
necessary to take precautions against the reverses of
fortune.

Not wishing to remain shut up in the town, I
had a magnificent taktaravan, or palanquin, made for
me, of red velvet fringed with gold. Accompanied
by slaves and eunuchs, and escorted by a troop of
about two hundred misrachs, I used to go out
beyond the walls once a week, and pass the day on
some elevated spot in the suburbs, from which I
enjoyed a view of the country, while I occupied
my time in reading or in some feminine handiwork.
The muskets of the escort, piled like fascines in
order around me, formed a barrier against the
importunate attentions of the natives, who fre- *
quently came in great numbers to look at me.

I had formed a friendship with the wife of the
Greek consul at Jaffa, who had come to pass the
season at Jerusalem. She frequently visited me,
and I conversed familiarly with her on all subjects
in which I took an interest. Young, a native of

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Athens, and of lively temperament, I found great
pleasure in seeing her, and in talking with her in
the Greek language. This lady feeling highly
honoured by the friendship which I displayed for
her, plumed herself greatly on it before her husband,
and warmly eulogised my spirit, and my readiness
in speaking the Greek, Italian, Turkish, and French
languages.

The consul, a man of high spirit, like most
Greeks, and, moreover, somewhat addicted to in-
temperance, took a fancy to me from his wife's
account, and conceived a violent desire to see me.
The lady told me the state of affairs : " My
husband," said she " despairs of finding an op-
portunity of speaking to you; he is sometimes so
furious on that account that he breaks everything
in the house/' We both made merry and joked over
this whim of the Consul, but the whim soon turned
out a serious affair.

One day, when, having gone beyond the walls
of Jerusalem, I was seated on a neighbouring
eminence, surrounded by the arms of my escort, I
saw a Greek approaching, dressed in his national
costume : high cap, jacket of red cloth, embroidered
with gold and elegant fustanelle. It was the consul
in question.

THE GREEK CONSPIRACY. 77

Addressing the Dehly-baschi, he said that, the
Pasha being away, he desired to hand me an
important document, which it was urgently neces-
sary that my husband should receive.

He was allowed to come within the barrier, and
gave me the despatch. I at once replied that I
would give it to my husband, and that he might
withdraw. Seeing the numbers that were present,
he did not dare to stay, ' and took his leave
forthwith. I related to the Pasha all that had
passed.

For some time afterwards I saw no more of the
Greek lady, and thought nothing further of her or
her husband, when, one morning, I saw Mehemet-
Pasha coming in a furious passion, holding in his
hand an open letter, which he laid before me. It
was from the consul's wife, informing him that her
husband had conceived such a violent inclination
for me that he was resolved to carry me off with
the assistance of two hundred of his fellow-country-
men resident at Jerusalem, who would think they
were doing a praiseworthy action in rescuing a
Christian woman from the hands of a Turk. Per-
suaded that it was utterly impossible that such a
project could be successful, and that it could not
fail to bring great trouble upon its authors, and,

78 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

above all, upon her husband, she had resolved, she
said, to reveal the whole plot to the governor.

The perusal of this letter afforded me the utmost
surprise, but, without showing the least concern, I
remarked to Mehemet-Pasha : — " Well ; you know
all about it ; it is this crazy Greek of whom I told
you before."

" Let him be as crazy as you please, he and
his worthy accomplices shall learn of what I am
capable/'

For several days the Pasha treated me with
excessive coldness. I was afraid that, on my
account, he would take some fatal resolution, and that
jealousy would prompt him to suspect that, being
a Christian, I had formed an intrigue with an infidel.

I reassured myself, however; for, shortly after-
wards, I learnt that the goveroor's wrath was
turned against the Greeks. He had committed to
prison a great many of those resident in Jerusalem,
and placed a seal upon their houses. Persons were
sent to the country-house where the consul was
staying, to keep watch over him. The charge was
that of plotting against the Pasha. In his opinion,
this scheme, set on foot by the Greek consul, was
no other than a conspiracy, of which the principal
authors were my enemies at Constantinople. It

EASTER AT JERUSALEM. 79

was natural that, finding I had become rich and
powerful, they should be biting their nails with vexa-
tion, and should have attempted to cause my ruin.

The governor lodged a complaint in high quar-
ters. It was only after the recall of the consul by
the Court of Athens, and on the entreaty of the
Greek Patriarch, that he consented to restore the
prisoners to liberty.

Easter was then approaching ; before this festival
the Pasha was accustomed to send to all the Mus-
sulmans in the neighbourhood, no matter whether
they were highway robbers, assassins, or charged
with other crimes, letters of safe-conduct to admit
them into the city during the fete. He acted thus
in order to make the number of Mussulmans pre-
sent as large as possible, and to keep in subjection
the Christians, who came in crowds to take part
in the religious ceremonies pertaining to the season.

On Palm Sunday I saw through my window-
lattice the inhabitants of various villages in the
neighbourhood marching past. Each township
formed a kind of procession ; men playing on
tamburas led the way, then followed the sheiks,
clashing huge cymbals, and after them the popu-
lace, both Mussulmans and Christians, bearing palm
branches in their hands.

80 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

It happened that year (1845) that the different
religious communities celebrated Easter on the
same day. The Turkish troops occupied the old
church of the Holy Sepulchre, under the command-
in-chief of the governor. From a gallery, protected
by gratings, for the wives of the principal Mussul-
man authorities, we could see all that took place
in the basilica. In La moment innumerable lamps
illuminated with their dazzling lights every part of
the edifice.

In the first place the Catholics celebrated the
sacrifice of the Mass ; then followed the Greeks.
After the latter had terminated their religious
chants, the priests made the circuit of the Holy
Sepulchre. The moment the day broke, a fire shot
up from beneath the tomb, and blazed for a while
over it. The Greeks cried out that it was the Holy
Spirit that caused those flames to appear ; and they
lighted their candles at them. Men and women
alike applied these candles to various parts of their
bodies afflicted with any complaint, in the belief
that they would thus heal themselves. Several
were seriously burnt, but such was their fanaticism,
that those who suffered most cried out the loudest
that the heavenly fire could cause no pain.

At this moment a violent quarrel arose between

EASTER AT JERUSALEM. 81

the Greeks and the members of another com-
munion, who pretended that the former ought to
leave the church, their time having expired. Both
parties, seizing large tapers, dealt each other violent
blows with these novel weapons. The cavas and
the military interfered, and arrested fifty of the
ringleaders.

The Pasha, wishing to learn the real state of the
case as to the apparition of the flames, threatened
the priests that they should be excluded from the
Holy Sepulchre, unless they would reveal to him
the cause of this mysterious fire. They then
showed him that a block of marble placed near the
altar was raised, and that one of the priests, concealing
himself in a cavity designed for the express purpose,
lit up some vessels filled with spirits of wine, the
flames from which passed through several fissures in
the marble flooring. It was impossible to 'discover
the mystery, as the priest only emerged from his
hiding-place after everyone had gone.

It may easily be imagined to what an excess of
enthusiasm and frenzy such a proceeding can excite
a superstitious people.

A few days after the celebration, the Christians,
both male and female, betake themselves to the
Jordan, where they bathe, under the surveillance of

82 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

the military. The popular tradition avers that,
every year, one of the bathers is drowned, and that
he or she is the most saintly of all the persons who
perform that devotional ceremony. Those who
have taken part in it preserve with care the garment
that has been wetted in the waters of Jordan, and
after death they are shrouded in it, and so laid in
their coffins.

On the same day the Mussulmans go in crowds
to the mountain on which Moses died. Here they
pay their devotions, while their food is cooking on
the black and brilliant stones, which burn like
coal. Of these stones beautiful cups are made,
on which are inscribed sentences in Arabic ; it is
said that to drink out of such cups confers health
and happiness.

During these fetes I remained in the palace,
where tfte ladies of the principal dignitaries of the
city came to call on me ; it is usual in the East to
do so at the time of the chief solemnities of the
year. My fair visitors belonged to the most diverse
nationalities : Moors, with light hair and fair com-
plexions ; Arabs, with their expression full of pride;
Georgians and Circassians, with regular and pleasing
features. All brought their narghile's or pipes ;
they seated themselves in a circle round me, and we

PROFITS AND TRADE. 83

passed our time agreeably, chatting together with
the utmost freedom ; for all etiquette is banished
from conversations amongst women.

Sometimes they spoke to me about their protege's. *
" Could you not contrive," said one, " to procure
my brother his exchange ? he is caimakam of a
sandjak (department), and I am very anxious to
have him appointed to a better post." " Perhaps,"
added another, " Madame will be able to get me the
place of this caimakam, of whom such complaints
are made." " It rests with you," observed the first
speaker, " to do me this service ; I assure you that
you won't find us ungrateful ; if you succeed we
will give you a beautiful present."

To all this I gave no answer ; but the next day *
I would call the steward or the secretary, — " Such
a person," I would say, " has been recommended to
me, and I have a promise that my good offices shall
not go unrequited : do what you can to procure a
favourable exchange, and you shall have your share
of whatever I may receive."

The official whom I thus addressed, knowing that
his place depended upon me, would seize the first
opportunity to speak to his master. " Your Excel-
lency," he would say, " the caimakam of such and
such a sandjak is giving cause for much com-

G 2

84 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

plaint ; he is said to be accessible to bribes, and to
be careless in the discharge of his duties/'

" I have heard some reports abo.ut him, but I did
not think they were serious."

" These reports are, unhappily, too well founded ;
and, although they may be somewhat exaggerated,
would it not be better to have, at so important a
post, some person in whom you could place entire
confidence ? I know, for example, some one of the
greatest zeal in your Excellency's service ; he is
thoroughly competent, and, if you will allow him to
wait upon you, I feel assured that you will be
pleased with him."

The interview being held, and the Pasha satisfied,
the exchange is effected, and I receive what has been
promised me. In two years I disposed, in this
manner, of more than fifteen important posts in
favour of persons whom I had never even set
eyes on.

Another means of procuring funds for myself was
by engaging in commerce, a thing expressly for-
bidden to Pashas, but which I carried on in person,
without the intervention of the governor in any
respect.

The inhabitants are bound to furnish horses,
mules, or camels for the public service, and this

PROFITS AND TRADE. 85

without any remuneration. My agents demanded
of the peasants, on my behalf, their beasts of burden ;
and they fearing lest, by a refusal, they should draw
upon themselves the anger of the Pasha, lent the
animals, which were employed in conveying from
Jaffa the corn I had purchased there. This was
sold at Jerusalem at a considerable profit, although
it was offered at a somewhat lower price than that
asked by the merchants, who were obliged to defray
the heavy expenses of transport.

As may be seen, the promises which the ministers
make to the European powers, and the orders which
they give in consequence to the various authorities,
are eluded, and all the more readily since the Porte
has no real intention of making them respected. If
a European consul had lodged any complaint at
Constantinople about the trade in which I engaged,
what answer would be returned? — "What you
complain of calls for no censure ; the merchants of
Jerusalem sell grain to the people at exorbitant
prices ; the governor's wife, in order to assuage the
misery of the inhabitants, finds means to sell wheat
at a reasonable rate, and the peasants associate
themselves in this good work by lending their
animals ; there is nothing to find fault with in
that."

CHAPTER VIII.

Revolt of the Arabs of Khair-Ackman— Deplorable condition of the
Ottoman troops.

IN the meantime my husband was obliged to
place himself at the head of his troops, to go and
put down the Arabs of Khair-Ackman, a place
about three days' march from Jerusalem, who had
risen in resistance to the military levy.

The rebels had taken refuge in a defile command-
ing the entrance into their part of the country.
The route which had to be followed in order to get
at them commenced, towards the' plain, with an
ascent, at first easy, and afterwards steep ; it passed,
finally, over a chain of hills, encumbered with rocks
and broken ground, behind which the insurgents
had taken up their quarters. Their infantry skirted
the line of march, and from their ambush behind
thickets, rocks, and earthworks hastily thrown up,
occupying the slopes and crest of the mountain,

REVOLT OF THE ARABS. 87

they received the Turkish troops with well-sustained
and murderous volleys of musketry.

Since morning, the repeated efforts and assaults '
of the Ottoman infantry had only succeeded in
dislodging the enemy from their first line of en-
trenchments— that nearest to the plain. The heights
were still defended by numerous sharpshooters, sup-
ported by great masses of half-naked Arabs, who*
offered a stubborn resistance. Night was drawing on,
when the Pasha, taking counsel only of his courage,
placed himself at the head of the half-discomfited
infantry, which he formed in column. The soldiers,
animated by the example of their general, vigorously
attacked the enemy with the bayonet, and, in spite of
their resistance, succeeded in attaining the summit of
the range of hills on the right of the line of march.
As soon as those who were still standing their
ground saw the Ottoman standard floating on the
height, they fled in disorder towards the villages.
The Pasha's cavalry, launching themselves into the
way that had been cleared for them, pursued the
enemy, cutting them down with great carnage, to
the gates of their principal hamlet, where they shut
themselves up.

At day-break, the rest of the Turkish forces
effected their passage, and proceeded to encamp on

88

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

the other side of the defile which had been carried
with so much difficulty. The artillery, drawn up
by batteries before the village, after firing all day
long, managed to throw down a great piece of the
wall. The assault was made at once, but vigorously
repulsed by the rebels. On the morrow the troops
were again pressed forward, and found the breach
abandoned ; on getting access into the principal
street, they discovered the adjacent streets blocked
by fallen timber, and the passages barred by gigantic
barriers ; moreover, being received with a terrible
fusillade from the roofs of the houses, they were
compelled to retire with severe loss.

The field-guns, for two days consecutively, were
directed against the mud houses situated between
the breach and the centre of the village ; when
they had been nearly demolished, and the entire
district presented the appearance of a heap of
ruins, the Turks advanced afresh, and, in spite of
the desperate efforts of the rebels, succeeded in
making themselves masters of the place. A fright-
ful massacre commenced. The Pasha's troops, exas-
perated at the resistance they had encountered,
gave no quarter ; the houses, having first been
plundered, were given up to the flames, and their
spoils removed to the camp and divided.

EEVOLT OF THE ARABS. 89

While the hamlet was being sacked, the
Arab women, shut up in a large mosque, wit-
nessed the extermination of their fathers, hus-
bands, brothers, and children, and the ruin of
their homes; they alone were spared by the con-
queror.

Eventually, fifteen days after the opening of the
campaign, the revolted tribes sent to solicit aman
(pardon), which was granted them ; they furnished
hostages, raised the required contingent, and paid
the expenses caused by the expedition. As a reward
for ' his important services, the Pasha received,
through the wall of Beyrout, a sword of honour ; he
had also the rank of ferik, or general of division,
conferred upon him.

We soon saw the army return to the city. Nothing
was more dismal than the appearance of the Ottoman
troops ; preceded by monotonous music, their ragged
garments barely covered frames of a leanness painful
to behold. The officers themselves were as badly
clothed as their men ; most of them had their
shoes in holes or soleless.

The uniform of the infantry consisted of trousers
in the European mode, of white canvas in summer
and blue cloth in winter ; the jacket is also of blue
cloth ; the headdress is a red cap, or tarboosh,

90

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

ornamented with a blue tassel ; the shoulder-belts
are white, worn cross- wise over the chest, support-
ing the cartridge-box, and a sabre ; a musket and
bayonet complete the equipment.

The cavalry were attired in a like manner ; their
arms consisted of a lance, and of a ridiculously short
clumsy sabre suspended from a waistbelt.

The causes of the deplorable state of the army
were numerous. In the first place, all the contrac-
tors made arrangements with the colonels and other
commanding officers for the supply of clothes and
materials of inferior quality. On the other hand, it
usually happened that deliveries were retarded owing
to the default of the treasury in payment of the
storekeepers charged with keeping up the supplies.
The funds were applied, in the first instance, to pay
the salaries of the chief commanders : as for the
soldiers, they seldom could touch their pay. It is not
surprising that, under such a system, the soldiers are
badly fed, badly clothed, and badly armed. It is a
common occurrence for winter clothes to be delivered
in the hottest of the summer months, and those
suitable for summer wear in the depth of winter.

The condition of the officers of inferior rank, up
to the captain and the chef de bataillon himself, is
if possible, more intolerable than that of the non-

CONDITION OF THE TROOPS. 91

commissioned officers and privates. They are all
married, and have, for the most part, large families.
Every month they have a right to an allowance of
meat, rice, oil, and other matters. These rations
are distributed with great irregularity, and the pay-
ment of salaries is still more in arrear than the
delivery of provisions.

What, then, is the result ? The officer who has
an immediate right to demand the goods necessary
for his subsistence, and which are left in arrear, sees
himself deprived of every resource ; and to save
himself and his family from dying of hunger, he is
obliged to negotiate advances with the money-
lenders, and they buy for 150 francs the right to
the delivery of goods to the value of 500 francs
and upwards. This ruinous expedient naturally
deprives the unhappy individuals who have recourse
to it of two-thirds of their resources, already in-
sufficient.

Salaries often remain unpaid for six months. It
is only at the last extremity, and when their clothes
have reached such a degree of old age as to fall
to pieces, that the claimants resolve to sell to
the Jews their precious goods, which afford a
very clear representation of the liberality of the
government.

92 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

These honest folks naturally take advantage of
the urgent necessities of the borrowers to give
them just the fourth of what they have to receive.

It is more especially when they are on garrison
duty in some remote province that the officers
experience the most severe privations ; for then, not
only are the payments indefinitely deferred, but the
distributions of rations are made at such distant
intervals, that they become quite illusory ; at the
same time there is no longer the means of finding
some one to negotiate their claims on the treasury.
The commanding officers avail themselves of these
circumstances to buy up, on terms still more onerous
than those of the money-lenders, and through the
medium of their stewards, the claims of their
unhappy subordinates.

It is not unusual to see officers going to seek the
priest, and addressing him in the following lament-
able terms : "I am married, and my wife and I are
as well matched as possible, but I am in such a sad
state of destitution that I cannot support her any
longer. Separate us : she will be able to marry
again, and find a husband who will preserve her
from starvation."

It is evident that troops placed in such a predi-
cament do not offer a very effectual safeguard. The

CONDITION OF THE TEOOPS. 93

greatest bravery gives no chance of promotion ; it
depends entirely on favour and intrigue.

However, if all the posts, all the dignities, as well
in the army as everywhere else, are -bestowed
without any rule, on the other hand there is no
hereditary aristocracy, keeping up its power from
generation to generation, and closing every career to
the multitude. It is a rare occurrence for a man
in a high place to be the son of a father who has
occupied a position even of moderate importance.
The highest dignitaries are the sons of mere labourers,
artisans, shopkeepers, or else they are Circassians,
Poles, or Tartars, who have settled in Turkey.

The sons of the Pashas receive a very imperfect
education, and their morals are generally of a most
depraved sort. Early given to all kinds of excesses,
they quickly destroy their health, both of mind and
body ; when their father dies they dissipate their
wealth, and generally die in extreme poverty.

CHAPTER IX.

I undertake a journey to visit the Druses and the Bedouins ; the reception
they gave me— On my return to Jerusalem I succeed in quelling an
Arab 6meute — I find a husband for a Circassian whom I had brought
up ; the marriage ceremonies.

AVAILING myself of the governor's permission,
I took with me my steward, and, escorted by a
body of mounted Bashi-bazouks, I went on an ex-
pedition to visit the Druses of the mountains and
the Bedouins of the plain.

The Druses (in the Turkish language Durzti) pro-
fess a particular sect of Mohamedanism ; mounted
on small but very active horses, they keep to the
high mountain ranges, descending the steepest
slopes, and re-ascending with extraordinary rapidity.

As soon as they perceived my cortege they
bounded down from the heights like flocks of goats.
Armed with long muskets, they are clad only in a
small piece of canvas, wrapped round their loins ;
they dwell in mud huts covered with thatch, and
secured by keys and bolts of wood. They eat with
their fingers, without employing either knives,

THE DRUSES. 95 ,

forks, or spoons. Their only furniture consists of a
carpet spread on the ground, and cushions here and
there. The cocks and hens are kept indoors, which
makes it anything but pleasant, both on account of
the dirt and the noise they keep up during the
night, disturbing one's slumbers perpetually.

The women, although the heat is very great,
are remarkably fair-complexioned ; those who are
married wear as a headdress a long coronet of cloth-
of-silver, and all wear collars of the same material ;
their heads are enveloped in a loose handkerchief of
flowered muslin, falling over the shoulders ; they
have chemisettes, with short sleeves, reaching very
little below the shoulder, and leaving their bare
arms covered with bracelets. Above these garments
they have a small vest, tight-fitting and without
sleeves; their wide trousers are covered with a
short petticoat, coming down just below the knee.

On the day of my arrival I was invited to supper
at the house of one of the great men of the country.
A young lamb was served up, so underdone that its
flesh was quite red ; it was stuffed with rice, and
covered with a kind of cream. It was impossible
to eat of this dish, so I was offered rice, which
my host kneaded in his hands into a ball ; to
refuse his politeness was a delicate matter, so I

96 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

reluctantly resigned myself to my fate. The next
course was of cakes made of flour, sugar, and
butter. The bread is baked in an oven of burnt
clay, hollowed out of the ground in a circular form
to the depth of two feet, and of double that width.
This oven is called tandour. As soon as the embers
have been taken out the dough is put in, and gets
baked instantly : this bread, which is extremely crisp,

* is as thin as a sheet of paper. Unhappily the oven
is commonly used as a bath. I one day saw a
woman draw out of it the water from which five
or six children, of from five to eight years old, had
just emerged, and pour it over the dough she was
engaged in kneading.

After supper I was shown at the window the
horses belonging to my host, who invited me to
choose whichever I preferred. As I knew nothing
of horse-flesh, my steward pointed out to me the
one I ought to select. At the different visits which
I paid during this journey I was presented, in succes-
sion, with forty-five horses, that followed in my train.

9 The dwellings of the people are constructed so as to
leave in the centre a large square court. When night
came, and I and the ladies of the house were sitting
at the window of the harem, the mountaineers
brought torches of resin, which they planted here

RECEPTION. 97

and there to illumine the vast enclosure. The men,
both of the neighbouring houses and those in the
country round about, came, bearing cushions, on
which they sat while they smoked their narghiles.
Then came the musicians, followed by youths of
from sixteen to eighteen years old, attired like
women, who proceeded to dance in an entertaining
manner to the sound of the music. These amuse-
ments were prolonged well into the night. At
every place I came to I took part each night in
a similar demonstration.

From the country of the Druses I descended into
the plain inhabited by the Bedouins (Bedewya).
They are in the habit of tattooing themselves in blue,
on the edges of the lips, the neck, and the arms,
from the wrists to the elbow, which produces a
most unsightly effect upon their swarthy, and often
black skins.

They live in hovels underground, formed like
gigantic hives, subsist on the produce of their flock,
and are in a wretched condition. The sheiks alone
wear the burnous, the rest of the people have no
other clothing than wide linen drawers ; a few,
however, wear a kind of shirt. The women go
covered with a long wrapper of blue linen, falling
from the shoulders, and secured by pins. On their

98 THIETY YEAES IN THE HAEEM.

head is a loose handkerchief, with which they veil
themselves whenever they perceive a stranger. The
greater part have black eyes, and eyebrows of re-
markable beauty ; nearly all have teeth of brilliant
whiteness. The richer persons attire- them-
selves, over their blue habbara, in a kind of white
petticoat, fastened round the loins and open on
three sides.

1 All these peoples, both Druses and Bedouins, like
the Arabs in general, are greatly addicted to theft
and rapine. No traveller would dare to pene-
trate as far as I did without being well attended,
otherwise he would run a great risk of being
plundered, and even killed if he made a show of
resistance.

The Turkish government requires from these
tribes no other mark of submission than the pay-
ment of an impost arranged with each of them :
amongst such a people the conscription is of course
a dead letter. As the Arabs possess nothing that can
easily be taken — the flocks belonging only to a small
number amongst them — they oppose the most active
resistance to the payment of the capitulation.

When a village has not paid up the whole of the tax
the inhabitants are arrested, and beaten severely on
the soles of the feet with a scourge of elephant's hide,

RECEPTION. 99

called courbash. Seeing how wretched these people *
are, it would be thought impossible that they could
pay anything ; but after receiving, at times, some
hundreds of blows without uttering any complaint,
except the word Allah! (God), repeated with every
stroke, it is astonishing to see them bring out gold,
hidden, perhaps, in their mouths, perhaps in a little
purse concealed under their arm-pits, or elsewhere
about their persons.

Since very few people, especially ladies, venture *
to come amongst these people, I was the object of
lively curiosity on their part. As soon as I arrived
at any place, all the women, eager to see the go-
vernor's wife, came out of their gourbis (hovels),
and offered me little presents — eggs, fruit, and other
things of the kind, — while others flourished huge
fans of plaited straw, endeavouring to keep the air
cool around me ; all were attentive, and solicitous
of the honour of showing me hospitality. I was
surprised, on entering on one occasion the residence
of one of the principal sheiks, to see a European
bedstead of iron, painted green, the fruit of some •
pillaging exploit.

Finally, having visited a great number of villages
and towns, I returned on my way to Jerusalem.
In the course of my journey my cortege was aug-

H 2

100 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

mented by numerous mudirs and sheiks, who, in so
honouring me, sought to dispose me favourably in
their behalf.

On my return I found the Pasha was absent,
having gone to put down an armed dispute that
had arisen between two Arab villages.

One day, when I was quietly resting in the harem
after the fatigue of my journey, I heard a great
tumult in the court-yard of the palace, where the
Pasha's court of justice and other offices were
situated. My apartments communicated with this
court-yard by a large staircase outside. I saw
through the window a furious crowd of Arabs,
raising terrible shouts. I inquired for the steward,
the cavas-baschi, and the other officers, in order to
ask them the cause of such a disturbance. They,
fearing for their lives if they showed themselves to
these people, had done their best to conceal them-
selves.

Seeing that, if the Arabs were allowed their own
way they might proceed to extremities, I quickly
made up my mind, and, half-covering my face with
a shawl, presented myself at the head of the stair-
case : —

" What is the matter, my friends, that you raise
such an outcry ? Tell me what you want, and

ARAB &MEUTE. 101

although the Pasha is absent, I will do what I can
to oblige you."

"The matter ! " said one of them, who appeared
to be one of the ringleaders. " They have lately es-
tablished, at the gates of the city, a duty upon all
the merchandise we bring in, in such a manner that
we are obliged to pay before we have sold anything ;
moreover, the licence to collect this tax has been
conferred upon a Frenchman ; so that we are toiling
to enrich an infidel. We wish the duty to be re-
moved."

" I am on your side," I answered; " I had pledged
the Pasha not to impose this tax, but an order from
the Sultan compelled him to do so, and he was
forced to obey ; the Frenchman of whom you com-
plain is not responsible. Moreover, we have
written to Constantinople to ask for the suppres-
sion of this levy ; in two or three days we shall
receive a reply ; there is every reason to believe
that the Padishah, who is a father to his subjects,
will grant the abolition which we have solicited."

At these words they all cried out, " God bless
the wife of our governor ! Allah protect our
Pasha ! Long live our Sultan ! Amin ! Amin ! "

" In praying for your master, you do well," I
replied ; " always continue to act thus, and you

102 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

will obtain whatever is just. Eeturn to your

homes, and as soon as the answer arrives it shall

*
be proclaimed."

They withdrew, satisfied at the result of their
proceeding. As for me, I was better pleased to see
them depart than I cared to show. I returned
to my apartments attended by their clamorous
blessings.

The next morning I summoned the cavas-baschi,
and asked him the names of the principal authors
of the disturbances of the day before. He named
fifteen. I immediately directed him, as usual in such
cases, to seize them ; an order which was executed
before they left their homes. They were forthwith
sent into exile, and were not permitted to return
until their spirit had been completely subdued. It
may be that some among them were innocent, but
in such affairs it seems preferable to run the risk
of inflicting some slight suffering both on the inno-
cent and the guilty rather than to excite popular
passions by proceeding in the regular course of
justice, in order to apportion the blame attaching
to each. In the East these nice distinctions are not
attended to ; guilty and innocent are arrested, and
chastisement inflicted upon them.

For five or six years past, a young Circassian, whom

MY YOUNG CIRCASSIAN. 103

I had bought, had been growing up in my house.
I had given her a certain educatioD, and, at the age
of fourteen, she acted as governess to my daughter
Aisheh, who was scarcely five years old.

Although my husband was extremely good, and
very affectionate towards me, there grew up in my
mind a jealous thought ; I feared lest the Pasha,
charmed with this young person, whose pleasing
expression of countenance was relieved by a certain
air of distinction, might wish to associate her with
me in the capacity of a second wife, the Mussulman
law allowing as many as four lawful wives.

I determined to take advantage of the governor's
absence, to rid myself of every ground of fear by
removing this girl ; but I reflected in vain ; I could
find no means of satisfying this desire without
disclosing the feelings that influenced my conduct.
One morning my attention was drawn to sundry
groans and lamentations coming from the streets ;
I perceived some hired mourners accompanying the
funeral of the wife . of a caimakam (lieutenant-
colonel). This sight distressed me, for I had known
and loved the deceased ; but the circumstance sug-
gested to me a sudden idea ; I resolved to give my
Circassian maid in marriage to the officer who now
found himself a widower.

104 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

This project was quite capable of being realised ;
the deceased, a Turkish lady of about forty-five,
had her face pock-marked all over, and was conse-
quently very plain ; her husband, of the same age,
was still vigorous and well-preserved. As the men
are not in the habit of remaining a long time
deprived of a wife, and frequently remarry within
the very week of their late wife's burial, I resolved
to make short work of the matter; moreover the
near return of the Pasha prompted me to haste.

I sent my housekeeper to that of the colonel ; she
talked with this woman about the match which I
offered her master. It was accepted with en-
thusiasm, for the officer could not find at Jerusalem
any but Arab women, as ugly as they were dirty ;
on the other hand, he was not ignorant that she
who was proposed as his bride was beautiful, and,
further, he thought himself highly honoured in
having for a wife one brought up in the house of
the Pasha, and through whom he might hope for
advancement. He therefore showed himself quite
favourable to the prompt conclusion of a marriage
which I desired as ardently as he.

Three days before that fixed for the ceremony, I
sent the trousseau, which was my gift. The trunks
containing the clothing, the beds, and every thing

MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 105

needful were placed on camels, magnificently capari-
soned, and bearing collars with large bells. Scarves,
presents for the camel-drivers, were tied to the
necks of their animals. They were preceded by
numerous servants, uniformly clad, bearing in their
hands pieces of silver plate, and each with a scarf
worn crossr-wise. Thus they proceeded to the house
of the future husband ; the people, attracted by the
sound of the bells, formed in line along the route of
the procession, and wondered at the magnificence of
the bride's dowry. That was all sent on the part of
the young lady ; the only present that I was deemed
to have made was a gold snuff-box on a silver stand.
The porters were rewarded with trifling presents;
these are generally small pieces of gold wrapped in
flowered handkerchiefs.

I next busied myself in getting ready the apart-
ment where the ceremony was to take place, for the
betrothed, out of respect for the memory of her
whom he had recently lost, did not wish the mar-
riage to be celebrated at his own house. I had the
walls of one of the largest rooms in the palace hung
with pieces of white silk, embroidered with gold ;
over these were disposed cashmere shawls, relieved
by rich scarves, and forming tapestry. In the
centre of the room was placed a kind of throne,

106 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

covered with velvet, on which the bride was to be
seated. When the day arrived I had her magnifi-
cently attired in the best that my store could afford,
which I lent her for the occasion; this was an
Arab costume.

She wore large trousers of red silk, embroidered
with gold; over them a robe of white gauze, striped
with silk of the same colour; then came a vest of
green velvet, embroidered with gold, with a trian-
gular opening in front, so as to expose the bosom;
the sleeves were narrow, cut open from the wrists
to the middle of the forearm, and furnished with a
great many small buttons. On her hair, which was
cut square on the forehead, and arranged behind in
long, hanging tresses, and adorned with golden
sequins, was placed a rich tarboosh of red velvet,
also garnished with sequins, and embroidered and
adorned with pearls. On the forehead, the cheeks,
and the chin, were written verses in praise of the
husband, by means of spangles of gold, pasted on
the face.

The head was covered with a thick veil of gauze,
worked in gold, formed of one piece, of w^hich half
fell in front, the other half behind.

I had sent my Kjaja-Kadun (housekeeper) to
invite the laclies of the principal authorities of the

MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 107

country; for that purpose she left a little candle at
the house of each. On the morning of the ap-
pointed day they came in great numbers, and
seemed charmed to find that the nuptials were to
be celebrated after the fashion of their country. I
allowed them to act, as they understood the matter.
All, taking their seats in the chamber that had
been prepared, began to smoke their narghiles,
which they had brought for that purpose. The
bride, throwing back her veil, went and kissed the
hand of each, after which she placed herself on the
raised throne assigned to her.

Such an assemblage was an enchanting spectacle.
There were about one hundred ladies, the greater
part very dark-complexioned, young and pretty,-
and all were clad in their finest costumes. Some
were distinguished by their large tresses, adorned
with sequins; others wore on their shoulders a kind
of belt, formed of eight or ten large pieces of gold;
some had tassels of large pearls, placed on each side
of their faces; with them the principal extravagance
was in gold and pearls, just as in Turkey diamonds
constitute the most valued article of ornament.
The singular noise that was heard at every move-
ment they made; the gold they carried on their
persons; the variety and brilliancy of the colours

108 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

displayed in their costumes; the different shapes
and sizes of their narghiles, some green, others red
or blue, all contributed to the remarkable character
of this assembly.

One of the party commenced a song, accompanied
by the Koudoum (an instrument composed of two
small tambourines placed together on the ground,
and beaten with two drumsticks), and the tar, or
large tambourine. Two of the principal assistants
began to dance; they stood facing each other at a
certain distance, then they swayed themselves for-
wards and backwards successively, following the
time marked by the music. This dance allows no
movement of the legs ; the feet scarcely stir. The
performers balance themselves on their haunches,
inclining their heads right or left, niake graceful
gestures with their arms, and assume attitudes
most charming and most impassioned; everything
breathes in them, while dancing, an ardent yet
restrained voluptuousness.

The dancing was kept up until all, old and young,
the wives of the cadi (judge), the nakib (first inter-
preter of the law), the imam (priest), and of other
officers, civil and military, of every rank, had
successively taken part in it.

After the ball, supper was served up. The

MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 109

attendants brought sofras (round thin planks or
plates of wood, inlaid with mother of pearl, bronze,
marble, and other materials), each of which was
placed on a stool about a foot high. Eound each
of these tables ten guests seated on cushions were
accommodated. All the dishes were served at the
same time; soup, meat, rice, dessert; everyone
washed her hands before taking her seat, and helped
herself with her fingers to whatever she fancied;
there were neither plates, nor spoons, nor forks. *

The supper over, all rise from table, and again
seat themselves to take coffee and smoke narghiles.
At sunset, all the ladies present wrap themselves in
a long piece of white stuff, which conceals their
costume, and with which they cover their faces,
excepting the eyes. The bride does likewise; then
they all issue forth to escort her to the house of her
husband. Four of the guests bear over her head,
by means of staves, a canopy of red cloth, shaped
like a tent and open in front. The bridegroom,
standing at the door of his house, welcomes the
cortege, and scatters small pieces of money, whilst
all the women cry louy lou, lou! recite verses in
honour of the bride, and loudly declare their good
wishes in her favour. The bridegroom then goes out,
whilst the whole assemblage enters the house; the

110 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

bride takes her seat on the divan, and kisses the
hands of the assistants as they severally withdraw.
Two old female slaves then raise her veil, and give
her some refreshment.

At eight o'clock, at the time when the night's
prayer is offered, the husband, leaving the mosque
where the nuptial prayers have been said, comes
accompanied by a numerous suite of acquaintances,
carrying lighted candles or torches, and chanting
prayers ; the priest pushes the newly-married man
into his house by the shoulders, and, after drinking
a glass of sherbet, they all retire.

Then the husband goes up-stairs, and seats him-
self on a chair, while his wife, accompanied by
two old female slaves, each carrying a candle,
presents herself before him, and all three dance ;
they withdraw, change the bride's dress, and return
to renew the dance. This performance is repeated
until all the robes in the trousseau have been put
on. The husband then takes his wife by the hand
and enters the bedchamber with her.

The next morning the newly-married husband, as
was the custom, came to thank me. I made him a
present of a beautiful Arab horse.

Five or six days afterwards I was informed of
the arrival of the governor. The caimakam went

MARRIAGE CEREMONY.

Ill

to meet him, and kissed the hem of his robe, as soon
as he accosted him.

" What new thing has happened, that you should
pay me this mark of deference V

" I am the husband of the young lady who was
brought up in your house."

" Oh I" cried the Pasha ; " then you are my son-
in-law." And they continued to converse familiarly
until they reached the city.

"When the Pasha entered the house I felt very
uneasy as to the manner in which he would take
the affair.

" It appears that you have been celebrating
certain nuptials during my absence. . . . Well,
you have amused yourself, and you have done well."

Seeing him in this frame of mind I was satisfied,
both because my arbitrary conduct met with no
reproach, and because I saw myself freed from all
disturbing causes of jealousy.

CHAPTER X.

Nazly-Hanum, daughter of Mehemet-Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, invites me to
visit her — My reception ; her character — I visit Alexandria and
Cairo.

ONE Friday that I received, as I did every week,
the wives of certain subordinate officials, the eunuch
in attendance came to tell me that an old lady,
accompanied by a slave and a eunuch, had arrived,
bringing a letter for me. I directed that she should
be admitted into one of our finest apartments, until
my reception was at an end. As soon as I was at
liberty, I went to see what this person wanted. She
was lady-in-waiting to the Princess Nazly-Hanum,
daughter of Mehemet-Ali-Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt.
She brought a letter from her mistress, in which
the writer informed me that having heard me
spoken of as a person of ability, and highly
energetic, I should be conferring on her a great
pleasure if I would spend a few days in Egypt with
her. I was naturally obliged to offer hospitality to

NAZLY'S MESSENGER. 113

the messenger of her Highness, and to those who
accompanied her.

I acquainted my husband with this invitation,
and asked permission to comply with the request of
the Princess. " You are obliged to go to her," said
he, " for an invitation coming from a person of
such rank is a command."

Taking with me my daughter Aisheh, two slaves
and a eunuch, and accompanied by the messenger
of the Princess, I went to Jaffa, and embarked for
Alexandria, where I found the equipages and
servants of her Highness in readiness. The car-
riages were all fitted with red embroidered velvet ;
instead of windows the two sides were furnished

s

with gilt trellis work, to admit the air. We im-
mediately went to take up our residence with the
Princess, at her palace of Mahmudieh, which
situated near the Nile, in the centre of a magnificent
garden, had quite the appearance of a European
structure. The mosaics which were set in the floors
of the inner apartments were remarkably fine.

After getting out of the carriage in one of the
courts, I entered a spacious vestibule, beyond which
was a magnificent staircase leading to the upper
rooms. On each side of the passages were drawn
up lines of female slaves, dressed in silks of brilliant

114 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

lines, and wearing necklaces, ear-rings, and bracelets
of great value. To do me honour, other slaves, took
me under the arms, as though to assist me up-stairs,
while others again, and some eunuchs, supported the
skirts of my feradje (a large mantle), sweeping the
ground, closed in front, garnished with immense
pagoda sleeves, and a tippet. I was received at the
head of the stairs by the Princess's treasurer, who
introduced me into a large hall, where she made me
sit down and rest before being presented to her
mistress. ^

Shortly afterwards the treasurer came to inform
me that her Highness was waiting to receive me.
I found her seated on a magnificent divan, and
calmly smoking a long chibouk. On seeing me she
rose, and, with a firm step, approached and bid me
welcome. The Princess was of the middle height,
and of a somewhat dark complexion ; her face bore
the impress of a degree of energy and passion not
commonly met with; her eye, penetrating and bold,
denoted intelligence. I prostrated myself to the
ground ; she graciously bowed in acknowledgment
of my salutation, inviting me, by a motion of her
hand, to take my seat on a divan placed opposite to
her own.

Around the apartment stood sundry old women,

NAZLY'S RECEPTION. 115

who were employed to entertain the Princess by
relating stories. As soon as I had taken my place,
a chibouk was brought me, and I began to smoke.
The Princess then commenced the conversation,
complimenting me at considerable length on the
good reports she had heard of me. We then talked
on various subjects. Nazly-Hanum gave proofs of
a shrewd intellect, and an extensive knowledge of
Eastern affairs. During our conversation glasses of
sherbet were brought in, variously perfumed, and
lastly coffee. After we had conversed for about
half an hour, I took leave of the Princess, and
retired to the apartments prepared for me. Like
the rest of the rooms in the palace, they were
magnificently furnished ; divans, cushions, hang-
ings of embroidered velvet, were in every chamber.
When the dinner-hour arrived, Nazly-Hanum
dined alone with me. The table, covered with
embroidered silk, was garnished with numerous
dishes, served on silver plate of rare workmanship ;
even the spoons were ornamented with precious
stones.

During the repast we talked, very little. Pre-
sently we rose, and went to sit in the garden, where
we all sat round a table smoking and taking coffee.
Towards ten o'clock fruit was brought, and sherbet in

i 2

116 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

golden cups, adorned, together with their covers, with
diamonds. The Princess began to drink both brandy
and wine, and to talk familiarly with me ; then she
permitted several of the oldest of her slaves to sit
near us. One of them acted the part of her lover ;
they both began talking about affairs of gallantry,
and exciting themselves. Nazly, in fact, had formed
in her youth many amorous intrigues ; but as she
could only see her lovers by stealth, and for
brief moments, she had adopted the plan of having
all sorts of fun in the haxem. I was present at this
scene, which became more animated in proportion as
the two principal actresses got more intoxicated. In
the meantime, some young slaves danced, accom-
panying themselves with zaganets (castanets of
copper), while others sang. Those whose duty con-
strained them to remain standing round the room
fell down with fatigue ; it could be seen from their
appearance, that they were accustomed to pass the
night without sleep. They were forced to endure
this weariness without a sign of impatience, for if
their mistress observed it, she would have had them
beaten unmercifully ; many had even died from the
ill-treatment they had suffered under such circum-
stances.

Eventually, being weary of such revolting scenes

NAZLY'S CHARACTER. 117

of debauchery and selfishness, towards midnight I *
requested permission to retire.

I was recon ducted to my apartments by the per-
son who had called on me at Jerusalem. Out of
compliment, I asked her to be seated for a short
time near me. She began talking to me about Nazly.

" You have seen our mistress : she passes all her »
nights as she has commenced this. She rises at
noon, and spends her days in visiting, driving,
drinking, and amusing herself.

" Formerly, although the Egyptian ladies are far "
more strictly confined than the Turks, she found
means, thanks to the fear with which she inspired
us, and the frequent absences of her husband, to
introduce, with impunity, her lovers into the
harem. She usually ensured their reticence by
having them put to death ; but these murders
having made some noise, she has given up that
kind of pastime.

"We are all very unhappy under her. She is
excessively capricious and cruel. During her hus-
band's lifetime, he having one day said to a slave who
was pouring out water for him, ' Enough, my lamb;'
this word, reported to his wife, put her into a fury.
Forthwith she ordered the poor girl to be killed ; then
she had the head stuffed with rice, cooked in an oven,

118 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

and placed on a large dish surrounded with rice.
When the Defterdar came to his dinner, his wife had
this strange dish served up to him, saying, ' Help
yourself to a piece of your lamb/ At this word he
threw his napkin on the table, went away, never
reappeared for a long time after, and had no longer
any affection for his wife. If he did not separate
from her, it was because he was bent upon keeping
her riches, and remaining the son-in-law of Me-
hemet-Ali. This jealousy extends to those of her
slaves who minister to her passions ; at the least
suspicion of infidelity she dooms them to die under
the lash."

She related many more instances of the violent
character of her cruel and imperious mistress. " If
she has induced you to come here," said this good
old lady, " it is because she has heard you spoken
of as one who has travelled in Europe and in Arabia,
and who knows many things calculated to entertain
her. However, her Highness is very generous, and
you will have no cause to complain of her." This
conversation was prolonged to a late hour.

It was about ten o'clock next morning, and I had
not yet risen, when the Princess entered my room,
attended by two slaves. She had evidently got up
earlier than usual. "What!" cried she, "you still

NAZLY'S CHARACTER. 119

in bed, my dear ? " Then coming up to me, she
embraced me, and began to pay me a thousand
compliments. Finally she withdrew, saying that
she was going to wait for me.

I was soon dressed, and found the Princess in-
specting some designs for jewelry which she wished
to have prepared. " Come," she exclaimed, " you
shall give me your advice." We together proceeded
to examine the designs. When we had made our
selection, she sent for two caskets, each upwards
of three feet long, and wide and deep in proportion.
" Now," said she, " let us choose the stones. " These
caskets were filled with an infinite number of dia-
monds, emeralds, and other precious stones, the
greater part very large, and altogether of incalculable
value. She was on the point of locking them up
again when she remarked all of a sudden, " I am
going to make you a little present : here are two dia-
monds ; get one made into a ring for yourself and
the other for your husband." Each of these gems
was worth upwards of five thousand francs.

She then asked for a large casket. This was full
of long bars of gold,

" I intend," said Nazly, " to have these ingots
made into plate. What is your opinion ? "

" I think," replied I, " that vessels of massive gold

120 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

would be extremely heavy ; those of silver are much
lighter."

" You are right. I will apply the contents of this
box to another purpose." Then taking two or three
of the bars, she cast them at the feet of a slave.
" See, they are for thee," she said.

At the invitation of her Highness, I went down
into the garden. This was remarkably beautiful.
The date-palms, orange-trees, flowers, and shrubs
were arranged with a degree of art not often seen,
especially in the East. The very walls were covered
with verdure. Here and there elegant kiosques, in
the midst of which graceful jets of water refreshed
and cooled the air, contributed to the charm of the
scene, I walked about for some time, accompanied
by women, each of whom wore on her neck a white
handkerchief, adorned with embroidered verses, the
distinguishing mark of those who were in the good
graces of their mistress. The latter presently made
her appearance.

" What do you think of my garden ? " said she.
" Are you pleased with the climate of Egypt ? "

" The garden and the climate are both very fine,
and in every respect agreeable ; but how could I en-
large upon their praises, when it is to you that such
praises are due ? "

NAZLY'S RECEPTION. 121

She smiled at this compliment, and testified her
satisfaction by gently pinching my cheek. "If
you would like to see something of the country, let
us go out," she said. We then each took aferadje,
and over it a bourko, a kind of hood which com-
pletely covers the head and neck, and admits the
light through holes made in front of the eyes. The
features of the women are nowhere concealed with
so much care as in Egypt ; everywhere else they
have their faces covered with a yashmak, a slight
veil of silk gauze. We got into our carriage, the
trellis of which was not so thick as to hinder us
from seeing anything, and went to the palace of
Ibrahim-Pasha, brother of Nazly-Hanum. We were
both received with the same ceremony that had
attended my arrival at the residence of the Princess.
She introduced me to Ibrahim's wives, and praised
me highly to them. I went over the palace, which
was as richly furnished as that of my amiable
hostess. The women who lived in it were all young,
and far more beautiful than those of Nazly's esta-
blishment. They all bore on their countenances the
impress of fear and of ennui. An old slave, with a
cheerful expression (for the old slaves are generally
more gay than the young), conducted me all over.
She told me that the Pasha was of a terribly jealous

122 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

* disposition. "A black eunuch/7 said she, "becom-
ing enamoured of a Circassian of rare beauty, of
whom our master was passionately fond, was na-
turally rejected by her, and resolved to effect her
ruin. One day he placed, as though it had been
forgotten, a man's cloak near the Circassian girl's
door. When the Pasha, preceded by two eunuchs
carrying torches, arrived at the door, and saw this
garment, he was transported with rage.

" ' What is this ? ' he cried.

" ' My lord/ answered the wicked eunuch, ' no
doubt it belongs to some one who has been with
the Circassian, and has fled at your approach/
< " Ibrahim-Pasha knocked rudely ; the poor girl
came to open the door ; at that instant our master,
drawing his handjer (a short curved dagger), struck
her dead. You may readily understand that with a
master so suspicious, and so ready to believe calum-
nies, we cannot be happy."

I returned to Nazly, and we were served with a
superb cold collation, after which we went into the
garden, which was still more magnificent than that
of the Princess. All the Pasha's wives accompanied
us. They were Circassians and Greeks, of a gentle
disposition, and generally beautiful, but badly
educated. Then we went to the warm bath, while

NAZLY'S RECEPTION. 123

slaves sought to entertain us by dancing, and sing-
ing to the derbouka — a kind of mandoline. When
night came we returned to her Highnesses palace. »

One of the tale-tellers then gave us one of the
stories which they are accustomed to recite. There
are about ten. Each woman knows one or two of
them, which she repeats; when there is any poetry,
she sings it. Those who go through recitations of
this kind have no other employment.

Next we were given a representation of Kara-
gheuz, or Chinese shadows. Those who directed
the movements of the marionettes introduced
imaginary characters, whose dialogue was full of
allusions to the acts of the Princess and of the various
members of her establishment. In a general way,
pantomimes, or tales revealed in the acting, are
produced on this limited stage; it is the theatre of
the Orientals. In Turkey it is often employed asX
the means of communicating to the Sultan or some |
other great personage what no one would dare
tell them openly.

On the morrow, taking with me Fatmah, the lady
who was sent on the mission to me, we dressed
ourselves like merchants' wives, and went to see
the town. What most struck me was the horrible
filth that prevailed everywhere. In the bazaar the

124 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

female fellahs were covered from head to foot with
a long surtout of blue linen. These women do not
generally conceal their face. Their garments were in
rags and threadbare. The fruit, the bread, the vege-
tables, were literally covered with myriads of black
or bluish flies, because the vendors did not give
themselves the trouble of covering their wares.
It surprised me that anyone could purchase such
articles, offered by such filthy saleswomen.
Swarms of squalid children, barely covered with
miserable rags, infested the environs of the market;
the streets leading to it were, so to speak, im-
passible, on account of the heaps of filth that had
accumulated. We went into several shops; it was
just as bad. I could not possibly understand how
these people could live amid such an atmosphere of
stench. The merchants, dressed in long jubbehs
(mantles with long sleeves), their heads covered
with large turbans, and their feet bare, stood at the
doors of their shops, which were left open to show
what was sold, as they had neither sign nor stall.
The streets, very narrow, and generally unpaved,
were continually cut up, sometimes by carriages,
before which ran a person clad only in a blouse of
blue linen, reaching to the knee, and bandaged
round the loins, sometimes by hired asses, preceded

CAIRO. 125

or followed by young boys, and mounted by men or
women.

These asses, very handsome, — for Egypt is cele- "
brated in that respect, — are extremely convenient.
For about two or three pence you can go all over
the town on one, and two young conductors are at
your service. If you stop anywhere, you fix the
time when they are to return for you, and you pay
only as for one taking up.

Now and then we visited the cafe's, which were
distinguished by benches placed out in the street
where men sat, gravely occupied in smoking and
drinking. Here and there we met Arab women
singing maonals (couplets) to the sound of the tar,
or tambourine.

Finally we arrived at a quarter called the Course,
where are to be seen houses built in the European
style, and shops with glazed fronts, showing the
goods tastefully arranged. The trees planted before
the houses make this square resemble that of a
town in the south of France.

Shortly afterwards, taking with me Fatmah and
several more of the Princess's women, I left for
Cairo, in carriages belonging to her Highness. As
soon as we got beyond the walls of Alexandria, it
seemed as if we had entered a vast furnace. After

126 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

suffering greatly from this excessive heat, we put
up at the palace of Halim-Pasha, at Shoubrah. I
went to visit the town of Cairo, which comprises a
great number of palaces, surrounded by magnificent
gardens and squares. The bazaars are numerous,
and a different kind of merchandise is sold in each.
Amongst the merchants, dealers in trinkets, jewellers,
and others, are many Europeans. This town did not
please me as much as Alexandria, which, refreshed by
the sea-breezes, and the flowing waters of the Nile,
was a most agreeable place to live in; whereas Cairo,
on the contrary, only separated from the desert by the
river, has an excessively hot climate. Many of the
inhabitants suffer from ophthalmia. Another incon-
venience is that there is no other water than that of
the Nile, which is exceedingly brackish and un-
pleasant to drink, even when filtered. The scorpions,
the serpents, and the mosquitos add to t discom-
forts of the country.

After spending some time at Cairo I returned to
Alexandria, where I stayed about a fortnight longer.
I then took leave of the Princess, and embarked on
a steam-vessel which conveyed me to Beyrout. This
town is built in the form of an amphitheatre, on a
hill, the base of which forms the port. It serves \as
the residence of the Wall, or governor-general

CAIRO.

127

Palestine. The houses are surrounded by immense
gardens, planted with mulberry-trees. Water is
very scarce, and is brought from a great distance.
The population is largely employed in the manage-
ment of silkworm nurseries. There are also exten-
sive silk manufactories, and the dealers in satin
damask are numerous. After resting two days in
the palace of the Wall, I resumed, by road, my
journey to Jerusalem.

CHAPTER XL

Mehemet-Pasha is recalled— The journey from Jerusalem to Constan-
tinople—My husband is appointed governor of Belgrad : we repair
to that new post.

ABOUT three months after my return, there
arrived from Constantinople an order recalling my
husband, and appointing a new governor.

In the East, when an official is recalled, he is
accounted of less consideration than the lowest of
the inhabitants. From all parts signs of discontent
were displayed. The chief complaints lodged
against us were that Mehemet-Pasha proceeded
with too great severity against the Arabs, both
those who had rebelled, and those accused of
crimes, and that I was too greedy for money and
presents.

The Pasha resolved that I should take my depar-
ture first, with our principal effects and our servants,
before the arrival of his successor, and thus, being
still in the possession of authority, he could be on
his guard against the malevolent. He furnished

JOURNEY TO BEYROUT. 129

me with an escort of Bashi-bozouks, and told me to
go and wait for him at Akiah, where he would meet
me and take me to Constantinople.

I followed a different route to that which we took
on our former journey. On the second day, the
commander of the escort was informed that a
dispute had arisen between the inhabitants of a
neighbouring village and those of the town through
which we were going to pass, and they had come to
blows that self-same day. Indeed, we heard the
distant sound of the firing. What complicated the
matter was the circumstance that both parties were
equally hostile to my husband, who had severely
chastised them for their repeated and sanguinary
outbreaks. The Dehly-baschi was sorely embarrassed
as to what he should do.

" Believe me," I said, " there is only one way of
avoiding the danger that threatens us and con-
tinuing our journey in peace. Instead of going
straightforward, we must make the circuit of the
village which we have to pass, enter it by the gate
which looks upon the road from Akiah, and you say
to the inhabitants that I am the wife of the new
governor, just arrived from Constantinople, and-
whom you are escorting to Jerusalem."

This stratagem, carried into effect, succeeded

130 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

beyond all expectation. As soon as they learnt
that the new governor's harem was approaching
the combat ceased. The Arabs and their sheiks
came to meet me, raising shouts in my honour.
They conducted me, with great pomp, to the house
of the wealthiest inhabitant in the place. The
women received me with all the respect and all
the good-will possible. They served up an excellent
supper, and did their very best to make me com-
fortable.

" We are happy," said they, " to see you take the
place of our late Pasha. He was so cruel that he
punished by exile or imprisonment the least ap-
pearance of rebellion. . One could never obtain any
benefit from him, save by robbing oneself for the
benefit of his wife."

"We have heard that spoken of in Constan-
tinople," I replied, " and for that reason it has
been determined to send a new governor to Jerusalem,
to repair the evils you have hitherto endured ; you
will find the new Pasha as humane as the former
showed himself rigorous, and I trust you will be
satisfied with him/'

I tranquilly passed the night amongst these good
folks. In the morning, the sheik's wife came to
offer me a ring, richly chased, which I was obliged

JOURNEY TO BEYROUT. 131

to accept for fear of exciting the displeasure or dis-
trust of my entertainers.

My escort having assembled, we again set out on
our march, the Dehly-baschi and his men rejoicing
greatly at the success of our trick. As they had
given themselves out as Bashi-bozouks sent to Jeru-
salem in charge of the harem of the new Pasha,
they had been very well treated ; the greater part
of the night had been spent in festivities on their
account. We repeated, at the last halting-place,
the performance that had proved so successful the
day before, and so arrived without inconvenience at
Akiah on the fourth day after setting out from
Jerusalem.

The governor of the town, formerly steward to
the Wali of Beyrout, who had procured his nomina-
tion to our post at Jerusalem, received me with
great demonstrations of respect. Knowing that
my husband had been sent for to Constantinople,
and presuming that he might be nominated to a
high post, he wished to secure his good graces by
treating me to the best of his ability. On the
night of my arrival he had me serenaded, and com-
manded a superb exhibition of fireworks in my
honour.

This worthy governor was about fifty years old,

K 2

132 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

pock-marked, and extremely plain. Introduced to
his wife, she received me very graciously. She was
a person of about twenty-three, very pretty, the
daughter of a merchant at Broussa. As soon as
we had conversed for a moment, we discovered
such mutual sympathy, that we soon became like
two friends of ten years' standing.

Next morning I was with her when her husband,
going to the bath, sent to ask for some linen he
required.

" Carefully observe/' said she to the slave charged
with this commission, " with whom the Pasha is
going to the bath, and with whom he con-

verses."

" My dear friend/' said I, as soon as the slave
had gone, "it seems to me that you have a very
• singular idea, in allowing yourself to be jealous of
such a husband."

"Ah !" she cried, "you don't know what a man
he is. He has made me the mother of two children,
aged respectively three and two years. I procured,
to take charge of them, a woman of Chios, about
forty years old, and pock-marked. I had full con-
fidence in her, and was far from supposing that she
could attract the attentions of my husband. A
fortnight passed, and one morning I awoke early,

JOURNEY TO BEYROUT. 133

and did not find the Pasha by my side. In great
distress, I put on my pelisse, and went to see what
had become of him. I found him in the servant's
bedroom with gold in his hand, which he was
endeavouring to induce her to accept. At this
sight I swooned away. Hearing me fall, my faith-
less husband was greatly alarmed on seeing me
there, and hurried away into the selamlik, leaving
the partner of his guilt to reconduct me to my\
chamber. Indignant at such deceit, and resolved
not to survive my shame and sorrow, for I dearly
loved my husband, I swallowed a ball of opium
which I had in the house. I soon began to manifest
all the symptoms of poisoning. A doctor was
called in, and he succeeded in counteracting the
effects of the poison. In ten days I was beginning
to get well again. As the Pasha and I have not yet
made peace with one another, I fear he will make
another attempt to 'have a talk with his Greek
favourite. You see it is not without reason that I
charge my slave to watch him."

Such was the story told by this poor woman. I
did my best to console her, telling her that, while
becoming reconciled to her husband, she should
insist on his slave being sold, and thereby she
would have no further anxiety.

134 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Mehemet-Pasha arrived soon after, and we re-
mained two days at Akiah, and then went on to
Beyrout. On our way we had to pass through an
extremely mountainous district. Several times I
was obliged to leave the taktaravan, or palanquin,
and mount on horseback ; for the road, flanked by
precipices, was so narrow that it was dangerous to
remain in the palanquin. One of the horses might
make a false step, and precipitate me down some
ravine, whilst the size of the vehicle still further
increased the danger. After resting one night at
Beyrout, we took the steamer for Constantinople.
As was customary, my husband had engaged the
saloon for his harem. When a lady wishes to go
on deck, she must put on the yashmak and the
feradje, as when she goes out in a town. A
pavilion of canvas is, moreover, arranged on the
different packet-boats, to conceal the ladies from the
eyes of Europeans who embark in the same vessel
with them.

We stayed at the same house where we had
suffered so much before our appointment to Akiah.
Thinking that we should not have to wait long
before we got a new post, we only furnished two
apartments, leaving the remainder of our effects
packed up. As soon, as we arrived we had a visit

APPOINTMENT TO BELGRAD. 135

from my husband's capu-djohadar, the name
given to a kind of agent, who goes to the Porte
for dispatches on account of some two or three
functionaries whom he represents, and solicits for
them vacant offices superior to those which they are
then enjoying. He came to tell us that there was a
report abroad that the governorship of Belgrad was
about to be conferred on Mehemet-Pasha, although
he was only a mirimiran, or general of division,
whereas this command is not generally given to
anyone under the rank of a mushir, or field-marshal.

This favour was owing to Eeshid-Pasha, the
grand-vezir, the political friend and supporter of
my husband.

A fortnight had hardly elapsed when we heard
several couriers hurrying to our house, and uttering
shouts of joy. Thirty mefaers, or couriers, people
who hang about the Porte to learn the news, came
in fact to announce the nomination of Mehemet-
Pasha as governor of Belgrad.

After receiving numerous visits of congratulation,
we left Constantinople to proceed to our new post.
A packet-boat brought us to Varna, in abominable
weather and over a frightfully rough sea. There
we landed, and, after a short journey, embarked
again on a steam-boat. As we were passing Widin,

136 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

the governor invited us to stay. As it was night, lf
he sent to meet us a great number of torchbearers,
and also his carriages, and thus we were conducted
to the palace. We were very kindly received, and
I passed the night with the four wives of the
Pasha, Turkish women, as ignorant and as old as
wives of the time of the Sultan Mahmud could pos-
sibly be. Aga-Hussein-Pasha had formerly been an
aga of the Janissaries. He had participated in the
massacre of that body by setting fire to one of their
principal barracks, and so was promoted to the
grade of mushir. A beautiful and sumptuous supper
was placed before us. In the morning we re-
embarked at four o'clock, but were soon obliged to
leave the steam-boat, a dam preventing our passage
higher up the river. We then had to avail our-
selves of horrible flat boats, drawn by oxen, to clear
that part of the Danube where the shallowness pre-
sented an obstacle to the passage of steamers. I
preferred to go ashore, and follow on foot the
barges in which the baggage and the slaves were
stowed. I thus enjoyed the prospect of the
beautiful defile bordering on the river. We after-
wards took a small steamer at the point where the
stream again became navigable, and by that means
arrived off Belgrad. Instead of landing on the

JOURNEY TO BELGRAD. 137

Turkish bank, the Pasha stopped at Semlin, on the
Austrian side, to pay his compliments to the com-
mander, who gave us a favourable reception, placed
a house at our disposal, and sent a military band to
play under my windows while he conferred with
my husband.

CHAPTEE XII.

Residence at Belgrad— Monotony of our existence there— Revolt of the
Serbians, and my visit to the Prince.

THE following morning we crossed the Danube,
and found the Turkish troops drawn up to receive
us. They escorted us to the fortress, which stands
on an elevation overlooking the town, which is
built on an amphitheatre, stretching upwards along
the river Sava. The palace is situated in the
centre of the fort ; casemates are placed under the
batteries to serve as a refuge in case of siege, and
these gates must be passed before you reach the
principal court-yard, on which the palace abuts.

Eesidence at this place was not very agreeable.
We had no garden, and I attempted to obtain some
recreation by walks in the surrounding country, but
it was utterly barren ; there was no verdure, and
only a tree here and there at long intervals. The
only herds or flocks I ever came across were com-
posed exclusively of swine. The Serbian population

RESIDENCE AT BELGRAD. 139

being hostile to the Turks, I had no acquaintance
except amongst the old wives of officials who were
superannuated, and compelled by the government
to reside on the spot.

The Princess, wife of the reigning Prince Alex-
ander, came to call upon me, and I received her at
the foot of the staircase, — a mark of attention which
produced a great effect upon her, since none of the
Turkish ladies who had preceded me had ever taken
the trouble so to receive a Christian. They would
remain sitting on their divans, and would never
return the calls made on them. On the contrary,
with the governor's permission, I went in a carriage,
escorted by cavasses, to see the Princess. Her
husband met me in the court-yard of his palace, and,
by his orders, his guard was drawn up in a double
line, through which I passed, while the band played
the national Ottoman march. He took me by the
hand and conducted me to his wife, who received me,
attended by her two daughters, lovely girls of six-
teen and fourteen respectively. All three were in
the national Serbian costume : red cap, worn on the
side of the head, with a tassel hanging over the
shoulder ; plaited hair, the plaits being turned
back on the forehead ; embroidered jacket, with
large sleeves, inside which were other and falling

140 THIRTY YEAKS IN THE HAEEM.

sleeves of muslin ; and a short skirt reaching to the
ankle. After exchanging a few words, I took my
leave of their highnesses, and was reconducted to
my carriage in the same ceremonious manner as that
in which I had been received.

Belgrad was then an ill-built town ; its streets
were narrow, dirty, and ill-paved. The shops were
numerous, but they offered no attractions. The
Belgrad of that period, therefore, was a very dif-
ferent place from what we see it now-a-days. At
that time it contained about five hundred families
of Turkish origin, supported solely by pensions,
given them by the Ottoman Government in consi-
deration of the prosperity they had formerly enjoyed,
and which the Serbians had monopolised. The
customs of this little colony differ, in some points,
from those of Constantinople. Most of the girls
have light hair, but when they marry they stain
their hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows. They also paint
themselves in an extraordinary manner : you may
tell a married woman by this. Their dress is some-
what different from that of other Ottoman women.
They wear a tarboosh, over a loose flowing handker-
chief, an embroidered jacket, with pendent sleeves,
and wide trousers, embroidered at the sides.

The climate of Serbia is extremely hot in summer,

RESIDENCE AT BELGRAD. 141

and fevers are prevalent ; in winter the cold is very
severe, and there are heavy falls of snow. Every
year the Danube freezes, which causes numerous
accidents. At a day's notice, the boats are shut
in by the ice ; whilst the break-up comes with
equal suddenness, and they are shattered to pieces
without the least chance of avoiding the cata-
strophe.

Deprived of the amusement of walking, and
having intercourse with only a very limited number
of people, I endeavoured to occupy myself in
various ways.

During the winter, the town is absolutely deprived
of water, the river being frozen over. The ice is
brought into the house in wooden buckets, and
water procured by melting it. This mode of supply
came very dear, so I purchased ten carts, and the
requisite number of horses, and engaged men to
take charge of them, and my steward employed
them in carrying ice from house to house. This
little speculation brought me in more than a thousand
francs a month, a thing not to be despised in a post
where we had no other income than the salary paid
us by the Porte. One day the Pasha saw one of
these carts. " Whoever took up that idea ought to
realize a famous profit," said he to me. I took good

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

care not to let him know that the idea was my
own.

The want of a garden distressed me so much
that I resolved to have one. I ordered my steward
to procure fifty convicts, to whom I gave a small
gratuity. Every morning, while the Pasha was
absent on the duties of his office, the galley-slaves
were employed in clearing a waste piece of land by
the side of our palace. Afterwards they went for
shrubs and plants, which I had demanded from the
Turkish inhabitants, and brought them, together
with the earth that surrounded them. In about
three weeks' time I had a beautiful garden, embel-
lished with an arbour covered with climbing plants.

The labour over, I invited the Pasha to take a
turn in the garden.

"A turn in the garden V he cried. " Why we
have none ! "

" Very well ; then let us walk on the plot of
ground there, close by the side."

" As you please," said he ; " but I don't know
what fancy you have for walking in that barren
place."

I leave my readers to conjecture his astonishment
when he arrived at the place and saw the ground
covered with shrubs, and with flowers already full-

REVOLT OF THE SERBIANS. 14-3

blown. He could scarcely believe that all this had
been done in twenty days.

After this I set about the realisation of a new
project. I summoned twenty young native girls to
come to my house, and proceeded to teach them to
spin and weave silk, to embroider, and do other
light work of the kind. I gave them suitable
remuneration, whilst teaching them to work ; I
gave them their meals also. It afforded me great
diversion to see myself surrounded by these young
folks, and so I passed all my days among them.

An unlooked-for event suddenly forced us into
quite another occupation. One night a Turk and a
Serbian took to quarrelling. The dispute rose to
such a height that the Christian was killed by the
Mussulman. The latter, without awaiting the dis-
covery of the crime, took refuge in the citadel. As
a vessel was leaving for Constantinople next morn-
ing, the governor made him embark in it, fearing
that, if he kept him at Belgrad, he would be
obliged to deliver up to the Serbians a man who
had acted as* a true believer in taking the life of an
infidel.

When the corpse was discovered the whole town
rose in indignation on learning that a member of
the orthodox religion had been the victim of a

144 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Mohamedan. The Turks resident in the town rushed
in to ask our protection, bringing the most valuable
of their effects, and pouring forth the terror of their
souls in describing the excitement that prevailed.
Soon we saw the populace in arms rushing towards
the citadel, raising infuriated cries and demanding
the culprit. They threatened to take the place by
storm and massacre the whole garrison. The
Pasha, having nearly two thousand men under
his command, could not resist a prolonged siege,
while he would infallibly have succumbed to the
attack of an enemy ten times superior in numbers.
For seven days we remained shut up in the fort,
dreading every instant to see the attack commenced.
A state of anxiety so prolonged became all the more
unendurable as we had the prospect of famine,
should the situation continue unaltered. No one,
not even the governor himself, dared to venture
beyond the entrenchments.

Weary of seeing ourselves deprived of all com-
munication with the outer world, I resolved to make
an effort to change the posture of affairs, to go out
of the citadel and call on the Prince. Without in-
forming anyone of my intention, I had my carriage
prepared, and ordered the cavasses to accompany me.
This command struck them with amazement. They

REVOLT OF THE SERBIANS. 1-ib

thought they were marching to certain death. For
my own part, I thought that the insurgents would
respect me as a woman. It was not, however,
without a certain feeling of apprehension, that I
heard the vociferations which arose on all sides
when the outer gate was opened. My carriage,
meanwhile, advanced, surrounded by the reluctant
cavasses. As soon as the Serbians perceived me they
ceased their hostile demonstrations, ranged them-
selves respectfully along the road, and escorted me
as far as the Prince's palace. His Highness received
me with perfect courtesy. The guards formed in
lines on either side, and the military band struck up.

" You are courageous," said the Prince, as he con-
ducted me to his apartments, "but the Pasha has
been, in some degree, the cause of what has occurred,
in giving protection to a murderer. I could not
repress the public indignation, without exposing my
authority to misconstruction/'

" Your Highness," I replied, " we are here to pro-
tect the Turks; it was our duty to receive the man
of whom you complain."

" However," said the Prince, " it seems to me an
unwarrantable thing that a crime like that should
remain unpunished. It is necessary that a public
offender should be surrendered to justice."

146 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

" We are not invested with unlimited authority/'
I rejoined in my turn, " we are bound to execute
the commands of the Sultan, so we have written to
Constantinople, to ask for instructions."

" Well," cried Prince Alexander, " how do you
propose that I should calm the populace, when I
have no satisfaction to offer them?"

" That is your affair," I answered. " It appears
to me that we cannot do better than await the
orders of the Imperial government. Your Highness
must try in the meantime to appease the excitement
of the population." The Prince having given me an
assurance to that effect, I left and went back to the
fortress accompanied by an escort.

Soon afterwards the Prince issued a proclamation
to the effect that the Pasha had demanded authority
from the Porte to deliver the criminal up to justice;
that an answrer would be received ere long, which,
it was to be hoped, would be a favourable one.

The Serbians beginning to tire of their hostile
attitude, and the body having been buried, they
calmed down gradually and returned to their homes.
In the course of a week or so after my visit to the
prince, communication was re-established between
the fort and the town. The governor then invited
the Prince to come and look for the accused. It

BANQUET, 147

was impossible, he said, to give him up, inasmuch
as, the very night on which the crime was com-
mitted, he had escaped on board a vessel just putting
out to sea. It was therefore useless to spend any
more time over an affair the settlement of which
was impracticable. " If," he added, " I have not
sooner informed you how the matter stands, it is
because I was unwilling to let you suppose that I
feared the threats that were levelled against me
when your subjects demanded the surrender of the
Mussulman who has been the cause of these dis-
turbances." The Prince pretended to believe what
was told him, but remained convinced that the
escape was the work of the governor.

To confirm, however, the reconciliation, he asked
the Pasha to accept, in my name, an invitation to a
banquet which the Princess offered me. She would
invite a certain number of Serbian ladies, and they,
proud of the honour I did them, would forget, and
make their husbands forget, the late dissensions.

. To put an end to all further agitation on the sub-
ject, the Prince gave out that the delinquent had
been sent to Constantinople, there to expiate his
crime.

Desirous of responding to the polite attention
shown me, I ordered some of the Turkish ladies

L 9

143 THIRTY YEAES IN THE HAREM.

resident in the town to accompany me to the
residence of the Princess of Serbia. They went with
reluctance, having a horror of the pork and the wine
that would certainly be found on the table of a
Christian. Most of them being, as I said before,
the wives or daughters of ex-officials, formerly in
the service of the Sultan Mahmud, were very
zealous followers of Mohamed. One was upwards
of eighty years old.

All the Turkish ladies placed themselves on the
same side of an immense table with myself. Her
highness and the Serbian ladies faced us. The
banquet wras on a truly princely scale. In order
not to hurt the feelings of her Highness, I partook
with indifference of the various dishes on the table.
The other ladies imitated my example, thinking
that I would never eat pork. Presently champagne
was poured out for every one. I proposed a toast
to the health of the Sultan, and another to that of
Iskender-Bey (Prince Alexander of Serbia). The
Turkish ladies, who had never before seen cham-
* pagne, were not at all sure whether what they were
drinking was wine or lemonade ; the sparkling of it
seems to have puzzled them a bit.

The Prince, to show how much he was pleased
with me, sent me next morning a very handsome

DJEHAD BEY'S BIRTH. 149

ring and a pair of magnificent ear-rings. Thus
terminated an affray, the beginning of which was
as threatening as the issue was pacific.

During my sojourn at Belgrad our home was
rejoiced by the birth of an heir to the Pasha, whom
his father named Mustapha Djehad Bey. Mustapha
was the name of the Pasha's father, while the
surname Djehad, which signifies " war/' was given
because the infant came into the world in time of
war — the Hungarian war of 1847.

The birth of an heir was for the Pasha an event
which filled his heart with so much joy, that he
celebrated it by means of festivals and fireworks.

CHAPTER XIII.

Recall of Mehemet-Pasha— He is appointed Musliir— Invitation from the
Kadin-Efiendi— Her History— Condition of Slaves in Turkey.

AFTER remaining about a year at Belgrad, we
were recalled home. As we expected, this time^ to
reside there for a lengthened period, we furnished
our Jiouse suitably. Scarcely had we got fairly
settled when a mahbendji, or chamberlain of the
Sultan, came, attended by a military band, bringing
my husband the firman which appointed him to the
rank of mushir, or field-marshal. The imperial
warrant was enclosed in a cover of green silk,
adorned with gold tassels. After placing it on the
table, the chamberlain kissed the firman, raised it
respectfully to his forehead, and read it in a distinct
tone ; the band struck up a triumphal air, and all
then retired.

During the next few days, my husband received
numerous congratulatory visits, while the ladies, on
their part, came to pay their respects to me. The
Kadin-effendi (second wife) of Mahmud, and
mother of Merimah-Sultan, sister of Abdul-Medjid,

THE KADIN-EFFENDI. 151

sent her Kjdja-kadin to invite me to go and spend
two or three days in her palace, situated at Tarla-
Baschi, facing Dolma-Bagtche, a residence of the
Sultan.

Dressing myself in my best attire, I took with
me a beautiful white slave, and a eunuch of good
height, both designed as presents to my hostess.
Another eunuch attended me as my servant I
drove to the palace, and on arriving at the garden
entrance was received by more than a hundred
slaves drawn up on each side of my carriage, and
lining the way to a magnificent marble stair-
case, leading to the harem. Several of them,
taking me under the arms, assisted me to ascend.
The Hasnadar-Housta, or grand mistress, here met
me, and conducted me to my apartments. These
consisted of three rooms — drawing-room, bed -room,;
and dining-room. Eoses, white and red, adorned!
the walls; the curtains were of beautiful striped
cashmere; costly carpets covered the floors; splendid
mirrors were arranged at intervals; golden cups, en-
riched with precious stones, and filled with sweet-
meats, were placed here and there, in case I should
need any refreshment. Besides comfortable divans,
there were arm-chairs of European manufacture, and
lamps were disposed together with large massive

152 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

silver candlesticks in the Oriental style, resembling
those used for tapers in the churches in France.
All the other rooms were furnished pretty much in
the same fashion.

I gave my yashmak, or veil, and my feradje, or
mantle, to a servant, who placed them in the proper
receptacle. After resting for about an hour, I was
told that the Sultana awaited me.

I found her seated on a tandur (above described),
of red velvet embroidered with spangles. The cur-
tains of her room were of flowered cashmere, and
slaves stood round about. As soon as I entered,
she congratulated me on the good taste of my toilet,
and invited me to sit at her feet on a velvet cushion
embroidered with gold. This was a great honour.
We began to converse, and the Sultana displayed a
vivacity of spirits, and a degree of intelligence
-. which I have rarely met with in a Turkish woman.
She was tall and fair-haired; and her skin, ex-
tremely white, set off the freshness of her complexion.

Knowing that I had been in Europe, she interro-
gated me as to the manners and customs of the
Christians, the way the towns were built, the balls,
theatres, systems of lighting by gas, architecture of
the palaces, and a thousand other matters unknown
to Oriental women. I answered all these questions,

HER HISTORY. 153

and she seemed well pleased, and testified her satis-
faction by recounting to me her troubles.

"I was the adopted daughter/' said she, "of
Behiye'-Sultan, sister of the Sultan Mahmud. The
latter rarely visited her sister, but dreading lest
I should take his fancy, knowing, as I did, how
short would be the duration of his attachment, I
hid myself every time he called. I would rather
have preserved my liberty by marrying some Pasha
than become the Sultan's wife. In the meantime,
Mahmud had learnt that his sister had adopted me,
and he was often surprised that he did not see me.

" One day, Behiye-Sultan gave a grand banquet
to her brother. I barricaded myself in my room,
by placing a chest of drawers against the door, but
the Sultan, who had a strong predilection for the
fair sex, conceived a stratagem in order to get at
me. ' Before supper/ said he to my mistress, ' I am
going to pay a visit to your harem/ He entered,
in succession, all the rooms. Seeing my door shut,
he pushed against it so vigorously as to displace the
chest of drawers, and discovered me concealed
behind a divan. Offering me his hand, he con-
ducted me to his sister, and presenting me to her,
said, ' You see I have done well to visit your palace,
for I have discovered a treasure/

154 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

" ' It is my adopted daughter/ replied Behiye-
Sultan.

" c I am so greatly enamoured of her/ rejoined
Mahmud, ' that I cannot rest until you have given
her to me/

" ' I can refuse you nothing,' she responded,
1 because you are my master; but, as I have adopted
this young lady, I will treat her as my daughter — I
will give her a dowry and send her to you as .a lady
of good birth/

" My mistress some days after^ sent me to the
seraglio, with great ceremony, and with magnificent
presents, which she gave me as my dower. For ten
days the Sultan was most assiduous in his atten-
tions; after that period he showed himself no more.
I had separate and sumptuous apartments, numerous
slaves, as many ornaments as I wished for^ but I
endured with impatience the monotony of my
existence. I concealed my grief, and strove to
make myself as agreeable as I possibly could to
those who attended on me, I never left the palace;
I never received a visit from anyone; every morn-
ing I took my bath, said my prayers, and then
shut myself up in my solitude.

" The few days I had passed in the society of the
Sultan resulted in my eventually giving birth to a

HER HISTORY. 155

0

daughter, Merimah-Sultan. When the time came
to get lier a husband, I resolved that she should
make her choice. I showed her the portraits of
several young men, each worthy of her hand. She
fixed upon Said-Pasha.

" Very few months had elapsed, when my poor
daughter, already enceinte, died, and with her my
last solace disappeared.

"The mother of Sultan Abdul-Medjid always
regards me with a jealous eye. She will scarcely
allow me to receive, once a month, a visit from
Said-Pasha when he is at Constantinople. More-
over, I am never allowed to hear my daughter
spoken of."

While uttering these words I saw the big tears
start from her eyes. The spectacle of so lively a
sorrow touched me, and I felt myself overwhelmed
with sympathy for her.

" Judge," continued this poor woman, " whether
The Valideh-Sultan, the Sultan's mother, can regard
me favourably. Whereas / was the adopted daughter
of a Sultana, she served in the harem, and was
engaged in the most menial occupations. One day
when, her hair in disorder, she was carrying fuel to
the bath, the Sultan saw her through a window, and
took a sudden fancy for her. He bid her imme-

156 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

4

diately to lay down the bundle of firewood, and
come with him to the bath. It is in this way
that she became the mother of the present Sultan.
This woman always shows herself my enemy. She
sees with envy that her son, desirous of showing
respect to his father, comes to see me sometimes."

After conversing some time longer with the Sul-
tana, I retired to my apartments, where an abundant
supper was presently served. I stayed three days
at the palace, and spent my time very agreeably.
Sometimes I talked with the Sultana, at other times
some of her principal slaves came to keep me com-
pany, and told me the story of their flirtations.

" We like," said one of them, " to drive out alone,
now and then, in a hired carriage, to tease the
young men, who amuse themselves by following us.
One day, when four of us were in the same carriage,
we saw two Pashas, still in their youth, approach us.
They distinguished our features through our yash-
maks" (these veils are of very thin silk gauze),
" and drew near to the door of our conveyance.

" They asked us, by signs, whether we would
accept some fruit, to which we answered in the
affirmative. After offering refreshment, they gave
us a serenade, and then presented us with small
purses full of gold, which we accepted. Em-

SLAVES IN TURKEY. 157

boldened on seeing that their gifts were welcome,
they followed us to learn where we lived, and to
know who we were. "What was their surprise when
they saw our carriage direct its course towards the
palace, and observed that we stopped before the
great gate of the harem ! The poor fellows seemed
overwhelmed with chagrin and wrath. To mock
them, we waved our hands as a farewell salutation.''

It was thus these poor girls sought at times to
entertain themselves. There is no doubt that the
position of the slaves is not a very happy one. As
the opportunity presents itself here, we will avail
ourselves of it to say a few words on the condition
of these victims of misfortune and jealousy.

The greater number are poor Circassians ; the
remainder comprise Arabs, Persians, and others.
They are sold to the slave-merchants, either by
agents, who have brought them up, or by the
parents themselves. The latter look upon their
daughters as a means of raising money ; they also
think that by selling them they are contributing
to their happiness. It is a fact that the women in
Circassia spend anything but an agreeable existence,
being employed in the most laborious field work,
and looked upon as mere beasts of burden by their
fathers and husbands. All the household duties

158 THIETY YEAES IN THE HAEEM.

also devolve upon them. The men would scorn to
abase themselves by doing anything useful: they
are warriors, and that is all.

In Constantinople, the slave-merchants generally
inhabit the district of Top-hane. When anyone
wishes to buy a slave, he applies to these gentry,
and they exhibit, for his selection, a band of young
peasant-girls, scantily clad, who have only left their
mountain homes a few months previously, and
speak none other than the barbaric language of
their tribes. They sell for various prices, according
to the degree of beauty qualifying them for engage-
ments as dancers, musicians, bath- women, femmes-
de-chambre, or odalisques. The amount ranges
from about four thousand up to twenty thousand
francs, or thereabouts (£160 to £800). They must
be of extraordinary beauty to come up to the last-
mentioned figure. If they are not good-looking,
they are only employed in duties that do not neces-
sitate their appearance in the presence of their
masters, in which case their value does not exceed
from fifteen hundred to two thousand francs. They
are sold usually at about twelve or thirteen years of
age, but there are cases of sales at the early age of
six or seven. This happens, however, only where a
lady wishes to bring them up as her slaves, either

SLAVES IN TURKEY. 159

to accustom them to her service, or to re-sell them
at a profit when they are older. Their mistress
makes them dress becomingly, teaches them to con-
duct themselves properly, and to speak the Turkish
language. Their attention is bestowed on the cul-
tivation of the particular talent by which they are
to distinguish themselves ; such as music, dancing,
hairdressing, etc. If their charms seem to justify
their aspiring to the dignity of odalisques, they
learn to deck themselves gracefully ; to observe the
usages recognised in Mussulman society ; to offer
sherbet or coffee; to salute with greater or less
formality, or to seat themselves higher or lower,
according to the rank of the person paying or
receiving a visit; to accompany their mistresses, etc.

"When they have received this primary educa-
tion, their value is proportionately augmented, and
it is at this period that they are re-sold. The
singers, the performers on the guitar, flute, tabour,
or tambourine, the dancers and castanet-players,
then enter the harems of great ladies, whom they
are required to entertain. These are held in the
highest estimation. They cost from six to eight
thousand francs.

If any lady possesses a pretty-looking slave, the
fact soon gets known. The gentlemen who wish to

160 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

buy an odalisque or a wife, make their offers. Many
Turks, indeed, prefer to take a slave as a wife, as,
in such case, there is no need to dread fathers,
mothers, or brothers-in-law, and other undesirable
relations.

A girl can never be sold for a wife or an odalisque
without her own consent.

The purchase of a slave is transacted in the
following manner : — After having examined her
from head to foot, the intending purchaser, male
or female, agrees on the price. The bargain con-
cluded, next day the girl is sent to his or her house,
accompanied by an old woman, who never lets her
out of her sight. She remains several days, in order
that it may be ascertained whether or not she has
any material defect. A mid-wife is called in to
make sure that the newcomer has never previously
had intercourse with anyone. It is after this exa-
mination that the purchase-money is paid, and the
sale legalised by a formal receipt, called petcheh.

In every house which a slave enters she is nearly
equally miserable. "Wives and odalisques comprise
the superior class. If their master is rich, they
enjoy all the refinements of luxury : carriages,
excursions, banquets, servants of all kinds. But it
frequently happens that, after being for some time

SLAVES IN TURKEY. 161

the only wife, the husband introduces another, as
her associate in his affections.

"Whatever may be her condition, slave or free, the
new wife reduces the first to the second rank. If
she be equally a slave, the on]y result is jealousy ;
but if she be Avealthy, and of a family which the
husband holds in respect, then the poor slave-wife has
to put up with all the annoyances, all the humiliations
that a jealous and all-powerful rival can invent.
Her life is one long martyrdom, which frequently
reaches a tragical termination.

When a slave enters the harem of a lady of high \f
rank, her situation is truly deplorable. As has been
described in the establishment of Nazly-Hanum,
she is usually compelled to spend her nights stand-
ing, attendant on the riotous excesses of her mis-
tress. From sheer caprice, they often find them-
selves condemned to be scourged by eunuchs, armed
with curbatches or whips of elephant's skin. ,

On the other hand, these unhappy creatures are
often subjected at once to the desires of their
master and the terrible jealousy of their mistress.
Threatened with perpetual celibacy, excited by the
idea of being chosen either as odalisques or as wives
of the second grade, frequently taken advantage of by
force, — everything contributes to their downfall. As

162 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

soon as their mistress has an inkling of any intrigue,
all the vials of her fury are poured out. Her husband,
his patience being at length exhausted, abandons his
victim to the resentment of his wife, who proceeds
to get rid of her rival forthwith, by selling her.

If the unhappy girl finds herself enceinte, she
cannot be sold while in that condition. Moreover,
she cannot be sold if she gives birth to a son. Her
mistress, therefore, takes her to a mid-wife, in order
to procure abortion.

Slaves, however, have occasionally a dismal kind
of solace. They may please their mistress without
attracting the attentions of their master. If they
are in the Seraglio, or in some great house, they
may become Kjfaja-Jcadin (first lady), or Haznadar-
ousta (treasurer), in which case they have separate
apartments, with carriages and servants at their
disposal. These are great ladies. The treasurer to
the Valideh-Sultan had more than two hundred
slaves or eunuchs under her orders.

I began to get tired of my residence in the
palace. Accustomed to a quiet way of living, I was
obliged, for fear of vexing those who attended on
me, to partake of all the dishes placed on my table ;
which seriously inconvenienced me. In the mean-
time I could not take my leave ; such a proceeding

I TAKE LEAVE OF THE SULTANA. 163

would have been a breach against the etiquette of
the Seraglio. I had to wait therefore till myferadje'
and my yashmak were restored to me, and it was
with real satisfaction that, on the fourth day, I saw
the ladies in waiting bringing these articles. I sent
the Sultana the eunuch and the young slave-girl,
whom I had brought for her acceptance, and she
sent me, in return, a present of a beautiful gold
watch, green-enamelled, and set with brilliants, as
was also the chain. She sent my daughter a piece
of striped cachmere.

As the Sultana had made presents of money to
my eunuch, my coachman, and my other servants, I
was obliged to return the compliment with respect
to her household. I wrapped small gold coins in
embroidered handkerchiefs corresponding in number
to her servants, and remitted the whole to the
treasurer, one of whose privileges it is to undertake
distributions of this kind. If by accident, in making
up my packets, I had overlooked any slave, it would
not have been good manners on my part to go
before repairing the omission, and, if I had not
sufficient money left for the purpose, I should have
been obliged to send and procure a fresh supply,
before taking my departure. After satisfying every-
body, I got into my carriage, and drove off.

M 2

CHAPTER XIV.

Object of the honour done me by the Kadin-Effendi— Intrigue of Said-
Pasha against Reshid- Pasha— Character of this Minister.

THE invitation which the Kadin-Effendi had sent
me was not altogether disinterested. Knowing that
my husband was in favour with Keshid-Pasha, the
then all-powerful Grand-vezir, she wished to secure
my services in behalf of Said-Pasha, husband of her
deceased daughter, then in exile at Castambolu.

Said-Pasha, like all the partisans of the ancient
Ottoman institutions, saw with jealousy the eleva-
tion of a minister imbued with European ideas. As
soon as any official whatsoever shows himself to be
animated with ideas of progress ; decides, without
respect of persons, all matters that come in question
before him ; or gives proof of intelligence and edu-
cation, the title ofj^/w^^s^mfidel) is conferred upon
him. All things straightway conspire to bring
about his fall. If he cannot be entrapped into some
fault sufficiently grave to ensure his complete dis-

INTRIGUE OF SAl'D-PASHA. 165

grace, attempts are made to get him banished to a
command in some semi-barbarous, frontier province,
destitute of every resource, and where the most
brilliant talents and the best intentions become un-
productive of advancement ; exercised, as they are,
in countries far removed from the eye of the master,
by whom whatever takes place, good or bad, is
regarded with equal indifference.

At the period of which we are speaking, the
policy of Kussia with regard to the Porte wis
becoming more and more menacing, and war was
imminent. The Grand-vezir saw that all was lost
if he could not contrive to counterbalance the power
of Russia by means of an alliance with the Western
Powers. The Sultan viewed with repugnance the
formation of alliances which, in case of war, would
bring foreign troops to Constantinople. " Who
knows," said he, "whether, when they have once
gained admission, the Allies will consent to with-
draw from a place which all European nations covet
with about equal ardour \ "

Riza-Pasha, Said-Pasha, Mehemet-Ali-Pasha, and
all the other ministers attached to the old Turkish
party, resolved to take advantage of the repugnance
of Abdul-Medjid to European preponderancy. They
spread a report that the Sadr-azam (Grand-vezir),

166 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

only spoke of the intervention of the European
Powers in order to realise the bargain which he had
concluded with them. " He is about to sell to the
Europeans," said they, " Constantinople, and all our
possessions in Europe. Now he wishes to deliver
up to them all they have bought of him, for its
price in gold."

Said-Pasha then addressed a memorandum to the
Sultan, in which he called his Majesty's attention
to the designs of Eeshid ; warning him that, if he
was not on his guard, the French and English
would be taking possession of his fairest provinces ;
that the Eussians had an understanding with the
other Powers as to their partition ; that the Mus-
covite threats and the French and English offers
were in furtherance of an adroit manoeuvre, de^
signed to trick the Porte through the concerted
action of the several cabinets.

The other ministers were to affix their seals to
this document, which it was intended to present to
the Padishah as the expression of the fears enter-
tained by all. At the decisive moment, they in-
duced Said-Pasha to make, in the first instance, a
verbal communication to their master. " You are
his brother-in-law ; what have you to fear ? If you
find that you have a favourable hearing, you may

INTRIGUE OF SAID-PASHA. 167

reckon beforehand on our approval." The too-con-
fiding minister listened to their counsels, went to
the Sultan, skilfully turned to account the suspi-
cions with which the prospect of a Western alliance
had possessed him, and thought to convince him
of the Grand-vezir's treason.

Abdul-Medjid was naturally little addicted to
forming violent resolves, and a reaction was at work
in his mind.

" All you tell me appears true/' he cried, " but,
up to the present time, Eeshid-Pasha has served me
faithfully. He has always given proof of great
zeal, and I have never known him betray the interests
of his country. You are bringing against him an
accusation of the gravest possible character, and
you stand alone in mentioning it to me. I hesitate
to believe you, and to ruin, on mere suspicion,
the most intelligent man in the empire."

" I am not alone in my warnings/' replied Said-
Pasha. " All the other ministers are in accord with
me, and I am ready to give your Majesty a written
proof to that effect."

" If it is so, I yield/' said the Sultan. " Furnish me
with this document, and I am resolved to take action
on it," he added, as he dismissed his interlocutor.

The latter hastened to his colleagues to announce

168 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

the successful result of his undertaking, but he
strove in vain to persuade them to sign the required
document. They thought, and with reason, that
their adversary would not fail to defend himself
vigorously before his master. He would challenge
his accusers to supply proofs of which they were
devoid. They saw themselves, in prospect, exposed
to the hatred of a vindictive and all-powerful
minister.

Eeshid-Pasha got to know of the steps taken
before the Sultan, and of the insuperable difficulty
which Said-Pasha had found in the way of his
again presenting himself with the confirmatory
evidence demanded of him. He decided, therefore,
of ridding himself of Said and driving him into
exile.

' It was under these circumstances that the Kadin-
Effendi invited me. She entreated me to speak to
my husband, and get him to intercede with the
Grand-vezir, in order to obtain the recall of the
disgraced Pasha. I promised to exert all my zeal in
his favour.

Eeshid-Pasha made a pretence of pardoning. He
recalled Said, and gave him the governorship of

i Damascus. This was a clever scheme to effect his
utter ruin. Damascus was one of the most trouble-

INTEIGUE OF SAID-PASHA.

some commands in the empire, on account of i
mixed population. Arabs, Greeks, Turks, Mussul
mans, Christians, Jews, found themselves side by
side. Hence arose perpetual difficulties.

The success of my husband's intervention made
me none the less friends with Said-Pasha and his
mother-in-law.

That which the spiteful Eeshid foresaw came to
pass. A Jew having committed a theft, the governor
had him severely bastinadoed to make him confess
his crime. The accused died next day. The Israel-
ites were in rebellion, they despatched a deputa-
tion to Constantinople, and brought to bear upon
the Porte the whole weight of the Soeiete Israelite
Universelle, and of Sir Moses Montefiore's diplo-
matic ability. The Grand-vezir, content with the
power of charging his enemy with murder, lost no
time in degrading him, and sending him into exile
at Koniah. His vengeance was satiated.

Eeshid-Pasha, was a man endowed with superior
intelligence, and who possessed, in addition, great
strength of character. His expressive countenance
indicated, at the same time, great determination and
great subtlety. He could not, however, quite con-
ceal an air of vindictiveness, which displayed itself
especially when he fixed his glance on an adversary

170 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

whom he had just received with exquisite courtesy,
and who was withdrawing, convinced of the minis-
ter's favourable intentions in his behalf. He was
rather below the middle height ; dark complexioned,
with black beard and very thick eyebrows ; while
his broad shoulders and massive neck betokened the
man of vigorous energy.

CHAPTER XV.

The promenades about Constantinople— The Bairam— Mehemet-Pasha is
appointed Ambassador to England.

LEAVING the palace of the Kadin-Effendi at an
early hour, as it was a Thursday, ani as, at Con-
stantinople, each day has its particular promenade,
I directed my steps to the Sweet Waters.

This is a spot to which people resort either on
foot, in carriages, or in boats. The women keep on
one side of a long alley winding along the bank of
the stream ; the men on the other, but the inter-
vening space is small, and readily available for
purposes of flirtation. The gentlemen throw flowers,
or little complimentary notes, to the ladies ; and
the latter, if respectable, content themselves with
acknowledging the attention by the gift of a flower,
or a note of thanks, and the matter goes no further ;
for no one would dare to follow a woman of decorum.
It thus happens that young gentlemen and ladies meet
one another every day for years without becoming
acquainted ; but, on the other hand, it is through

172 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

these interviews that women of indifferent character
find opportunities of contracting intimacies with
their admirers. They reply to the notes thrown to
them, appointing a place of meeting, or giving their
name and address, so that the suitor may employ
an old woman, as a go-between, to arrange the
affair.

These promenades offer a very attractive scene at
the times when they * are frequented. The 'ladies
descend from their carriages, have a carpet spread
on the grass, and seat themselves, with their slaves,
to partake of a collation. They vie with each other
in the luxuries of the table which are set forth on
these occasions. Everywhere may be seen the
glitter of gold and silver plate. Bands of music
perform, sometimes on the ladies' side, sometimes
on the opposite. Numberless skiffs are wafted along
over the surface of the water. You may frequently
see some lady of quality, seated with coquetry on
a crimson cloth, fringed with gold, while her slaves
sit opposite to her. The various colours of the
feradjes, red, green, or blue ; the magnificence of
the equipages ; the animation called forth by the
strains of music, and the banquets enjoyed on the
grass ; the arrivals and departures of carriages and
pleasure-seekers on horseback and on foot ; the dif-

THE BA1RAM. 1?3

ferent costumes of the servants, eunuchs, and
couriers ; the picturesque costumes of the coster-
mongers ; all these afford a lively and agreeable
spectacle.

The Turkish ladies of rank never go out, on
ordinary occasions, except in daytime. During the
Eamazan, however, as before mentioned, they go
out only in the evening, and seldom come home
before midnight. Throughout that month it is
customary for the men and the eunuchs to take part
in a prayer called Teravi, which is offered at the
close of each day, and lasts for about an hour and a
half. Many ladies take advantage of this period to
go out and have an interview with their sweet- •»
hearts, under the pretext of visiting a female friend.
No husband would dare, at the risk of making him-
self an object of ridicule, to refuse his wife permis-
sion to go out with an old woman slave, to a mosque,
or to a female friend.

Indeed one of the great sources of entertainment •
among the ladies, apart from the promenade, is the
interchange of calls. It is not unusual to see at the
house of a lady of some rank, as many as twenty or
thirty visitors. They pass the time in gossiping,
watching the slaves dance, listening to songs, drink-
ing coffee or sherbet, and smoking. The ordinary

174 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAKEM.

townspeople often stay till after supper, and light
themselves home with lanterns.

The women are generally the first to learn and
circulate news. The men often visit one another,
but they are always reserved. They speak with less
restraint to their wives, and tell them, for their
entertainment, what they have heard, and what
they think of doing. The wives of the high func-
tionaries are on terms of close intimacy with other
great ladies, and repeat to them what their husbands
have said ; in this way the news is spread abroad
with unheard-of rapidity.

The Bairam now arrived, — a three days' feast
succeeding the Eamazan. This is the most memo-
rable epoch of the Mussulman year. It comprises,
in importance, both the Easter and Christmas of the
Christians.

On the first morning, every husband embraces
his wife, the children come to kiss the hands of their
parents, and friends and relatives exchange con-
gratulations and embrace each other in the streets.
Every Mussulman, from the poorest to the richest,
dresses himself in his best. The ladies go to pay their
compliments to those of higher rank than their own.
The great ladies do not make their calls until eight
days after the termination of the festival. The great

THE BA1RAM. 175

drum that, every night during the Kamazan, gave the
signal to arise from slumber, now makes its appear-
ance to offer the compliments of the season. The
watchman who beats it, marches through the streets,
followed by a crowd of children of both sexes. The
ladies, looking out through the wickets in their
lattices, give him pieces of money wrapped in
muslin handkerchiefs. At the same time, the poor
come round, offering oranges and sweetmeats, and
generally receive in exchange clothes and small
pieces of money. The men also pay visits to one
another; those of inferior degree bringing presents
of bonbons or fruit to their superiors.

On the first day of the Bairam, the Sultan goes,
on horseback, in great state, to the Mosque, accom-
panied by all the ministers, and high state officials,
the ladies of the Seraglio, the wives of the ministers
and other dignitaries. On his return, the Sultan
places himself under the cupola of the throne, and
there receives the homage of his subjects. Every-
one, on approaching his Majesty, kisses the edge of
a scarf carried by the first chamberlain of the Court.
The Grand-vezir is the first to perform this cere-
mony ; then his musteshar (lieutenant), after kissing
the scarf, salutes him, by raising his hand to his
forehead, and then takes his place at his side.

176 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Every high functionary, in the order of his degree,
follows the example.

The people celebrate the Bairam by tumultuous
rejoicings. They go in crowds to the principal
squares, where are to be seen itinerant musicians,
mountebanks, fencers, exhibitors of magic lanterns,
vendors of sweetmeats and pastry, in fact, all the
tribe one is accustomed to meet with at the public
fetes in Europe.

Three months after the Bairam, following the
Ramazan, comes the Kourban Bairam, which also
lasts three days. Every man, no matter how poor,
has two sheep allotted to him. Having uttered a
prayer, he kills both the animals, — one for himself,
the other for his wife, as, according to the Mussul-
man creed, the sheep that anyone kills in the year
of his death will serve as a steed on which he may
cross the bridge of Siraht that leads to the gate of
paradise. The rich, instead of performing the
sacrifice themselves, employ a butcher, and have
not one only, but often as many as ten or fifteen
sheep killed, according to their means. The animal
is cut into a great number of pieces, and the owner
sends a portion to each of his neighbours, and to all
to whom he is desirous of paying a compliment.

The three days of this festival is passed in enter-

THE BAJLRAM. 177

tainments, of which the poor have their full share,
so that they avail themselves of the presents that
have been made them, to provide for the present,
and to put on one side whatever food they wish to
keep during the winter. During these days the
slaves and domestics are hard at work in the
kitchen. Their chief occupation is that of prepar-
ing the meat preserves. The method they employ
is to fry and salt the meat ; this once done, they put
it inside some big jar which is covered up to the
top with an air-proof coating of grease.

CHAPTER XVI.

Departure of the Pasha for London — I remain at Constantinople — My
Situation — Sickness of Djehad-Be5T— My Alarm— Fatmah, my House-
keeper— Her Counsels— The borrowed Infant — Conduct of Fatmah
and Beshir — Their Rivalry— My Proceedings— Murder of Beshir.

IT was in the month of Eamazan, in the year
1848, that my husband was appointed ambassador
to the English Court. This appointment was occa-
sioned by the threatening attitude assumed by
Eussia by her intervention in the Austro-Hungarian
difficulty. The Porte, alarmed at the progress made
by this Power, thought it necessary to form an
alliance with the West, and particularly with Great
Britain. This delicate mission was entrusted to
Kibrizli-Mehemet-Pasha, who was intimately asso-
ciated with Eeshid-Pasha, the promoter of this new
policy.

Independently of the political reasons which
influenced this nomination, Eeshid had certain
entirely private motives for the selection of my
husband; he wished to secure the friendship and
support of the Palmerston Cabinet, and to bring

THE PASHA'S DEPARTURE. 179

financial operations to bear upon the London
market. In other words, he offered England com-
mercial and financial advantages in exchange for
the support which that Power would undertake to
give to his own policy and personal control. The
negotiations which preceded this appointment did
not take place altogether unknown to me. On the
contrary, my share in the transaction materially
assisted its prosperous issue. "With this view I
used my personal influence with the Grand-vezir,
to induce him to nominate my husband to the post,
in preference to any other candidate. Kibrizli-
Pasha used immense exertions to achieve his object,
but he thought it prudent to send me alone, in
advance, as a negociator, for he feared lest he
should compromise himself in vain. Experience
had taught him that nothing was impossible to a
woman.

Indeed, some days before the Bairam, Keshid-
Pasha's wife sent to inform me that my husband's
nomination had been laid before his Majesty, and
that, before long, the Imperial rescript would be
forwarded to us. The publication of the firman of
investiture having taken place shortly afterwards,
the Pasha received the congratulations of the corps
diplomatique, and the high dignitaries of the Porte.

N 2

JSO THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

These ceremonies concluded he made his prepara-
tions for the voyage.

Since religious prejudices and custom forbid
Mussulman wives to accompany their husbands
into a Christian country, I was, of course, unable
to go with my husband to his embassy. He, conse-
quently, took all the steps necessary to the main-
tenance of his house. To this end he spared neither
trouble nor expense, and left everything at my dis-
posal, that I, my children, my slaves, and my
domestics could possibly desire.

Our farewell greetings were most affectionate and
affecting. With tears in his eyes, the poor Pasha
could scarcely tear himself away from me and his
children. So strong was his grief that his voice was
choked with convulsive sobs. This emotion was
natural ; for it was the first time since we had
become man and wife that we were to be separated.

But these adieus were the last that we should ever
exchange, little as we suspected it. A fatal destiny
was soon to put an end to our happiness and that of
our children. If a prophetic voice could have dis-
closed the future, the poor Pasha would not have
hesitated an instant in turning with disdain from
grandeur and ambition ; never would he have con-
sented to obtain them at the cost of what he valued

1 REMAIN AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 181

more than all the world beside. Destiny, however,
whether cruel or pleasant, works its way in spite of
our wishes or fears, and these adieus, as I said, were
our last.

It was long before I could find any solace for the
grief that my husband's departure had occasioned
me. Moreover, the solitary and monotonous life I
led in my residence at Yuksek Caldirim could not
but aggravate my sorrow, by rendering my very
existence insupportable. I was principally occupiedX
in silent contemplation of the beautiful view afforded
from my window of the seven hills of Stambul,
crowned with mosques, and surrounded by houses
and gardens. The visitors who, from time to time,
came to see me did something towards enlivening .
the dreary sameness of my everyday life. Among
these, the ladies of the palace and the eunuchs of
the Seraglio afforded me most entertainment, and
for this reason, — that persons of this class are far
more sprightly and unconstrained than the towns-
people. Their manners are less affected, and conse-
quently more sincere, and thus it is that their
society is so agreeable, and brings such a charm to »
the spirit oppressed with the tedious routine of
harem life.

Amongst the eunuchs, moreover, I found friends t

182 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

whose company gave me pleasure, in that some of
them were accomplished poets and musicians.
Ferhad-Agha, for example, combined both these
qualities. He was a genuine troubadour, whose
chivalrous sentiments and gaiety of heart repelled
everything that was ignoble or that savoured of
spleen. His besetting weakness, however, was a
love of raJci ; but this was only natural: from all
time, Bacchus and the Muses have dwelt together
in harmony. Whenever, therefore, I could have my
palace friends, I never failed to welcome them. As
to the outdoor amusements offered in the public
promenades, they were things for which I had little
predilection ; besides, in Turkey, it is not etiquette
for a lady to go much abroad in the absence of her
husband. In proof of this, instances may be cited
where ladies have refrained, for many years, from
setting foot outside their houses, in order to testify
thereby their love for their absent husbands. My
horses, therefore, confined to their 'stables, had
plenty of leisure to enjoy their good fare, and grow
fat in their sloth. Whole months often passed and
I cared not to cross my threshhold.

It is clear that so retired and uneventful an
existence could not but react upon my spirits, and
afflict me with a sense of uneasiness which I should

SICKNESS OF DJEHAD, 183

find it difficult to describe. But, while thus
tormented with enforced idleness and ennui, an
unexpected and most serious event occurred to
rouse me from my lethargy, and irrevocably to
affect my future.

My boy, Djehad-Bey, was naturally of a sickly
and feeble constitution, so that he had always been
a subject of great anxiety both to me and to his
father. Soon after the Pasha left for London,
Djehad's health grew worse from day to day, so
that the physicians at length lost all hope of his
recovery. This crowned my despair, for I knew
that nothing could console his father for such a loss.
The Pasha dearly loved this child, whom he regarded
as his future heir. The death of his elder son,
Moharem-Bey, had already caused him lively sorrow,
and now, if Djehad died, he would be inconsolable.
The moment, then, seemed to me to have arrived to
carry out a plan agreed to between my husband and
myself, before he quitted Constantinople, and which
the delicate health of the boy had suggested. It
was to replace him, in the event of his death, by
another child, to be obtained secretly. Now, unless
this scheme could be executed within a given number
of weeks, so as to bring the factitious birth within a
natural period since the Pasha's departure, I knew

184 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

it would be impossible to attempt it. I kept him
informed of the critical condition of Djehad, and
received the Pasha's replies and consent to the pro-
secution of our plan, without delay, should the
necessity become imperative. But how to carry our
plan into effect was a most perplexing question.

The state of feverish excitability into which I
was thrown could not be concealed from the eyes
of my acquaintances, nor of those members of my
household who frequented my presence. My house-
1 keeper was one Fatmah, a native of Syria, to whom
my husband had entrusted the management of the
harem, and the supervision of the slaves. This
person enjoyed a certain degree of importance, in
consequence of the authority my husband had con-
ferred upon her. Her position, and the attentions
she lavished upon me, insured her free access to me,
and warranted a certain familiarity which no one
else would have dared to indulge in. She had ob-
served the change that had come over me since the
sickness of my son, and in no doubt as to its cause,
sought to pry deeper into the secrets of my heart.
Possessed of ability and tact, she was not slow in
bringing them to bear upon the subject of the
thoughts which were agitating my mind. No sooner
had she succeeded to her heart's content, than this

FATMAH'S COUNSEL. 185

vile woman conceived the diabolical scheme of taking
advantage of my confidence, by contriving a plot
which would make me her victim and place me
in her power. She had come to Constantinople
to push her fortune as an adventuress, and all
means of achieving her object were good in her
eyes.

Skilfully feigning to share my uneasiness and to
take to heart my interests, while discussing the pro-
babilities that might arise out of the death of my
poor boy, this woman, far from striving to tran-
quillize my spirits, sought to incite me to jealousy
by the suggestion of suspicions regarding my hus-
band's future course towards me, asserting that she,
herself, knew, on good authority, that the Pasha had
resolved to marry again, in case his son died. Such
an event, she remarked, would inevitably bring
about my destruction. I need scarcely say I never
told her my husband and I were agreed.

Having succeeded, by fair words and promises, in
convincing me of her devotion and exciting in my
breast the most violent emotions, Fatmah then pro-
ceeded to give me advice, and to tell me that it was
needless to give way to despair, for that, in this
world, a remedy could be found for every ill.
Pressed to explain herself more particularly, Fatmah

186 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

added, as though she had read my thoughts :—
"Well, madam, you have only to buy a child of
some unhappy creature, and to put him in the place
of your own. The Pasha's absence affords a golden
opportunity, which should not be lost."

This counsel, harmonizing with my own plan,
seemed to afford me the very opportunity I sought
of executing it ; and although my acceptance of it
involved me in a false position towards the Pasha,
in the eyes of my accomplice, I was blind to the
danger, so intense was my desire to contribute to
my husband's happiness. Even now, when I reflect
on the imprudence of which I was guilty, I cannot
believe it amounted to crime, as the party principally
concerned was privy to the deceit.

To have recourse to a feigned confinement, in
order to put forth as my own an infant that was
the offspring of another, was a simple impossibility,
for the very agents whom I should have to employ
to execute such a piece of jugglery, would be the
first to reveal the secret and compromise me before
the world.

But the phantom of that child's death that seemed
to be pursuing me, and the dread I entertained of a
catastrophe, so utterly blinded me, that I believed
everything to be possible. And so, with incon-

FATMAH'S COUNSEL. 187

celvable simplicity, it appeared to me that nothing
could be easier than to give oneself out to be
enceinte, and to borrow an infant, just as one may
borrow a costume, or set of jewels, or anything else.
As for the agents whom it was necessary to employ
in the performance of this precious trick, it never
entered into my head that they would take the
earliest opportunity of betraying me.

And, in the meantime, I was the woman whose
intellect was vaunted and admired by every one ;
she whom all were ready to consult as if she were
an oracle ! But such is the weakness of the human
mind, which from the loftiest height may fall into
the abyss of insanity and blind infatuation ! It is
an acknowledged truth that the more brains one has,
the more follies one commits. That my folly was
morally inexcusable I admit, and this conviction
has led me to endure with resignation the twenty
years of suffering to which I have been con-
demned. But this fault, which had its source in a
feeling of love, very natural in a devoted wife,
attained, thanks to the spite of my enemies, the
proportions of an infamous crime. They who
thirsted for my blood, transformed, I say, a simple
fault into a crime, and punished me by social de-
gradation, by exile, by the confiscation of every-

188 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

thing I possessed, and by condemning me to a life
of misery and shame. It is time, however, to take
up the thread of my story at the point from which I
have digressed. Fatmah succeeded in obtaining my
consent, and all the needful measures were taken to
prepare for the birth of the pretended infant. The
critical period having arrived, Fatmah went in search
of a child, and bought one from a poor woman,
who was glad to get rid of what she found too
heavy a burden.

It must here be mentioned that Fatmah was not
alone in the enterprise, for it would have been im-
possible for her to accomplish her work without
previously securing the aid of another agent. With
this view, she thought fit to take into her confidence
one of the eunuchs, named Beshir, in order that he
might have a hand in the clandestine introduction
of the infant. However, all the pains they took were
absolutely useless, inasmuch as the sickness of my
son Djehad, all of a sudden, took a favourable turn,
and his recovery was not long delayed. And so,
after all, the only result of this affair was that I
found myself charged with an additional burden,
and became the victim of those of whom I had
been the accomplice.

The blow once struck, its consequences were not

CONDUCT OF FATMAH. 189

slow in making their appearance. Fatmah and her
confederate, elated by their success, assumed, all at
once, the air of masters, and imposed their com-
mands alike upon their fellow-servants and upon me.
Seeing that my connivance in this sad affair ren-
dered me mute and powerless, these two fiends
threw the house into utter confusion.

The slaves and servants, unable any longer to
endure the insolence of these two tyrants, loudly
called for my intervention ; but as their appeals
were ineffectual, a revolt ensued. My impassible
demeanour was, not unreasonably, interpreted as a
proof of my connivance with the excesses committed
by Fatmah and Beshir. In vain I attempted to
promote tranquillity by liberally bestowing kind-
nesses, now on one, now on another. Such treat-
ment only served to light anew the fire of discord
with redoubled force, for these sacrifices had no
other'result than to excite the cupidity of the dis-
affected.

My patience quite worn out, and feeling justly
alarmed at the menacing proportions that the spirit
of sedition had assumed, I thought it necessary to call
to my assistance the authority of our man of busi-
ness, Keshid-Effendi, to endeavour to re-establish
order in my household. As Fatmah and Beshir from

100 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

associates had become sworn enemies to such a degree
as to long to kill each other, I insisted that they
should both be expelled from the house, as the only
way of preventing a catastrophe ; for the two rivals
made no mystery of their determination to take each
other's life. Eeshid, however, treated the matter
with an air of incredulity, and refused to interfere,
saying that " it was only an affair between a woman
and a eunuch/'

This reply and the indifference displayed by
Reshid-Effendi on this occasion did not contribute to
my tranquillity, for I was in a better position than
himself to judge of what passed before my eyes.
Abandoned, then, to my own resources, I found no
other alternative than to attempt one last experi-
ment : that is to say, to separate the two rivals by
dint of a pecuniary sacrifice. With this object, I
entered into negociations with Fatmah, in order to
induce her to leave the house. She consented to
take her departure, but only after extorting from
me a considerable sum.

Delighted to have got rid of this wicked woman,
I set to work to appease Beshir, who, seeing himself
fawned upon, and satisfied with gaining a triumph
over his rival, promised to conduct himself in
a becoming manner. As to the matter of the

MURDER OF BESHIR. 191

adopted child, it was agreed that it should remain
in abeyance, until the return of the Pasha, who
would make such arrangements as he thought
fit.

A month had elapsed since the departure of
Fatmah, when I had to give a reception to celebrate
the first reading of the Koran, which was to be
performed this year by my daughter Aisheh. It is
customary among Mussulmans to celebrate this event
with an eclat corresponding to the position and means
of the parents of the pupil. Invitations were ac-
cordingly sent to all our acquaintances, and no
expense was spared to make the reception a sump-
tuous one.

In the meantime Fatmah had opened a corre-
spondence with my enemies in the palace, and had
been instigated by them to revenge herself both on
me, who had discarded her, and on her mortal enemy
Beshir, by every means in her power, not even
excepting murder. She thought the best means of
introducing herself into the house, and perpetrating
the crime that she meditated, was to mingle with
the crowd of guests, and make her entrance, unob-
served in the confusion. Being informed that
Fatmah was in the house I sent for her, and inquired
her motives for making her appearance in a place

192 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

where her presence was by no means desired. Her
reply was dry and curt.

" Madam/' she said, " am I to understand that
I was expelled from your house ? — have I no right
to come to assist in the celebration of a f6te ? "

As I saw clearly, by the tone of this response, that
Fatmah would have no hesitation in creating a scene
in the midst of the guests, I thought it prudent to
retire ; not forgetting, however, to summon Beshir,
and caution him to say nothing to the woman, for I
did not wish to have a disturbance in the house. I
gave him to understand that Fatmah would only
stay a very short time, and consequently he need
not think anything at all about her.

Counting on the efficacy of the measures I had
taken, I entered the room where my guests were
assembled, and gave myself up to the duties of
hospitality.

But, while the company were regaling themselves
with the charms of music and of song, Fatmah was
engaged in the prosecution of her sanguinary designs.
Skilfully evading observation, she proceeded gently
to open the door that separated the selamlik from
the harem, and admitted one of the servants, named
Omer, who, as her lover, was to bear a hand in the
contemplated assassination. Fatmah then succeeded,

MURDER OF BESHIR. 193

by a ruse, in inveigling Beshir into the bath-room ;
there the two assassins sprang upon the unfortunate
Arab, hurled him to the ground and suffocated him.
Such was Fatmah's rage against her victim, that she
resolutely took his life herself, by sitting on his face,
while Omer contented himself by throwing hi
down, and holding his hands.

CHAPTEE XVII.

Scene after the Murder — The Assassins are given up to Justice — Man-
oeuvres of my Enemies — My Imprisonment and Trial — The Pasha is
summoned to Constantinople — Eeshid's policy — The Pasha's Mar-
riage—Dj chad's repudiation — Noble conduct of the Sultan — Confisca-
tion of my goods — My Banishment.

SCARCELY had Beshir heaved his last sigh when
the doors of the harem were broken open, and an in-
furiated crowd invaded the apartment, with cries of
" Murder ! murder ! Vengeance ! vengeance ! " Ter-
ror seized on every one. The guests took flight
from the fury of the mob. The insurgents made
their way to the room whither I had retired, with
three or four of my slaves who had remained faith-
ful to my cause. The wretches, on entering, did not
scruple to bespatter me with the blood of Beshir,
and to menace me with sabres, sticks, and other
weapons which they brandished in the air.

I must here pause to remark that amongst this
swarm of invaders, there were not more than five or
six members of my household ; the remainder,
numbering, perhaps, thirty or thereabouts, were

SCENE AFTER THE MURDER. 195

strangers, whose presence at this moment is quite
incomprehensible. It would appear as though they
had been collected together in order to give a
theatrical effect to the tragedy.

Order could only be restored through the inter-
vention of the police, who lost no time in appearing
on the scene of the disaster. The police agents
hastened to make out their official report, by sub-
mitting the assassins to examination. When they
came to inquire into the motives for the commission
of the crime, a scene of violence ensued. On the
one hand, those who sought my destruction boiste-
rously called upon Fatmah and Omer to inculpate
me alone ; on the other, these preserved an obsti-
nate silence. This strife was carried on for some
time without inducing the culprits to depose that it
was solely by my orders that they had killed the
•eunuch. It was only through a hint that by this
means alone could they hope to escape capital
punishment, that the two murderers were induced
to avow I had ordered them to put Beshir to death.
As soon as the depositions were taken, the prisoners
were conducted, under escort, to the office of the
Minister of Police, to take their trial.

During the course of these tragic events, my
enemies, and those of my husband, tried their

o 2

196 THIRTY YEAES IN THE HAREM.

utmost to achieve our ruin. My enemies were
delighted to have, at last, found the means of
crushing me for ever, and putting it out of my
power to injure them. The political enemies of my
husband, on their part, hastened to take advantage
of the opportunity afforded them of separating us,
and so destroying our combined action. Without
* me, Mehemet-Pasha was a half-disabled foe, for it
was well known what a part I had had in his pro-
motion. It was through me that an understanding
had been established between him and the Grand-
vezir, and it was by my efforts that his nomination
to the post of Minister for Foreign Affairs had been
spoken of with favour. Such an event, his opponents
well knew, would be a death-blow to them. These
said enemies were the Valideh, the Sultan's mother ;
Mehemet-Ali-Pasha ; Mehemet-Pasha, Minister of
Police ; Eifaat, and a host of other Pashas more
or less influential.

Impelled by such motives, these people made as
great an uproar as possible, and spread false reports
of my alleged crimes and atrocities. The journals,
native and foreign, were filled with stories designed
to gratify public credulity, and to exhibit my cha-
racter under the most revolting aspect. This was
an easy task, for I had no one to take my part.

MY IMPKISONMENT. 197

Finding that, by such means, they had produced
the desired effect, my enemies had recourse to legal
proceedings, and procured my arrest. Four days,
indeed, after Beshir's death, I received a summons
to appear before the Minister of Police to answer
the charges that had been brought against me.
Tearing myself from my children, and from those
about me who had remained faithful, I got into my
carriage, and was driven to the office. I was then
confined in a house which the Government had pre-
pared and furnished for the occasion. My keepers
were two female servants and a domestic, in the
confidence of the minister, and upon whom he could
rely. As to the treatment I had to undergo from
them during my imprisonment, I may say that
while, on the one hand, they affected to lavish on
me those attentions which were due to a woman in
my position, on the other hand they resorted to
every means of intimidation.

It was thought advisable, in order to overcome my
obstinacy, to threaten me with the most exquisite
tortures ; and, to show that they were not jesting,
the police-agents busied themselves in recounting all
the horrible cruelties of which their master was
capable. They told me, amongst other things, that
when the old Pasha was Governor of Cyprus he had

198 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

a number of people impaled and burnt, in the most
cold-blooded manne r imaginable. These threats and
anecdotes could not but produce a painful impres-
sion upon me, and the rather because I knew that
the Valideh-Sultan and my other enemies were
eagerly thirsting for my blood.

There were moments, especially during the silent
watches of the night, when my spirit succumbed,
beneath the pressure of the moral torments I was
condemned to suffer. At such a time, despair had
full dominion over me, for I knew I could look for
no mercy at the hands of enemies who had sworn to
push their schemes of vengeance to the utmost limits.
After subjecting me to threats and terrorism, the
Minister of Police finally summoned me to his
presence. A kind of sitting was held, in which the
Minister himself, Kifaat^Pasha, and a secretary took
part. This court was a regular hole-and-corner
concern. The two Pashas proceeded there to give
a cursory resume of the affair, after which they put
questions to me, the object of which was to make me
confess my participation in the murder of Beshir.
My answer, from which I never swerved, was as
follows : —

" I never gave any order of the kind, nor have I,
in any way, been a party to the crime. Indeed," I

MY TKIAL. 199

said to the two Pashas, who were gazing at me in
astonishment, "do you think that if I had wished to
rid myself of Beshir, I should have been so stupid
as to have him strangled in so public a manner,
while with a few pennyworths of poison I could
have made away with him quietly enough ? More-
over, if I had made any choice between the two, I
should have striven to get rid of Fatmah rather than
of Beshir, for it is she to whom I owe all my

sorrow."

Seeing that their questioning was fruitless, the two
Pashas did not repeat their sittings more than twice.

In speaking of what happened to me while I was
in prison, I ought to mention how the confiscation
of my jewellery took place. Some days after my
incarceration three police-officers made their appear-
ance, and desired me to give up to them the casket
containing my jewels. These consisted of a quantity
of necklaces, girdles, chains, &c., all set with bril-
liants, and their value would amount to about six
or seven thousand pounds sterling. All these articles
were counted over, one by one, after which the
minister's seal was affixed to the casket. When this
was done, the officers informed me that these jewels
would remain in their custody until such time as I
was set at liberty, and then they would be restored

200 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to me untouched. "When I ventured to ask for a
receipt for the jewels' I had entrusted to them, the
only answer I could obtain was that their instruc-
tions forbid them to comply with my request.

It is needless to remark that from that moment
my jewels were taken away from me altogether. On
the arrival of my husband from London, the Govern-
ment hastened to place them in his hands. This
arbitrary act was a flagrant violation of the Mussul-
man laws, which maintains respect for the property
of a wife.

While these things were going on in the office of
the Minister of Police, intrigues outside were run-
ning their free course. The enemies of Eeshid-
Pasha's cabinet were making superhuman efforts to
crush, at one blow, myself and my husband. Taking
advantage of the prevalent public feeling, they en-
deavoured to make my affair a ministerial question,
and impeached Keshid-Pasha for shielding me.

The Grand-vezir, indeed, saw that it was im-
possible to save me from the hands of my enemies,
for such a course would have been fatal to his
administration.

Compelled to yield before such a coalition, Eeshid
found himself under the necessity of abandoning
me to my fate.

KESHID'S POLICY. 201

However, he did his best to save Kibrizli-Pasha
from being involved in my ruin ; for, by so doing,
he neutralised the efforts of those who were seek-
ing to disable one of his colleagues. With this
object, therefore, he forthwith summoned my
husband to Constantinople, held sundry long con-
ferences with him, and succeeded in persuading him
of the necessity of appeasing the clamours of the
opposition by repudiating me.

This sacrifice, as I learnt afterwards, cost the
poor Pasha many tears, but political exigences pre-
vailed over sentimental and all other considerations,
and my husband was forced to bow to the will of
his chief. My divorce was immediately notified to
me by the emissaries of the Minister of Police, who
handed me back my dowry, a mere trifle, and made
me sign a receipt. My enemies, meanwhile, were
not satisfied with this concession on the part of
Kibrizli and Keshid, inasmuch as they suspected
them of entertaining the idea* of restoring me to
my former position, so soon as the temporary
excitement should have calmed down. Under the
influence of this suspicion they continued to
clamour against me and to denounce Eeshid.

The latter then formed the opinion that the best
means of putting an end to these denunciations was

202 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to get another wife for Kibrizli-Pasha, and thereby
to separate him irrevocably from me. In fact no
other guarantee could have satisfied those who
wished to take advantage of existing circumstances
to effect my irremediable ruin.

This necessity, then, obliged Keshid to seek a
wife for his colleague, and the choice of the Grand-
vezir fell on a lady named Ferideh, the sister of one
of his favourites. Thus Kibrizli-Pasha was compelled
to marry a wife whom he had never set eyes on,
and for whom he entertained no predilection.

After remaining four months in prison, it was
high time that I should be informed of the decision
that had been come to with regard to the question
of my guilt. One of the Minister's secretaries
brought me the intelligence that Fatmah and Omer
had been condemned to the galleys, and that I was
to be banished to Asia Minor, whence, at the expi-
ration of some months, they would allow me to
return. This measure, he informed me, had been
prompted by the necessity under which the admi-
nistration found themselves of calming the mind
and closing the mouth of the public. When the
Minister of Police himself notified to me this deci-
sion of the Government, I made him the following
reply : —

DJEHAD'S REPUDIATION. 203

" You have taken from me my husband, my
children, all that I had in the world ; why not take
my life also ? I have no longer anything that can
lead me to desire to live ; kill me, and all will be
over !"*

In speaking these words, I had no doubt what-
ever but that the cup of my sufferings was already
full to overflowing. But I was to be subjected to
yet another trial. Some days before I went into
exile, the Minister of Police sent for me, and spoke
as follows : —

" There is one question, madam, as to which we
pray you to have the goodness to give an explana-
tion before your departure, for neither the Pasha nor
we can permit any doubt to remain on the matter.
The infant whom you borrowed naturally throws
some suspicion on the birth of Mustapha-Djehad-
Bey ; for all the world will say that if one child has
been borrowed, so, in all likelihood, has the other.
As to your husband, he does not believe the boy
belongs to him ; nevertheless, he wishes to have a
deposition on your part, that he may know what to
think and what to do."

It did not require a very acute perception to see
through the manoeuvre cloaked beneath these words.
But, at the moment, I failed to account for it, and

204 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to divine the true nature of the snare thus laid for
me. From the circuitous language employed by the
Minister, I could see that there was mischief in the
case, but what it was I could not make out. To
escape from this embarrassment without1* falling
into the snare, I thought it necessary to reply
in an evasive manner, which, while dispelling the
intrigues of rny foes, would secure me liberty of
action.

Moreover, it appeared to me that an answer of this
kind would be the best means of revenging myself
on a man who had abandoned me without a word,
for the sole reason that he feared to compromise his
political interests. Clearly, for him, an evasive
response would be equivalent to a disavowal or
denial of the parentage of his son, for a simple
doubt as to his birth would compel the Pasha to
separate himself from him. But what above all
induced me to follow such an unnatural course as
that of denying my own child was the fear I enter-
tained with respect to Djehad's safety. I could not
consent to leave in the hands of my rival Ferideh
a child who was her natural enemy, inasmuch as
only by his death could she hope to lay hands on
the whole inheritance. My reply, therefore, was
couched in the following terms : —

DJEHAD'S REPUDIATION. 205

" Is it possible that a man should not know his
own child ? If the Pasha says that Djehad is not
his child, that is a proof that he must have been
borrowed also/'

This answer puzzled the Minister of Police, and
he did his best to extract a straightforward reply
from me. For my part, I persisted in reiterating
what I had already said, as though they were the
last words I had to utter.

My conduct actually produced the desired result.
Kibrizli-Pasha having been informed that I had
refused to proclaim distinctly the legitimacy of his
son Djehad, found himself constrained to separate
from him.

After my return from exile, the question of
Djehad's legitimacy was several times raised by
Kibrizli-Pasha, who made me many advances and
offers in order to induce me to make an explicit de-
claration on the subject. However, as he, on his
part, refused to accord me the satisfaction I de-
manded, the matter remained in suspense.

The penalty of exile decreed against me by virtue
of an Imperial rescript was the finishing blow by
which the Valideh-Sultan endeavoured to crush me.
Abdul-Medjid, with that generosity for which he
was distinguished, at first refused to affix his signa-

206 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

ture to any such document. I have heard it said
that the Sultan observed to his mother that, my parti-
cipation in the murder of the Arab not having been
substantiated, there were no grounds for punishing
me. As to the affair of the borrowed infant, the
Sultan was of opinion that it concerned no one ex-
cept my husband. Seeing that her son refused to
lend himself as the facile instrument of her will, the
* Sultana had recourse to a theatrical demonstration
in order to extort the much-desired signature. She
called the chief of the eunuchs, and told him that
the only means of getting me punished w^as for him
to throw himself at the feet of his Majesty, and
entreat him to execute justice on the guilty. That
very night, the chief of the eunuchs awaited the
Sultan near the door of the harem, and, on his enter-
ing, threw himself at his Majesty's feet, crying with
a loud voice, ." Your Majesty, take pity on us un-
happy creatures, otherwise the women will murder
us all ! " Next day the Sultan signed the decree,
banishing me for an indefinite period.

v'

On the day fixed for my departure, the Minister
of Police sent for me, and communicated to me the
order banishing me to Asia Minor. He made a
hypocritical pretence of feeling deeply touched at
my fate, and entrusted me, with a show of the

MY BANISHMENT. 207

warmest interest, to the charge of an officer who was
to escort me. With an excess of courtesy, he
placed at my service his own. carriage, to convey
me to the steam-packet about to start for Ismid
(Nicomedia).

I may add that, for some reason or other, it was
thought advisable to conceal from me the place of
my destination, which proved to be Koniah, in Cap-
padocia. On leaving, I never dreamt of taking
anything that might be of use to me. I got into
the carriage, accompanied by a single slave, and with
no means beyond about one hundred francs in small
change, which I usually carried with me for trifling
current expenses.

On arriving at Ismid, I was courteously received
by the governor, who came to meet me, and con-
ducted me to the presence of his wives, in whose
apartments a room had been prepared for my accom-
modation. After a brief repose, I took some refresh-
ment offered me by my host. While convers-
ing with him, I noticed, every time he looked
at me, that his face assumed a look of sadness
and commiseration. I questioned him as to the
cause.

" I am grieved to think of the orders I have to
comply with, as regards you, madam."

208 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

" Indeed ! and what are those orders ? " I
asked.

" They are of such a character that I dare not
inform you."

" Don't be afraid. I am prepared for whatever
may be my lot. You can tell me of nothing worse
than death, and that I am ready to undergo."

" I am commanded," said he, " to prepare an
escort, and to send you to Koniah, a town distant
from here a fortnight's journey."

" Do your duty. As for me, I will go wherever
they please to send me. Whether to this place or
to that, it matters not."

" Then to-morrow morning a palanquin shall be
got ready for you, and I will make the necessary
arrangement for your journey."

"I do not require a palanquin. A horse will
suffice for me."

Next day, before setting out, I freed the slave
who had attended me thus far, as I was unwilling
to involve her in my misfortunes. I then com-
menced my journey, in bitterly cold weather,
escorted by some ten or twelve cavasses. The
indifference I manifested produced a greater im-
pression upon them than the most violent demon-
strations of despair could have done. I saw big

MY BANISHMENT. 209

tears rolling down their cheeks when I mounted my
horse. " Is it possible," they remarked to each
other, " that, on account of a wretched negro, they
should thus persecute a woman. Why make such
a fuss about a negro who was bought for a few
piastres ? He was her property, and our law lays
down no punishment for those who take the lives of
their own slaves."

" What you say, my good friends, is of no use.
I must obey without a word, since complaint would
be vain."

Everywhere I passed, the governors of the towns
and the sheiks of the villages endeavoured, by every
means in their power, to alleviate the fatigues I had
to endure. They welcomed me with their utmost
hospitality ; gave me their best rooms ; and spread
before me most beautiful repasts. The mudirs, or
commanders of the small towns, would pass the
night under a canopy, in order to give up to me
their only bed. The further I advanced, the more
severe became the cold. I had to cross lofty moun-
tain ranges covered with snow, in which our horses
frequently sank up to the girths. I was sometimes
obliged to rein in my horse to prevent him from
being suffocated by the thick masses of snow that
lay in the path we had to follow. My conductors

210 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

themselves were astonished at the vigour I dis-
played. The fact is, every depressing thought had
been banished from my mind. I had so resolutely
fixed my determination, that I would bear, without
impatience, whatever happened to me.

CHAPTEK XVIII.

Life at Koiriah — Hospitality of Hafiz-Pasha — Singular Ideas of his Wives —
I am invited to visit Tchelebi-Effendi, chief of the Dervishes — Des-
cription of this People— Frederick's arrival — Departure of Hafiz-Pasha.

AT length we reached Koniah, and I was left in
a house without casements to the windows, and
falling into ruins. The sorrows I had experienced,
the fatigues of so long a journey, as well as the
cold, to which I had not been habituated, seriously
affected my health. I fell ill on the very day of my
arrival. The woman in charge of the house and a
Greek doctor she called in took care of me, and
succeeded in effecting my recovery.

I was especially anxious to learn whether the
Government had given the necessary orders to
provide me with the means of subsistence. In the
meantime, the mushir invited me to call on him.
I found him to be animated by the most kindly
feelings towards me, and asked him whether he had
received any authority to supply me with the funds
necessary to meet my expenses.

212 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

" I have received no instructions in the matter,"
lie answered ; " but your situation moves my com-
passion. I see that you are persecuted. If you
like, you shall come and live with my wives ; you
will have no expenses ; and I will give you five
hundred piastres a month, which is just what I
allow them for their little amusements."

As I was not acquainted with the governor, I was
afraid to go and reside in his house, but I accepted
his offer of money, and received it without trouble
for a whole year. At the end of this period, Hafiz-
Pasha came to take the place of the preceding
mushir in the command of the garrison of Koniah.
The new governor was a worthy old man of nearly
sixty, who had known me at my uncle's house when
I was quite a child. Some days after his arrival I
went to pay my compliments, when he received me
with truly paternal affection.

" How happy I am, my daughter, to meet you
here. I am told that you live in a house by your-
self. You are thereby incurring the risk of being
carried off by brigands, or other lawless characters.

v -'

I Come and stay with me. You will be well received
*> by my wives ; you will not have to dream of any

expense; and I will give you whatever I afford

them."

HAFIZ-PASHA. 213

I eagerly accepted so benevolent an offer, and
took up my residence in his harem, which was well
provided, for he had four wives who cherished him
as though he were a spoilt child. These were not
the only wives he had taken in the course of his
matrimonial career. It was said that Hafiz was a
regular Bluebeard, who had had at least a dozen.
But, for all these rumours, he was a virtuous man,
who did nothing beyond what the Koran sanctioned :
he had never had more than four wives at a time ;
but as soon as a vacancy occurred, Hafiz-Pasha
hastened to fill up the gap by taking a new wife. In
presenting me to his wives, the Pasha sought to
interest them in my favour by language which,
showed the purity of his thoughts, and the generosity
of his heart.

" Whichever of you loves me the best/7 said he,
" will prove her affection by the care she takes of
this bird that has come to seek shelter beneath our
roof."

These poor women, though simple and ill-educated,
did not the less endeavour to make themselves agree-
able to me in every particular. They discharged all the
duties of hospitality in a most praiseworthy manner ;
they gave up to me the best room in the harem ;
one took charge of my clothing ; another conducted

214 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

me to the batli ; a third assisted me in my toilette ;
a fourth put my room to-rights ; one would say, on
seeing how they conducted themselves, that my
power over them was that of a mistress over her
slaves. These noble women, accustomed to humble
themselves to give pleasure, could conceive of no
other means of testifying their friendship than by
the performance of almost servile duties, whilst
they proved their true affection by banishing every
thought of jealousy on my account. Although they
were all jealous of one another, yet they had full
confidence in me ; I was the confidante of their
troubles and their desires, and we became inse-
parable companions. What they wished for beyond
everything else was to please their husband ; but
they knew of no artifice by which they could effect
this object. " You are so good and so clever," said
one of them to me one day, " that I am sure you
will consent to make me a charm (talisman) to
inspire the Pasha with love for me."

" Oh," I replied, " you think me a great deal
wiser than I am. How should I know how to
compose so powerful a charm ? "

" If you choose," she insisted, " you certainly will
be able."

I saw that if I continued to refuse I should only

SINGULAR IDEAS OF THE WIVES. 215

succeed in alienating her affection, without con-
vincing her of the folly of her request.

" Very well, my dear/' said I ; " I will endeavour
to comply with your wishes."

Accordingly, next day, I took some powdered
sugar, mixed with it some salt, and put the whole
into a small bag of silk, fastened with string tied
into sundry very complicated knots. " Here/' said
I, handing her the bag, "this is the charm you
asked me for. To-night, when the Pasha is sitting
smoking in the midst of you, do you silently
unfasten the string, and suddenly throw the
contents into the chafing-dish." She did as I
recommended.

" What is the meaning of this noise and this
smoke ? " cried the Pasha, hearing the crackling of
the salt in the fire, and seeing the smoke of the
burnt sugar.

"It is doubtless the slave who has put some bad
coals into the brazier," said the poor wife, all in a
tremble.

The Pasha, observing her demeanour, guessed
what she had been about, but made no sign. He
resolved to fulfil her desire, and to keep her with
him all that night. I leave to conjecture whether
or not she remained convinced of the efficacy of my

216 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

witchcraft. "When I had once gained the reputation
of being a skilled sorceress, each wife, in her turn,
came to ask me for some magic means of increasing
the love of her husband. One of them, more am-
bitious, implored me persistently for a long time to
teach her some charm by which she might become
a mother, promising me, in return, a very consider-
able sum. I gave her a large bag of ground potash,
recommending her to go frequently to the bath, and
every time put into it a spoonful of this compound,
which was of singular potency for effecting the
desired result. As luck would have it, she became
enceinte shortly afterwards. To tell what caresses
she lavished upon me would be an impossibility.
All these women were thus thoroughly convinced of
my profound knowledge of the occult sciences, to
my great amusement.

All Eastern women are persuaded of the .efficacy
of talismans, charms, philtres, and all the ridiculous
tricks of sorcery. A great number of women and
men (for the latter engage in it also) live by this
means on the credulity of their fellow-creatures.
But it is not so amusing to learn that through the
ignorance, or occasionally the malevolence of sor-
cerers and sorceresses, serious consequences ensue ;
frequently even death, through swallowing, under

THE KONIAH DEKVISHES. 217

the advice of these wretches, some most incongruous
mixture or other.

During my stay at the house of Hafiz-Pasha I
was invited by Tchelebi-Effendi to spend some days
at his palace. He was chief of the Mevlevih
Dervishes, and the last descendant of the Abassides,
who would be heirs to the Ottoman throne if the
race of the now reigning Sultans should become
extinct. This personage enjoys the privilege of
girding on the Sultan's sword on the day of his
proclamation. At Koniah and elsewhere, he is held
in boundless consideration ; the mushir, the cadi,
the nakib, and all the other dignitaries of the town,
although completely independent of his authority,
nevertheless show him such respect that their power
appears insignificant compared to that which he
exercises over people's consciences. No one would
presume to sit down in his presence. All through-
out the East, the dervishes maintain a great number
of religious houses, where they receive, without dis-
tinction, all travellers, poor and rich. The latter by
no means consider it beneath them to avail them-
selves of the simple and cordial hospitality of these
holy men, who afford food and lodging for three
days, without ever accepting the slightest remune-
ration.

218 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

The Mevlevih Dervishes go through a singular
exercise in the mosques, consisting of a peculiar
dance. They join hands in a circle, facing out-
wards, and whirl rapidly round, raising at intervals
a guttural cry, very like a bark. They sometimes
keep it up for several hours with surprising velo-
city, and without showing any sign of fatigue or
giddiness.

Tchelebi-Effendi received me with marked kind-
ness, and made me take a place on the divan beside
him. He seemed greatly touched at my fate ;
offered to intercede for me at Constantinople, and
confided to me the troubles he had with his wives.
I remained several days in his palace, and did my
best to reconcile the ladies to one another ; an
attempt in which I succeeded ; after which I
returned to Hafiz-Pasha.

As Tchelebi-EiFendi had said, he addressed a peti-
tion to the Divan in my favour, which was supported
by the dignitaries residing at Koniah. Several times
was this application renewed, but always without
effect. I subsequently found that all these petitions
had been suppressed on their arrival by the ministers
who had been the cause of my troubles.

Months, years passed away without any change
in my situation, which would have been sad and

FREDERICK'S ARRIVAL. 219

wearisome in the extreme, but for the generous hos-
pitality of the worthy governor.

I need scarcely say that during my stay at
Koniah, the mental depression which weighed upon
me as an exile could not be alleviated, either by the,
sympathy or generous kindness which the good
Hafiz-Pasha and his family bestowed on me. I can
say that, though exiled in body, my spirit was at
Constantinople with the objects of my affection, my
children and my husband. Day and night my
thoughts carried me to my native land, and I felt^
almost inconsolable ; frequently, in a fit of despair,
I turned my eyes to heaven, and cried, " My God,
when will my afflictions cease ? — when shall I find
peace ? The fervency of my prayers brought about
my deliverance in an almost miraculous way, for the
Almighty sent me a protector in my son Frederick,
who came unexpectedly to my assistance, comforting
me in my sorrow, and reviving me in the midst of
my enemies.

The reader will remember my stating at the be-
ginning how I had left at Rome my daughter Eve-
lyn and Frederick, my eldest son. Since my mar-
riage with Kibrizli-Pasha I had entirely lost sight
of these dear children, who had been placed in con-
vents, and brought up under the care of their aunt.

220 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

It happened, however, that Frederick on his re-
turn to Constantinople, hearing of my persecution
and exile, determined on joining his fate to mine.
Driven almost to madness by the love of a mother
he had scarcely seen, he threw himself at the feet of
Mehemet-Ali-Pasha, the then Minister of War,
1854, and implored him to allow him to join his
mother, she to whom he owed his existence.

The Pasha, touched by this proof of filial affec-
tion, acceded to his prayer, and immediately issued
the orders necessary to enable him to proceed to
Koniah. Mehemet-Ali also gave him out of his
private purse the sum of thirty pounds to provide
him with the funds for the journey.

I had gone one day to visit one of my friends,
who lived near to the tomb of the patron saint of
Koniah, and was resting myself near a window,
when we heard a knock at the door. My friend
hastened to ascertain who it was, but, instead of
coming back to me, she remained talking in a low
voice with the stranger, whoever it might be.

Animated by a feeling of curiosity, I looked to-
wards the door, and all at once saw an elegant
looking young man, dressed in uniform, who
suddenly walked into the room and up to the
place where I was sitting.

FREDERICK'S ARRIVAL. 221

This strange apparition, and the boldness shown
by the youth alarmed me, and involuntarily I re-
coiled and was about to rise from my seat, when
the stranger threw his arms round my neck, crying
out, —

" Don't you know me, mother ? I am Frederick."

These words quite overcame me, for at that
moment of supreme excitement I could scarcely
believe my eyes, or trust my ears. Frederick, whom
I had left almost an infant, and whom I considered
as lost to me for ever, could it possibly be the
handsome young fellow before me ? Was it a
dream, the past thirteen years, or was it reality ?

My poor boy, enraptured by the sight of a mother
upon whom he could at last gaze, kissed me over
and over again, holding me in his arms, and seemed
never tired of looking at me. He took out his
purse, containing his whole wealth, and placed it in
my hands, saying, —

:< Take it, mother ; you are poor, but I love you."

From that moment the fairest prospects seemed
opening before me ; I was no longer a desolate and
deserted woman without a defender or helper. The
news of my dear son's arrival produced a great sen-
sation at Koniah, all my friends sharing in my joy.

Frederick, who had assumed the name of Osman-

222 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Bey, remained with me a month, and on his return
to Constantinople did his best in order to have me
recalled from exile. It was owing to intelligence I
received from him that decided me on endeavouring
to make my escape, so as to join him at Constanti-
nople, or wheresoever else he might be, and this
without delay.

Before my departure from Koniah, an incident
occurred which brought great trouble on the town,
and was the cause of much dissension. A married
man had gone as a soldier, leaving his wife at home.
While engaged on a certain expedition, he disap-
peared, and was believed to be dead. As often hap-
pened in these provinces, the towns of which are
encircled by desert plains, on which the inhabitants
pasture immense flocks, the wife was carried off by
a miscreant, who took her with him to a remote
part, and when she informed him of the disappear-
ance of her husband, he married her.

Presently the husband returned, discovered his
wife, and wished to take her back, but her paramour
refused to restore her, pretending that, according to
his version of the Mussulman law, the former had
been absent a sufficient time to permit of his wife's
re-marrying. The complainant answered that she
might perhaps have been able, of her own accord,

DEPARTURE OF HAFIZ-PASHA. 223

to contract a second marriage, but she had not, in
this case, been a free agent. The Pasha was disposed
to order the restoration of the wife to her former
husband, but the other magistrates, holding to the
text of the law, maintained the validity of the second
marriage. Of a most determined character, the
governor, instead of yielding in a matter that had so
little interest for him, envenomed the dispute to
such a degree that he soon came to an open rupture
with the ulemas and other authorities. His position
became insupportable, and one morning he set off,
incognito, for Constantinople, leaving his wives
behind him. Very soon after his arrival in the
capital he obtained the government of Trebizond,
and then sent for his harem ; nevertheless, he con-
tinued the pension he had allowed me while I was
living under his roof.

CHAPTER XIX.

I take flight from Koniah — Kutayeh— I reach Constantinople — Protection
is extended to ine by Eeshid- Pasha.

ABOUT four years had now elapsed since I went
into exile, and no answer had ever been returned to
the various applications addressed on my behalf to
Constantinople. I had every reason to believe that
I was to remain, for an indefinite period, in a
country where, since the departure of Hafiz-Pasha,
I felt myself in anything but a safe position. I
therefore presented myself before the authorities
who were in charge, pending the arrival of a succes-
sor to the late governor, and asked for a passport to
enable me to return to the capital.

" I am not under the burden of any condemna-
tion; I was ordered to be transported hither, and
here I have been for four years. As you have not
been forbidden to let me go, I am come to demand
the necessary documents to afford me a free and
safe passage."

MY FLIGHT. 225

" If you were a person of ordinary condition, we
would comply with your request," they replied;
"but you are the wife of a minister, and we might
compromise ourselves by giving you leave to go."

" I have done my duty in warning you of my
intention, and I have nothing more to add." So
saying, I withdrew.

Taking what little I had saved out of the libe-
rality of Hafiz-Pasha, I came to terms with two of
the inhabitants, who engaged, for four thousand
piastres (about £40), to conduct me, by devious
paths, to the vicinity of Constantinople. In order
not to arouse suspicion, I went one night, accom-
panied by a single servant, to a farm situate beyond
the walls, to which I often used to go, the pro-
prietor being one of the richest persons in the
country, who had always shown me the greatest
kindness.

I had given my guides notice of the rendezvous,
and they were waiting for me, with horses for them-
selves, for me, and my servant. We set out at once
to traverse the immense plains of Caramania, travel-
ling night and day, through the most deserted
places, carefully avoiding the towns and villages,
and taking only such rest as was absolutely neces-
sary to prevent ourselves and our horses from break-

226 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

ing down with fatigue. We had to cross steep and
dangerous mountains ; and finally, after a journey
of four days, and without meeting with any mis-
hap, we reached Kutayeh, on leaving which the
country became more inhabited and safer. We could
not go on from thence to Constantinople without an
authority from the governor of the place.

Not well knowing how I should manage to get
the requisite authority, I, with my companions, put
up at the house of a lady, named Aish-Bey, a sort
of muscular woman who used to carry on mercantile
pursuits between Constantinople and Kutayeh. On
alighting I represented myself to her as the wife
of a colonel who had died in the Crimea. I had
not been long in bed when my hostess, knocking
at the door, came to inform me that the Pasha's
secretary wanted to speak to me. The visit of
this official at such an hour foreboded no good, and
it was not without considerable trepidation that I
saw him presently enter the room. His face, how-
ever, wore an expression of courtesy that augured
favourably.

" His Excellency the Pasha," said he, " takes it
very much amiss that you have not thrown yourself
on his hospitality instead of taking up your quarters
here. He has sent me, therefore, to express his

MY FLIGHT. 227

regret on this account, and to request your kind per-
mission to call and pay his respects to you to-

morrow."

I answered, as in duty bound, that I should be
most happy to be honoured by such a visit, and
I thanked the governor for his kind attention in
giving me notice of the proposed compliment.

The secretary then withdrew, leaving me several
boxes of sweetmeats and other delicacies, sent by
the Pasha's wives.

My attendants had been so imprudent as to let
out that I had come from Koniah, and, as my escape
had been talked of on all sides, the governor at
once knew perfectly well who I was ; but, since he
had been acquainted with me for a long time, he
was unwilling, by arresting me, to lend himself to
the evil designs of my persecutors. For this reason
he had the delicacy to notify his good feelings to-
wards me, fearing lest I should be led to commit
some imprudence through uncertainty as to his
intentions.

On the morrow he made his appearance magnifi-
cently attired, and respectfully saluted me by kissing
the hem of my robe. He consented, after a polite
show of resistance, to seat himself on the same

divan with myself. After conversing on various

Q -•

228 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

unimportant subjects, he questioned me about my-
self, and the motives for my journey. I told him
that I was returning to Constantinople, and requested
him to furnish me with the necessary pass, to
enable me to proceed on my way. Satisfied with
the result of our conversation, in which he had
displayed the most courteous and obliging dis-
position, he promised to give me the authority I
required, and withdrew, giving me an invitation,
which I accepted, to pass the remainder of the day
at his house.

This delay caused me some uneasiness, for I
dreaded every moment lest I should see the arrival
of messengers from Koniah sent in pursuit of me ;
an event that would have seriously complicated the
situation. My two guides, filled with alarm, secreted
themselves in the stable when they saw the governor
approaching. " It is all over with us," they said
to each other. "In return for the pay we have
received, we shall be prevented from ever return-
ing to our wives and children. The lady whom
we have conducted thus far is the wife of
a great personage, and it is certain that they
have come to arrest us forthwith and carry us off
to prison." Fearing to excite suspicion, they dare
not leave by daylight, for their strange appearance

KUTAYEH.

could not fail to attract attention. I boldly went
to the Pasha's house, and he welcomed me at the
head of the stairs, introduced me to his wives, who
received me very kindly, and gave me quite a ban-
quet by way of supper.

Desirous of fulfilling his promise in a manner
altogether noble and generous, he sent for his secre-
tary, and instructed him to make out the pass in
whatever terms I should dictate.

" Write," said I, " that all commanders of troops
and way-wardens are commanded to pass and to
give protection and assistance to Fatmah-Hanum,
of Kutayeh, returning to Constantinople on busi-
ness, and intending to stay there about two
months."

The passport was made out accordingly, and the
governor, in order to arrange everything with still
greater muuificence, gave me a purse full of gold,
to help to defray the expenses of the journey, and
moreover granted me an escort of four cavasses.

When I returned to my hostess, I found my
guides more dead than alive : they were expecting
every moment to be taken bodily and dragged
before the Pasha. Summoning them forthwith, I
made them read the paper that had been drawn up
for me, and they could not believe their eyes. Next

230 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

morning I set off at daybreak, and after three days'
good riding I reached the Gulf of Nicomedia at a
point called Dil-bash ; from there a sort of barge
conveyed me straight to Constantinople, by the side
of the custom-house. I then rewarded the cavasses
and guides who had attended me thus far, and
intrusted them with a letter of thanks to their
master.

On approaching the town I was accosted by
an official, who demanded my papers. "If we
are so unusually exacting," said he, "it is because
the wife of a Minister of State has escaped from
Koniah, and we have received very strict orders
as regards ladies returning to Constantinople.
Fatmah-Hanum of Kutayeh," he added, reading my
passport ; "she is a merchant of my acquaintance "
(here he looked fixedly at me). " I have heard her
spoken of frequently. She is not travelling on
business to-day for the first time." Whereas the
beginning of his speech filled me with terror, the
conclusion strongly tempted me to laugh, but 1
restrained myself.

Instead of seeking the hospitality of some person
of high position, in which case my arrival would
have created a sensation, I went to the dwelling
of an old woman, whom, in the days of my pro-

I REACH CONSTANTINOPLE. 231

sperity, I was accustomed to employ to amuse me
with her stories. I gave her what was necessary to
furnish me a room, and then wrote to Fety-Pasha,
who, as ambassador in Paris, had received me so
kindly in time past, to ask if any harm could come
to me in case of my retreat being discovered. He
hastened to send me his secretary Yusuf with
assurances that I had absolutely nothing to fear.
Yusuf was at the same time bearer of a stock of
linen and dresses besides a round sum of money,
which his Highness put at my disposal.

I sent the woman at whose house I was lodging
to find out the state of public affairs, for I knew
not to whom I could apply for protection with any
certainty. She could not obtain any positive infor-
mation, and I then intrusted her with a letter to
Fehim-Effendi, one of my husband's relatives,
who had always shown himself animated by bad
feelings towards me, begging him to come and see
me, without letting him know who I was.

He came accordingly, and was profoundly as-
tonished when he saw me.

" How came you here ? " he cried. " It is impos-
sible that you can have found your way from
Koniah, without meeting anyone to stop you. The
roads were all carefully watched."

232 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

As I was anxious not to compromise anyone by
disclosing how I had come, I replied —

"Nothing was easier. My husband sent me a
passport/'

" I dare say," he answered ; " for when I told him,
recently, that you had escaped from Koniah, he
smiled maliciously ; but/' he added, " what do you
intend to do here ? "

" I intend," said I, " to apply to Eeshid-Pasha,
and beg him to request Mehemet-Pasha to restore
my property/'

" Don't do that," he cried with alarm ; " he is
now your husband's deadliest enemy."

" Oh, very well," I rejoined, " since they are at
variance, there can be no question of writing to
him/'

He then told me that if I would only remain
quiet, Mehemet-Pasha would like nothing better
than to give me, from time to time, a small sum, to
assist me in supporting myself, and that, he said,
was the best thing I could do. I pretended to
enter into his views, and dismissed him, delighted
to have learnt from him that I should have in
Eeshid-Pasha a protector as energetic as he was
influential, and well-disposed towards me.

Desirous of finding out what had taken place

RESHTD PROTECTS ME. 233

during my absence, and what was the present state
of affairs, I applied for information to everyone with
whom I came in contact, and the result of my
investigations shall be mentioned in the ensuing
chapter.

CHAPTER XX.

Political events— Kibrizli- Pasha Grand-Vezir — Marriage of Ali-Galyb-
Pasha with the daughter of the Sultan— Deplorable consequences of
this Union — Rivalry between Reshid and Mehemet-Ali- Pasha.

SINCE my departure for Koniah, Kibrizli-Pasha
had been appointed Governor of Aleppo, a place
rendered extremely dangerous by the perpetual dis-
sensions that existed between the Mussulmans and
the Christians. In sending him to Arabia, it was
hoped that he would perish ; but, contrary to ex-
pectation, he succeeded in repressing both factions
with such rigour, — imprisoning, executing, and
refusing all presents, — that tranquillity was soon
re-established. Seeing this, the Sultan appointed
him to the command at Damascus.

He did not remain long in Syria, for he was soon
afterwards appointed Grand- vezir. The circum-
stances that led to this appointment were as fol-
lows : —

Abdul-Medjid's daughter was of a marriageable
age, and the sons of some of the most exalted per-

KIBBIZLI GRAND-VEZIR. 235

sonages aspired to the hands of the young princess.
Keshid-Pasha, and more especially his wife, who was
excessively proud, were particularly anxious that
their son, Ali-Galyb-Pasha, should become the Sul-
tan's son-in-law. The other Ministers wished to
please the Grand-vezir, and tried to induce their
master to give the hand of the princess to the son
of their colleague.

After much pressing, the Sultan consented to the
proposed union. However, Keshid-Pasha feared
that if this marriage took place while he was Grand-
vezir, the people would murmur. Indeed, there
were not wanting remarks to the effect that the
Padishah did everything his vezir wished, and had
so little will of his own, that he could refuse him
nothing, — not even his daughter. He, therefore,
sent in his resignation, and had Kibrizli-Pasha
nominated in his stead.

The latter exerted his utmost efforts to promote
the match that his predecessor had so greatly at
heart, and the nuptials were accordingly celebrated
with great pomp. The person best pleased was the
mother of the youthful bridegroom. The widow of
a certain Ali-Pasha, one of the cruellest and bravest
of the Turks who so greatly distinguished themselves
in the war with Greece ; the wife of an illustrious

236 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

vezir, and now become the mother-in-law of a
princess, she saw herself one of the greatest ladies
in the Empire.

But the marriage so eagerly desired had not those
favourable results that were anticipated by its most-
ardent promoters.

^ The husbands of Sultanas are almost the slaves of
their wives. They cannot enter their presence un-
invited. If the wife does not send for her husband,
he must remain in the selamlik and not venture
into the harem. He may spend the night, for a
whole fortnight or more, sleeping on a divan in the
men's apartments.

« Now the young Pasha, although very intelli-
gent and fondly attached to the Princess, failed to
win her good graces. In the course of a month,
he scarcely passed two nights in the harem, — a
state of things that was a source of bitter grief to
him.

A most unwelcome discovery crowned his trou-
bles,— he found that his wife had a liking for the
son of an old Minister. The two corresponded toge-
ther, and the poor husband had his suspicions on
the subject, but knew nothing for certain. One day,
when he was supposed to be out, an eunuch arrived
with a letter, but seeing the master of the house,

ALI-GALYB-PASHA. 237

retreated hastily, without delivering it. The young
man at once went off to his father, and told him
what proof he now had of the reality of his unhappy
condition, of which hitherto he had been willing to
doubt. Guess what the grief of his parents must
have been. The father hastened, without a moment's
delay, to the palace, presented himself before the
Sultan, and disclosed to him the manner in which
his daughter was making her husband miserable.

Abdul-Medjid, instead of blaming his daughter,
inveighed against Keshid-Pasha. "How is this?"
he cried. " You beset me with entreaties in order
to bring about this marriage, and now you come
with complaints, and you invent I know not what
accusations against the Sultana. Begone, if you do
not wish to expose yourself to the full weight of my
resentment."

The poor father, overcome by a reception that he
had not anticipated, returned home in a state of utter
consternation. The way his sovereign had treated
him and the disappointment of his son plunged him
into despair, and conduced, with other causes we
shall speak of presently, to hasten his end.

His wife displayed a lively sense of indignation.
All her affection was lavished on her son. She
strove to console him by every means in her power.

238 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

He came to pass several hours of each day in her
company, endeavouring to forget the troubles that
his wife had brought upon him.

Nearly three months had elapsed since his
father died, and for nearly three weeks the Sul-
tana had not sent for him. In order to seek
some recreation, the young man determined to go
and pass the evening at the country-house of a
wealthy Jew, named Camondo. He accordingly
went on board a boat, and spent his time agreeably
in the company of the banker and his other guests.

When night came he re-embarked, and was
making his way homewards, when a steam-boat,
suddenly appearing, bore down upon and shattered
to pieces the frail vessel in which he was ; two
slaves endeavoured to save their master, and
perished with him.

On the morrow, his mother not seeing her son as
usual, waited anxiously for his arrival. Noticing
an unusual excitement in the house, the slaves and
eunuchs talking together in a low voice and keeping
silence when she drew near, she suspected the fatal
intelligence and fainted away. "When she opened
her eyes again it was found that she had gone mad.
She spent the remainder of her existence confined
to her room, and bound hand and foot.

ALI-GALYB- PASHA. 239

The Sultana, when she heard of her husband's
death, displayed real grief. She fell ill, and her
recovery was but slow. Although she had never
shown any love for the Pasha, she had, nevertheless,
a certain friendly feeling towards him. Abdul-
Medjid, always kind, came several times to console
her. The young man who was the prime cause of
all these sorrows, asked the Sultan for the hand of
his daughter, but he never would accede to this
union. He married the princess to another suitor,
and her conduct was thenceforth irreproachable.
Seeing the consequences of her former intrigue, she
had no desire to engage in any fresh ones.

In order not to interrupt the recital of the fatal
consequences of the marriage of Ali-Galyb-Pasha,
we have neglected to speak of other events that
occurred since the celebration of that alliance, and
previous to the death of Keshid-Pasha.

After the appointment of Mehemet- Pasha as
Grand- vezir, at the recommendation of Keshid, his
friend and protector, his new wife began to entertain
a dislike for the wife of the old Minister. The latter,
who was extremely proud, was much hurt at the
proceedings of a parvenue who owed her elevation
to her. Hence arose a coldness between them, which
developed soon into open hostility. The two wives

240 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

having quarrelled, the intimacy between their hus-
bands was affected. Mehemet-Pasha began to
follow with less docility the counsels of his prede-
cessor, and presently told the latter that he intended
to exercise his functions according to his own ideas,
and not in conformity with the instructions of a
patron, who exacted, as the price of his support, an
obedience incompatible with the dignity of the chief
Minister of the Empire.

From this moment, Eeshid-Pasha, without mani-
festing open dislike, desired nothing more than
the ruin of his former protege. An opportunity
shortly offered itself for the execution of his designs.

The Sultan's brother-in-law, Mehemet-Ali-Pasha,
had borrowed, at different times, very large sums from
his banker, Djezairli-oghlu. The Orientals, by way of
a signature, instead of writing their names, merely
affix their seals. Each time the Pasha received a sum
he put his seal on the receipt. The banker, wishing
to be repaid, presented to Mehemet-Ali-Pasha a
certain number of receipts for which he demanded
payment. The Pasha objected that the seal which
appeared on the greater part of them was not his
own, and that he had no intention of paying any
but those that bore the right impression. The banker
then pretended that his debtor had sometimes em-

RESHID AND MEHEMET-ALI-PASHA. 24-1

ployed a different seal to that which he generally
used, and claimed the protection of Reshid-Pasha,
who was the avowed enemy of Mehemet-Ali-Pashu,
with whom the Grand-vezir had become intimately
associated since he had refused to conform any
longer to the orders of his too exacting pre-
decessor.

The old Minister determined to take advantage
of the occasion to strike down at one blow, both his
former protege, and the latter's new friend. He
went to Kibrizli-Pasha and handed him the receipts
in question.

"By virtue of your office," said he, "you are
obliged to make justice prevail amongst the subjects
of the Sultan. Here are documents which show
that Mehemet-Ali-Pasha has received from a seraf
(banker) very considerable sums of money. This
day he denies his own seal — an abuse which you
ought to put a stop to."

" This seal/' replied the Grand-vezir, " was never
that of Mehemet-Ali. The banker has committed a
fraud by affixing to the receipts you show me, the
seal that you pretend is that of his debtor. Besides,
I know Mehemet-Ali-Pasha to be incapable of doing
an injury to anyone, above all to a man who has laid
him under obligations."

242 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Keshid-Pasha could not have wished for a better
answer. He at once went to the Sultan.

" Mehemet-Ali-Pasha, your Majesty's brother-in-
law/' said he, " has been borrowing money of a mer-
chant. Knowing that it would probably be difficult
to refund the large sums he has received, he has affixed
to the receipts sometimes his ordinary seal, sometimes
another which he now ignores. Mehemet-Pasha,
your Grand- vezir and his friend, refuses to do justice
to the lender, alleging as an excuse that the prince
is incapable of denying his own seal, and still more
of using a false one. He adds that the documents
in dispute have been forged by the merchant. This,
in my opinion, shows a degree of partiality much to
be regretted. It would be an evil example to allow
persons of rank to abuse their position by cheating
private individuals. Since Mehemet-Ali-Pasha is
allied to the Imperial family, he ought not to be a
judge in his own cause. If a man of his rank is to
be permitted to refuse to answer in a court of justice
the demand of a merchant, others will imitate his
example, and we shall soon see all state officials
pleading their high position as an excuse for appro-
priating to their own use the goods of merchants.
If you will be influenced by me, you will summon
Mehemet-Ali-Pasha to appear before the Divan, to

RESHID AND MEHEMET-ALI-PASHA. 243

make good his plea. If he refuses to obey this order,
you will know what steps to take to vindicate your
sovereign authority."

The Sultan, moved by the reasons advanced in
support of this measure of policy, immediately signed
a firman summoning Mehemet-Ali-Pasha to appear
before the Porte, to defend his cause against the
banker.

As soon as Kibrizli-Pasha learnt what had oc-
curred, and knew of the firman addressed to his
friend, he returned the official seals, the insignia of
his dignity, and the Sultan at once conferred
them on Reshid-Pasha.

R 2

CHAPTEE XXL

Reshid-Pasha interferes between my husband and myself — Proceedings
before the Porte— Reshid-Pasha is replaced by Ali-Pasha— Oath
taken — My second imprisonment — I am let off.

SUCH was the state of affairs when I returned
from Koniah. I called on the new Grand-vezir,
and begged him to have justice done me at the
hands of Mehemet-Pasha. This was a fresh oppor-
tunity for harassing his rival, so he gave me a
favourable reception. He asked whether I wished
to return to my husband, or to demand the restitu-
tion of my property. I replied that, as Mehemet-
Pasha had taken a new wife, no reconciliation
between us was possible ; I therefore demanded the
return of my fortune.

" Very well," said the Minister : " cite him to
appear before the Porte. If he refuses to go, do
you come back to me." With these words he
handed me a purse full of gold, to support me
pending the decision of my cause.

Several times did I send the messengers of the

RESHID'S INTERFERENCE. 245

court. They were brutally repulsed by the servants
of Mehemet-Pasha. I was thereupon obliged once
more to go to the Minister, to whom the citations
also were sent. The G-rand-vezir informed the
Sultan of what had happened, and got him to sign
a firman, ordering my former husband to reply to
the demand which I had presented against him
before the Porte. The Imperial rescript was con-
veyed to the defendant by one of his Highnesses
chamberlains.

It would be impossible to say what trouble
reigned in the house of Mehemet-Pasha on the
reception of the royal mandate. The Pasha's new
wife, the Pasha himself, Bessim-Bey, his brother-in-
law, who had flattered himself that he had appeased
me by his delusive promises, all were thrown into
consternation, and thought themselves lost. Next
day, Fehim-Effendi, one of my husband's relatives,
came to me, and, in a most obsequious tone, offered
to give me all I was pleased to demand. I had
only to present my statement of claims, when he
would, immediately discharge them.

"As soon as you are satisfied," said he, "you
shall give me a declaration to the effect that you
have no further claim. He can present it to the
Divan when he makes his appearance there."

246 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

After the zeal that Eeshid-Pasha had displayed
in my favour, I could not do him so ill a turn as to
cause it to be supposed that he had induced his
master to sign a firman without any object ; which
could not fail to be believed to be the case if
Mehemet-Pasha, on appearing in obedience to the
decree, had handed in a document such as that
which -he wished to obtain from me. It might
follow that the Grand-vezir would be dismissed
from office owing to such an incident ; but whether
he preserved his power or lost it, none the less
should I be exposed to the just resentment of a man
who had shown himself full of kindness towards
me. I therefore rejected the proposals that had
been made to me.

The cause was called on, and, through my advo-
cate, I put in a statement of the jewels, diamonds,
articles of vertu, furniture, carriages, etc., consti-
tuting my personal property, and comprising both
what I had of my own, and the presents that had
been made me ; the whole amounting to upwards
of four million piastres (forty thousand pounds). In
spite of all the subterfuges that my husband's
agent could employ, his client was ordered to make
over to me everything I claimed. When the deci-
sion was pronounced, I only required, in order to

LAW PROCEEDINGS. 247

secure its execution within three days, the approval
of the Sheik-ul-Islam, or supreme religious digni-
tary, as decisions in civil matters are given by
interpretation of the Koran.

But at this stage of the proceedings a political
turmoil sprang up which overthrew my fair pro-
spects and gave the upper hand to my adversaries.
Within forty-eight hours, from a, triumphant suitor,
I was reduced to the condition of a victim ofy
despotism.

Eeshid-Pasha, satisfied at having administered
this severe check to my husband, resolved to deal a
blow against his other rival, Mehemet-Ali, whose
case with the banker was still pending. The latter,
notwithstanding the Imperial firman laying the
commands of the Sultan upon him, had not made
his appearance before the Porte to answer the
claim lodged against him by his banker, Djezairli-
oghlu. The Grand- vezir hastened to inform the
Sultan of this circumstance, representing the Prince's
disobedience as an act of rebellion of most dan-
gerous example against tke supreme authority of
the Padishah, and obtained an order of banishment
against Mehemet-Ali-Pasha, who was on the point
of retiring to rest when his attendants came to
inform him that the palace was surrounded by

248 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

troops, and an officer was inquiring for him on the
part of the Sultan. He went down, was arrested,
roughly dragged away, and hurried on board a
steamer, which only waited for him to put out
to sea.

The Sultan's sister went next morning to the
palace, but her brother refused to see her. Know-
ing how little able he was to refuse anything to the
ladies, he feared to run the risk of listening to the
supplications of the Princess. She was not dis-
couraged, but set in operation all the means of
influence she had at her disposal, and before the
end of the day obtained from the Sultan, who was
indignant at the manner in which his authority had
been abused, and the hatred displayed by his
Grand-vezir, the dispatch of a vessel appointed to
bring back Mehemet-Ali-Pasha.

On hearing this news Keshid-Pasha resigned
office. Ali-Pasha, friend of the exile of a day
and of my husband, was chosen to fill the place of
the retiring Grand-vezir, and Mehemet-Pasha was
appointed president of . the Tanzimat, a supreme
court of appeal lately established at the request of
the European Powers.

The Sheik-ul-Islam, seeing these changes, refused
to ratify the decision pronounced in my favour

OATH TAKEN. 249

under the fallen Grand- vezir. I was obliged to recom-
mence the proceedings ; but the defendant, Kibrizli,
by a privilege attaching to his rank, was entitled
to be believed on his oath respecting my demand. He
declared himself ready to swear that nearly the
whole of what belonged to me was the property of
my daughter, then eight years old. He did not
acknowledge my claim to more than thirty thousand
piastres (about three hundred pounds).

On the day that the oath was to be taken I was
brought to the house of the Pasha, where the highest
dignitaries of the Empire were assembled, to be
present at the taking of the oath. On a table were
laid out numerous documents and a copy of the
Koran on which the Pasha was going to swear.
When I entered, instead of acknowledging by a bow
the presence of Kibrizli, who stood now as my adver-
sary, I merely saluted the bystanders, and took my
place fating him. When invited to state my
claim, I rose and sharply reproved' Mehemet-
Pasha for the perjury which he was ready to
commit.

"I should never have thought," I exclaimed,
" that one who occupies your high position would
come to-day to take an bath respecting the poor
ornaments of a woman. How can you lower yourself

250 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to the pretence that necklaces, bracelets, robes, and
ear-rings belong to you ? "

At these words the Pasha, overcome with rage,
rose and rushed upon me, while shouting :

" Bring me my sword ; I will kill this wretch who
dares thus to insult me ! "

" Do not hesitate," said I, without displaying any
emotion. " To complete your conduct it only re-
mains to assassinate me."

Numerous persons then threw themselves upon
him and held him back.

" Let him alone," I added. " He has aban-
doned me in a cowardly manner, but he would not
dare to commit a cowardly action in my presence."

This scene of violence came to an end by the
interference of the Sheik-ul-Islam, who had us both
removed out of each other's reach.

Next day, about sunrise, my house at Sari-Guzel
was surrounded by a detachment of police, who
forced an entrance and compelled me to follow
them. A carriage conveyed me straight to the
office of the Minister of Police, where I was im-
prisoned. The reason they gave me for the com-
mission of this arbitrary act was that, it was a
punishment for the want "of respect I showed for a
vezir of the Sultan.

MY SECOND IMPRISONMENT. 251

My imprisonment lasted five or six days, and
the way it ended was sufficiently whimsical. The
Minister's employe's gave me to understand that the
only means of obtaining my liberty was to sign a
declaration renouncing all my effects, and accepting
the conditions my husband imposed upon me.

" Mind what you are about," they told me ; " if
you show any obstinacy, the Pasha will have you
packed back again to Koniah."

" I am in your hands," I retorted, "you can do
with me what you like."

Accordingly, on the ninth day of my imprison-
ment I was conducted under escort to the Court,
and there I was compelled to sign a mandate, in
virtue of which I acknowledged to have thankfully
accepted whatever the Pasha had consented to give.
This signature once extorted, the agent of police left
the Court, thus setting me at liberty.

The Shiek-ul-Islam sent me that day what had
been awarded to me by a decision without appeal ;
that is to say, three hundred pounds, and the ex-
tremely modest pension that it had pleased my hus-
band to allow me — only two pounds sterling, per
annum !

I must here say, however, that jealousy more than
meanness incited Kibrizli-Pasha to refuse me my

252 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAKEM.

rights. He dreaded that once in possession of my
property I should leave for Europe. The idea that
I should show my face to the Ghiaurs made him
mad.

CHAPTER XXII.

I leave Constantinople, and go to reside at Jalova — I meet a Highway
Robber — Unhappy condition of the Inhabitants of the Country-
Tyranny of the Mudirs.

AFTER my litigation had been disposed of in the
manner above mentioned, I went to live at Jalova.
It was very pleasant, after all the troubles I had
undergone, to remove to some little distance from
the scene of my sufferings. Separated from a hus-
band for whom I had vowed unbounded affection,
parted for ever (as I thought) from a beloved
daughter, deprived of fortune, and fallen from u
position of the highest rank, I found retirement
necessary for me.

Jalova is a town situated on the Gulf of Ismid,
only three hours' voyage by steamboat from Con-
stantinople. I bought a house and four horses, and
engaged a woman to manage the first, and a man-
servant to groom the horses and attend on me.
In the neighbourhood, which was agreeably diver-
sified by hills of most charming aspect, were several

254 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

villages, which I proposed to visit. Attended by
my servant, I travelled without fear, by night as

/ well as by day. The warnings of the mudirs, who
endeavoured to make me more circumspect, by
telling me how greatly the country was infested by
robbers, did not restrain me in the least. Exercise
was indispensable to drive away the thoughts of
despair which, without it, would have been the
death of me.

In my retirement I always kept up some inter-
course with the capital. Eeshid-Pasha, and, after
his death, the ministers of his party, frequently
wrote to me. An old lady also took care to give
me news of my daughter, as to whose lot I had
great uneasiness, given up, as she was, to a woman

* who could not but hate her, and who seemed to
dread my vigilance to such a degree that, she had
taken the most rigorous measures to deprive me of
the possibility of seeing my child, to whom she
passed me off as dead.

Hitherto my life had been passed in the highest
spheres. Except on my excursion to the Druses
and Bedouins, I had rarely come in contact with
the people. It was, therefore, an entire novelty to
me to find myself in the heart of the country, and
to observe the inhabitants. I visited in succession

THE HIGHWAY ROBBER. 255

all the different villages in the neighbourhood ;
sometimes I remained for twenty days without re-
turning home. I was everywhere received with a
degree of cordiality and respect that were quite
touching. These good people, knowing who I was,
did their best to be accommodating. My arrival
in any place was announced beforehand, and the
wealthiest inhabitants disputed the honour of re-
ceiving me. Wherever I presented myself, I always
found a lodging and a repast prepared for me.

Notwithstanding the fears with which it had been
attempted to inspire me, I was never attacked by
any evil - disposed persons. It would, however,
have been a profitable undertaking to have robbed
me, for I usually carried the greater part of my
remaining property in a bag hooked on to my saddle.
One night, as I was going to Sulus, a village, the
charms of which I had heard highly spoken of, I
climbed a mountain, on the other side of which was
the spot I was going to visit. My servant was
obliged to dismount and lead my horse, and it was
with difficulty that he could get him to make the
ascent. Suddenly there appeared before us a horse-
man, wearing a large turban, with a gun in his
hand, his belt furnished with pistols, and a sabre at
his side. Of the middle height and thick-set, his

£56 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

face covered with a black, bushy beard, and his
limbs powerfully formed, everything about this man
betokened more than common strength. At this
sight, my attendant began to tremble from head to
foot, and could scarcely continue to guide my horse.
For my part, I attributed his demeanour to the
effect of a long and troublesome journey. The
horseman of whom I spoke drew near to us, looked
attentively at me, and readily saw by my dress that
I was a stranger to the country.

"Welcome, madam!" he exclaimed in a loud
voice.

" God protect you," I replied. " It would appear
that you are an inhabitant of this neighbourhood. "

" Yes/' said he, " I live on this mountain ; but it
seems to me that you don't belong to the country."

"No," I rejoined; "I am from Constantinople,
and some time ago I came to take up my abode at
Jalova ; but Sulus has been so highly commended
to me, that I am on my way to that place. The
night, however, is so dark, that I don't know whether
I shall be able to reach it easily."

" If you will suffer me to accompany you," said
my strange interlocutor, " I know a Greek priest in
this village, to whom I propose to conduct you."

J accepted his offer ; he led the way, and we soon

THE HIGHWAY ROBBER. 257

arrived at our destination. My guide knocked
violently at the door, and the priest at once came to
open it.

" Father, here is a lady whom I have brought to
you. Take care of her ; I insist upon it," he added
in a menacing tone.

The poor priest asked us in, gave me his best
room to sleep in, woke his wife and daughters and
ordered them to prepare dinner, while he himself
took our horses to the stable.

" Madam," cried my servant as soon as he was
alone with me, " I don't understand your object in
giving yourself into the hands of a robber. If you
wish to perish, that is your own look-out ; but you
ought not to get me into such scrapes."

" Take courage," said I. "I don't know whether
or not that man is what you think him ; but if he
had any bad intentions, he would have executed
them already. There is nothing to fear from
him."

Soon afterwards our host came in. " How came
you, madam," he asked, " to fall in with the man
who brought you here ? "

" He accosted us on the mountain," I answered ;
'v and on my telling him that I wished to make my
way to Sulus, he conducted us to your house."

258 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

" You little know/' said the priest, " that this
man is our ruin. He lives in a den in the neigh-
bourhood, and comes unexpectedly, from time to
time, to the house of one or other of the inha-
bitants, and makes a demand for whatever he pleases
— money, oil, or silk. As he is known to be a
desperate character, they hasten to satisfy him.
Many times the authorities have sent troops after
him, but they have never been able to seize him,
He has an astonishing scent to escape a meeting
with the Zapties when, his depredations having
passed all bounds, they have been sent in quest of
him. As soon as they are withdrawn, he exercises
most atrocious vengeance on those whom he suspects
to have made complaints of his misdeeds."

I partook of the repast which my host's daughters
prepared for me, and then came my brigand friend.

"Are you satisfied with the reception that has
been given you ? Have you any complaints to
make ? " he asked.

" On the contrary/' said I, " I am quite satisfied,
and know not how to thank you for having con-
ducted me to the society of such obliging people."
He then sat down near me and began to converse as
follows : —

" I live on the summit of the mountain, with a

THE HIGHWAY ROBBER. 259

young girl whose mother refused her to me, and
whom I carried off five years ago. We are very
happy and comfortable ; she has made me the fathar
of several children. I have a beautiful garden, and
when you are pleased to set out on your travels I
hope you will pay me the honour of a visit. I
assure you that you will not repent it ; I will display
all my possessions, and you shall take away what-
ever you please. Will you come and see me to-
morrow ? "

" I cannot come so soon," I replied. " It is known
where I am. I have sent word to Jalova that I shall
return to-morrow, and if I delay they will at once
send out in search of me ; but when I come again
into this neighbourhood I will pay you a visit."

I used this language in order to excite his alarm,
lest the police should be sent in pursuit if he ven-
tured to attack me. He did not press the invita-
tion, but withdrew.

Early next morning I mounted on horseback, and,
after admiring the beauty of certain cascades which
fell down the mountain-side with considerable noise,
I followed the sea-coast on my way back to Jalova.
When I saw myself near the water I was not free
from uneasiness, for if the idea occurred to my
obliging robber of assailing me at that spot, he could

8 2

260 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

easily kill me, plunder and throw me into the sea.
It was with considerable satisfaction that I returned
safe home again.

I did my best to make myself agreeable to the
villagers near whom I lived. I voluntarily inter-
posed between them and the mudirs before whom
they were summoned. These functionaries, know-
ing the terms I was on with some of the Ministers,
stood in awe of me, and complied with all my re-
quests. They even went so far as to send me pre-
sents of considerable value, from fear of my invoking
some superior authority to take cognisance of their
doings.

The usual grounds of my interference were the
prosecutions entered against the people for the re-
covery of imposts, and I generally compelled their
prosecutors to grant them reasonable time for pay-
ment.

The two principal branches of industry to which
the inhabitants devote themselves are the culture
of the olive and extraction of the oil ; the rearing
of silkworms and winding off the cocoons. The
two products are ready for the market at about the
same time of year, following by a fortnight or a
month the period when imposts are payable. The
well-disposed mudirs wait patiently for the sale of

ABUSES OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 26 L

the stocks, before demanding from the tax-payers
their dues to the mahlieh (treasury). Those who act
thus are beloved by those under their jurisdiction,
but they find themselves reduced solely to their
salaries, and therefore they are rarely to be met
with.

The great majority of these officials conduct
themselves in the following manner: — As soon as
the oil has been extracted, and before it is suffi-
ciently clarified to be offered for sale, and when tlie
cocoons are ready to be unwound, they send their
cavas with an order for immediate payment. The
poor creatures upon whom this demand is made,
having just then none of their resources realised, see
their products seized, and sold by auction, at an
absurdly inadequate price, to usurers who have an
understanding beforehand with the mudir as to
making a profit out of these executions. These
miscreants promise that official a fixed sum, in
order to induce him to bring about these iniquitous
sales. They agree among themselves to have no
competition, and they are well assured that the
people of the country, being very poor, have no
money available for the redemption, by process of
law, of that of which they cannot prevent the
seizure. There are even officials so monstrously un-

262 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

just as to bring to sale everything, including the
furniture, stewpans, and agricultural implements
belonging to the poor, thus reducing them to
beggary.

The tax-payers cannot get the superior authorities
to listen to them. In the vicinity of Constantinople
the mudirs are all servants, secretaries, or grooms of
Ministers in office, who put them in these places to
recompense their services. The complaints of the
inhabitants receive no attention from the Ministers,
who are naturally disposed to favour their old ser-
vants, and are maintained in this disposition by
constant supplies of butter, silk, fruits, and vege-
tables, extorted from the peasants. In the provinces
distance is an additional obstacle, to which must be
added the circumstance that the applications, to
reach the ears of the Ministers, must go through the
valis, who are all more inclined to favour their
subordinates than the complainants.

I sometimes amused myself, after the evening
repast, by sitting in a rustic dwelling, before the huge
fire round which the rough but peaceable country
folks assembled, while they offered me hospitality. It
was on such an occasion that they expressed, with
charming simplicity, the sufferings they had to
endure from their oppressors.

ABUSES OF THE ADMINISTRATION 2C3

" We see perfectly well," said my host (a well-
to-do agriculturist and indefatigable workman),
" that we have nothing to hope for. The Padishah
desires only the welfare of his people, but he is sur-
rounded by subordinates who rob us of the gold that
is drawn from our tears and our toil."

" It will not do to lament over all that," replied a
brave and robust woodman, named Hussein. " Some-
thing worse may happen. The ghiaurs (Christians)
may come and take possession of our country."

" Well ! and do you think they will treat us worse
than we are ? On the contrary, fearful of a revolt
on our part, they will endeavour to conciliate our
good-will, and will govern us far more gently than
we are governed now."

" But," said another, who was a confirmed Mussul-
man and a pilgrim at Mecca, " they will try to make
us Christians, and will persecute us on account of
our religion."

"It is true that they hold our creed in abhor-
rence," observed my host, "but they know that
our faith is everything to us. They will dread to
make themselves our mortal enemies by attacking
what we have most at heart. You see that the
English allow their Mussulman subjects to practise
their rites unmolested; the Russians, also, never

264 THIRTY YEAES IN THE HAKEM.

attempt to convert the Tcherkesses (Circassians) and
other Mussulmans within their dominions."

I was much astonished, as may readily be sup-
posed, to find these peasants reasoning in such a
manner on subjects to which I had thought they
would have been strangers ; but the desire to ame-
liorate one's condition tends to enlighten the most
limited capacities.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Death of Abdul- Medjid— Kibrizli-Pasha raises Abdul- Aziz to the Throne
—Character of the new Sultan — Consequences of the protection
afforded b^y the Consuls— Disgrace of Mehemet-Pasha.

I HAD been five years at Jalova, or in its vicinity,
when I heard that the Sultan, Abdul-Medjid, was ill.
Kibrizli-Mehemet-Pasha, my husband, was Grand-
vezir, and it was feared that a revolution would
break out on the death of the Sultan. The discarded
Ministers got up an agitation in order to bring to the
throne the Prince Mourad-Effendi, son of Abdul-
Medjid. They thus acted in defiance of the Mussul-
man law, which conferred the sovereignty on the
brother of the dying Sultan, viz., the Prince Abdul-
Aziz, whose favourable disposition towards Mehemet-
Pasha and his party were well known.

I returned to Constantinople, in order to be in a *
position to take advantage of the new state of affairs
which a fresh reign could not fail to produce. Mehe-
met-Pasha, meanwhile, took his measures to secure
the rights of the legitimate heir. The chamberlains

266 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

were devoted to him. Very few persons could con-
trive to penetrate to the chamber of the sick man,
whose state was much more serious than was allowed
to be known. The new Valideh- Sultan, mother of
Abdul- Aziz, was apprised of it, and the Prince, her
son, kept himself prepared for any emergency. It
was towards evening when the Padishah breathed
his last, and the news was kept secret all that night.
Next morning the public only learnt the fact from
hearing the funeral chants given out by the muez-
zins from the tops of the minarets and seeing the
Prince Abdul-Aziz going to the Mosque to be pro-
claimed Sultan.

The new Sultan, on ascending to power, showed
himself animated by the best intentions. He
desired to remedy those abuses that had deeply
affected him while he was only a private individual.
His accession was hailed as the presage of an era of
prosperity for Turkey. He was known for his
kindness, without ever carrying it to the verge of
weakness, as did his predecessor. It was known
that he had led a retired life ; that he had married
only one wife, whom he had promised he would
never take any other but herself; that his tastes
were simple, and his expenditure moderate, without
avarice ; and after the excessive prodigality of

CHARACTER OF THE NEW SULTAN. 2fi7

AMul-Medjid this latter quality was especially
appreciated. It was believed that he would occupy
himself independently with the interests of his
people, without yielding to the influence of the
Seraglio. His mother, the Valideh-Sultan, had a
profound dislike to business, and he regarded all
women with equal indifference.

He began by lodging in the Old Seraglio all his
predecessor's wives, and put a stop to their disorderly
conduct; and next he busied himself with improving
the condition of the troops. He wished to see the
distribution of stores punctually performed ; the
salaries paid when they became due ; the soldiers'
clothes made of good materials ; the bread and
other provisions of good quality. All the Ministers
were in a state of consternation. They saw the
contractors, with whom they had private agree-
ments to sanction waste, compelled faithfully to
execute their contracts with the Government.

Some time after his accession to the throne,
however, his sister having made him a present
of a young slave, Abdul-Aziz could not refuse such
a gift, for he would have gained a deadly enemy
by so doing. Subsequently being struck with the
charms of another slave, he made her also his
odalisque. At present he has three wives : this is

268 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

not much, compared to the brilliant and crowded
Seraglio kept by' his predecessor. However, the
Sultan's wives and odalisques lead very simple
lives ; their luxury does not much exceed that of the
Ministers' wives. Abdul- Aziz finds his chief plea-
sure in taking trips on board a steam-boat. Twice
a month, he goes to pass two or three days alone in
a small country-house of his own, on the sea-coast,
two or three leagues from the capital, which affords
him the gratification of making a short voyage.
When he was only heir to the throne, he used to
spend nearly all his time on board a pleasure yacht,
on which he frequently took a voyage of several
days' duration.

As is usual on taking possession of the throne,
Abdul- Aziz had his palaces refurnished. This fur-
nishing on such a scale is an important undertaking,
and must produce an outlay of several hundreds of
thousands for the benefit of those employed in the
work, or those whose duty it is to procure the
furniture. This incident affords an opportunity of
pointing out by what means Europeans contrive,
under the protection of their ambassadors and
consuls, to make a rapid fortune in the East.

"Whoever offers the largest sum to the Minister
who has the control of the work obtains the con-

PROTECTION GIVEN BY THE CONSULS. 269

tract. It is usually signed without being read ; his
Excellency looking to one thing only — how much
he is to receive. The furniture, of the value of
five or six hundred thousand francs, is purchased at
Paris or Lyons, on account of the Sultan, by the
contractor; and the latter presents a bill for four
or five millions, which is approved by the Minister.

The contractor obtains, by dint of continued
applications, the payment of instalments, amounting
to seven or eight hundred thousand francs — pro-
bably the cost price of the furniture and the allow-
ance to the august signatory. The latter refuses to
pay more ; alleges the poverty of the treasury—
that to pay such a large sum as claimed would
compromise him — that by-and-by he will be able
to make up further instalments, etc. The contractor
then waits for a change of Ministers. As soon as a
new vezir is appointed he calls upon him, and
demands payment of the balance. His Excellency
flies into a passion ; declares that he who allowed
such Un account has participated in a most iniquitous
robbery. " It is impossible," says he, " to pay so
enormous a sum as that claimed for a thing of so
little value as the furniture supplied."

If the creditor is a Frenchman, he goes to his
ambassador or consul, who communicates with the

270 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAKEM.

government of the Porte, and protests against the
course taken by the new Minister. " It is impossible
to admit," says the diplomatic agent, " that a claim
is to be rejected under the pretext that it has been
approved by a vezir who is not now in office. Such
a proceeding is robbery. The cabinet which I
represent cannot suffer the Porte to treat with such
contempt the interests of the French who are
established in Turkey." In spite of all his efforts,
the Ottoman Minister is obliged to yield, and to
satisfy a claim advanced in so peremptory a fashion.
Of course the affair ends at last d I' amiable, and
both the Minister and the dragoman get out of it
their little pourboire.

Abdul- Aziz had now held sway for two months,
and was still animated by an ardent zeal for the
repression of abuses. Kiza-Pasha, Minister for War
in the previous reign, was charged with numerous
frauds ; moreover, he had made every effort to get
the Prince Mourad appointed in succession to his
father, to the detriment of the new sovereign.* The
Sultan called upon him to make restitution of
sundry large sums, of which he told him the
amount. Eiza-Pasha shut himself up in his house,
and refused to pay anything. The Sultan there-
upon appointed him Governor of Smyrna, as a

DISGRACE OF K1BBIZLI. 271

means of removing the culprit to a distance from
Constantinople, where his wealth had gained him a
great number of friends or accomplices interested in
supporting him, and well able to give trouble if any
attempt were made to gain forcible possession of the
person of their patron.

Kiza-Pasha was obliged to obey, but he went
away very unwillingly. He had not resided for
many days at Smyrna, when he received the order
to go into exile ; instead of submitting to it, he took
refuge on board a French frigate. The Sultan de-
manded his extradition from the French government,
whose protege he was. The reply was, that the
prisoner would be given up, but only upon the con-
dition that prosecutions were to be instituted against
all the former Ministers, as Kiza-Pasha had only
acted in conformity with their usual proceedings.

Very shortly afterwards, the enemies of Mehemet-
Pasha succeeded in depriving him of the high posi-
tion which he had hitherto occupied. Insinuations
were made to the Sultan that his Grand-vezir con-
sidered himself to be the real master of Turkey.
If he were listened to, it was said, one would suppose
that it was to him alone the Sultan owed his throne,
and that he would be quite unable to retain it with-
out the powerful support of his servant. Fuad-

272 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Pasha, who was the originator of these reports, suc-
ceeded to the inheritance of the individual whose
disgrace he had procured.

The Sultan, perpetually haunted by the dread of
a conspiracy, was determined not to leave to Me-
hemet-Pasha the possibility of joining himself with
the discontented factions. He intimated to him the
order to repair immediately to Adrianople. Under
Abdul-Medjid these orders were rarely carried into
actual execution ; it was considered sufficient if the
individual who received one confined himself to his
own palace, and was careful not to mix himself up
in any political intrigue ; if he strictly adhered to
this line of conduct, he was left in peace. The new
Sultan, accidentally passing before the palace of
Mehemet-Pasha, two days after the order had been
given for his departure, wras very indignant at seeing
that it was still inhabited. He sent a message to
the disgraced Minister, that on the day after the
morrow a steamboat would be in readiness to receive
him. The Pasha was compelled to obey ; he took
with him his wife, but left behind my daughter
A'isheh, whom he had married to Shevket-Pasha, the
son of my rival. This exile to Adrianople lasted
two years.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Aisheh's condition— Conduct of Ferideh— Family education— Family life.

As I have already had occasion to narrate, in the
course of this history, when I was separated from
my husband, I had left with him a son and a
daughter. My daughter was called Aisheh-Ha-
num ; when the catastrophe occurred which parted
us, she was in her eighth year. Her lot was as cruel
as my own, — I may even say that it was worse ; for
I, though in exile and poverty, still enjoyed a certain
liberty of action. My unfortunate Aisheh fell into
the hands of a mother-in-law, whose cruelty and
malice far exceeded what is universally attributed to
mothers-in-law in general. This quintessence of
evil qualities was called Ferideh-Hanum ; her first
husband had been a certain Reshid-Effendi, a re-
nowned writer, notorious for his drunkenness. The
malice of the one, and the drunkenness of the other,
rendered any agreement bet ween this ill-assorted couple
impossible : they in consequence sought to recover

274 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

liberty and tranquillity by a divorce. By this hus-
band Ferideh had a son called Shevket, who accom-
panied her to her new home ; she endeavoured to have
him recognised as the adopted son of his Highness.
Ferideh, once installed in my husband's house,
sought by every possible means to establish her
authority in it. She was entirely deficient in the
ordinary grace and beauty of her sex ; in default of
these she had recourse to all kinds of intrigue, and
brought into play every influence which she could
command. She availed herself of the protection
accorded to her by the Grand-vezir Eeshid-Pasha,
and the numerous friends and relatives of her own
brother, Bessim-Bey. By a clever employment of
these means, the shrewd and cunning woman suc-
ceeded in obtaining complete ascendancy over
Kibrizli-Pasha, who was compelled to submit to the
yoke imposed on him by all these tricksters who
surrounded him. Sometimes it was the wife who
had him in hand, sometimes it was Bessim ; some-
times their slaves, or the relatives who took up the
game. In the midst of all these intrigues the un-
happy Pasha grumbled, became irritated, but in the
end he was always either worked upon by flattery
or cajoled by intrigue into yielding. In every dif-
ference, in every struggle which took place, it was

SUFFERINGS OF AlSHEH. 275

always he who was in the wrong, and who was in
consequence compelled to give way. But so adroit
and skilful wore those who pulled the strings, that
Kibrizli never saw through their game, and, whilst
obeying them implicitly, believed that he was acting
according to his own will. So great is the power of *
intrigue in the private circles of Oriental society !

Ferideh, who aspired to universal rule, looked with •
an evil eye on the presence of my daughter Aisheh
in her harem. Aisheh was the daughter of her
rival, and was the one strong link that bound the
heart of the Pasha to mine. She was, in conse-
quence, the natural enemy of her mother-in-law,—
the one standing menace against her happiness
and against the realization of her dreams of com-
plete power and of complete absorption of the
Pasha's property.

From the first moment that Ferideh set foot
in my husband's house, she strove, by every pos-
sible means, to separate the daughter from the
father, so as gradually to weaken the bonds of affec-
tion which united them. With this object in view,
she took most particular care to place every obstacle
in the way of any meeting between father and
child, and carefully endeavoured to prevent any »
tete-d-tete, the consequences of which she dreaded.

T '2

270 THRITY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

To that effect, she confined Aisheh to a distant apart-
ment, where she remained surrounded by slaves and
out of sight of all comers. For years my daughter
continued to be completely forgotten, and it was only
by accident that any visitors at the house ever
observed her.

A girl, who was thus entirely neglected in regard
to all the ordinary details of family interests, would,
of necessity, be brought up in the grossest general
ignorance. The Turks, as a rule, have a dislike for
educated persons ; they prefer those who are ill-
informed and ignorant, for they feel sure of being
able to manage them and to mould them to their will.
Ferideh perfectly understood what she was about, and
it was with good reason that she determined to bring
up my unfortunate Aisheh in the most profound
ignorance. It thus happened that, during the eight
or nine years which preceded the marriage of my
daughter, she had been taught nothing but to read
the Koran, to be able to scrawl a sort of writing,
and to do the sewing which is indispensable in a
household. The remainder of her time was passed,
as is not unusual in a harem, in gossip, always use-
less, and not unfrequently hurtful.

My readers will, I am sure, with difficulty believe
that a girl belonging to one of the princely families

FAMILY EDUCATION. 277

of Turkey, the daughter of a man who had in his
own person experienced the advantage of a European
education, could have been so completely neglected
as regards instruction. Nevertheless, this pheno-
menon would be easily intelligible to any one who
was acquainted with the disposition and character
of Kibrizli-Pasha, and with the habits and manners
of the highest classes in Constantinople. It is true
that Kibrizli had received a certain education, of
which a part had been acquired in Turkey and a
part in France ; but this education consisted of a
thin surface of knowledge veneered over a thick
mass of ignorance.

Kibrizli resembled the greater number of those
who have been sent to Europe to be educated,
in having only acquired a smattering of learning,
and having just mustered sufficient of the rudi-
ments to enable him to pass through the indis-
pensable formalities of an examination. He had
never advanced sufficiently far to acquire any real
love for science, or to enable him to recognize the
positive necessity and importance of instruction.

Besides this, he had never been able to shake off
the ideas which are innate in all Turks, and which
lead them to believe that there is no such paramount
requirement of knowledge amongst women as to

278 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

make its requisition a necessity. Kibrizli had pre
served below the varnish of civilization the stamj
of the old Turk ; as such he looked down on womei
as inferior beings. He was one of those who, when
ever speaking of women, would exclaim with an ai:
of self-sufficiency, " Oh ! women have long hair anc
short wits."

And yet no man was ever so thoroughly unde:
the thumb of women as himself, as between mysel
and Ferideh we did with him what we liked.

From this tendency of opinion arose the indif
erence which was one of the causes of my unfor
tunate daughter's education being so lamentabh
neglected. But independently of the small value
which his Highness himself attached to instruc
tion, the customs and habits prevalent amongs
Turkish grandees, as those already observed
exercised in this matter a most pernicioui
influence.

Family life is, in reality, unknown amongst th(
Turks. The law of the Koran, which divides man
kind into two distinct classes, — men and women,—
does not admit of the existence of a family in whicl
each member can live the same life and form a par
of one harmonious whole. In Mussulman societ}
the men have separate ideas, habits, and interests

FAMILY LIFE. 279

whilst, on the other hand, the women have others,
which belong exclusively to them. Thus persons
who pretend to form a part of one and the same
family, have, in reality, nothing common amongst
themselves, — neither apartments, nor goods, nor fur-
niture, nor friends, nor even the same hours for
taking rest. The selamlik (the apartments of the
men) and the harem are, in consequence, two sepa-
rate establishments, placed side by side, where each
one does what pleases him or herself, — the men on
one side, the women on the other. The authority of
the head of the family, when he is in a position to
exercise any at all, is the only connection and bond
of union between these two halves of the same
household.

This separate system, upon which Mussulman
family life is based, acted upon by the paramount
law of self-interest, gives rise to a singularity which
cannot escape remark by an attentive observer. It
becomes evident that the degree of separation which
exists in Turkish households between the men and
the women can be measured by the greater or less
amount of affluence in which the family lives. A
poor Mussulman has only one or two rooms for
himself and his family ; he is compelled to study
economy, and on this account he, like a good father

280 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

of a family, eats, drinks, and sleeps with his wife
and children. The well-to-do middle-class man
establishes his household after a much more or-
thodox fashion, and begins by drawing a more
palpable line of demarcation between himself and
his harem. Two or three rooms are completely
divided off from the remainder of the house ; these
form the selamlik — the apartment for men and
place of reception ; the remainder of the house con-
stitutes the harem, the forbidden ground.

If we now go to the rich — to the Pasha with
three tails — or to the minister with a portfolio, we
shall find his palace installed in grand style, and
the separation between men and women more
complete. The selamHk of a grandee comprises
an entirely separate building, and the harem
has the proportions of a colossal palace, with
iron gates, grated windows, and a garden sur-
rounded by high walls. The men and women
shut up in these two divisions of the house-
hold remain completely isolated from each other,
and have no means of communication except
through the eunuchs, or through the female Chris-
tian servants who are attached to the harem. The
Pasha, his sons, and near relations, who alone have
the privilege of free entry into the harem, can only

FAMILY LIFE. 281

enter it by a sort of bridge, enclosed with iron
gratings — a kind of secret passage, which is traversed
under the escort and charge of a eunuch.

This complete separation between the harem and
the selamlik gratifies the vanity, and satisfies the
pride, of the grandees of Constantinople. The
higher they rise in station, the more absurd they
make themselves in taking useless precautions, and
in enforcing ridiculous formalities as means of ele-
vating their wives by withdrawing them from the
eyes of the lower orders. The natural results of
this complete separation of the two establishments
is the existence of diverging habits of life. The
women on their side have their own private affairs,
their own household management, and their own
intrigues ; they entertain their friends, have their
receptions, and amuse themselves in their own
fashion. In the selamlik the Pashas, with their
friends and domestics do the same thing ; there
they receive their visitors and guests, and spend
their time intriguing and gossiping, or in setting
themselves up as puppets to be admired by their
parasites and flatterers.

If on the one side the men are spendthrifts, and
dissipate their means, on the other the women fail
not to do the same. The efforts made on both sides

282 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to get the upper hand, and to surpass each other in
magnificence, give rise to a sort of rivalry between
the two elements. The master of the house — Pasha
or Effendi, whichever he may be — generally plays
the part of moderator between the different mem-
bers of the seraglio ; but this part, originating
rather in egotism than in any real wish for modera-
tion, is generally confined to two points — to assure
to himself the full enjoyment of the harem and to
maintain the splendour of the selamlik. If the
Pasha obtains his aim in the enjoyment of the one,
and in satiety of the other of these worldly plea-
sures, he makes light of all else, and shuts his eyes
to the robberies committed by his domestics, and
to the extravagance and excesses of his wives.

The Pashas, caring for nothing but their own
pleasures and gratification, leave the entire manage-
ment of their households in the hands of an intend-
ant — k'iaiah, — who does much for himself, and very
little for anyone else, and often ends in plunging
the Pasha into debt up to his neck. Those Pashas
who are shrewd hold the opinion that it is much
more advantageous to occupy themselves with rob-
beries on a large scale in the administration of affairs
than to trouble their heads with the petty thefts in
detail made by their intendants and domestics.

FAMILY LIFE.

Thus a sort of tacit understanding grows up between
master and servant, by which each robs to the best of
his ability — the one wholesale, the other retail.

A Pasha, having thus disembarrased himself of
all care and trouble as regards his private esta-
blishment, becomes, so to say, a mere guest in his
own home. During the day he generally passes his
time at the Porte, where he discusses questions of
justice and politics with all comers ; then he makes
his rounds in the town, visits his friends and parti-
sans, and stretches the lines which are to form the
nets of his political intrigues. Towards the evening,
at five or six o'clock, his Excellency makes a solemn
entry into his palace, accompanied by his aides-de-
camp and the gentlemen of his suite. Arrived at
the top of the staircase, he does not enter his own
apartments, but without loss of time turns towards
the great gate which gives entrance into the harem.
A eunuch, who stands as sentinel at the door,
throws it open with all the requisite ceremonials,
and introduces the Pasha into the Dwelling of Bliss.
In the hall of the harem he is received by his wife,
or by the directress or superintendent of the harem,
and to her belongs the honour of introducing him
into the inner chamber.

The Pasha, as a general rule, does not remain

284 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

more than a quarter of an hour in the harem ; that
is to say, the precise time necessary to undress him-
self, and to put on his dressing-gown and pelisse of
ermine fur. In this costume, which is not wanting
in elegance or comfort, he again returns to the
apartments of the men, and proceeds to occupy his
customary place on the divan. He has hardly had
time to install himself here before the entry of a
procession of his friends, his flatterers, and of per-
sons who desire to ask favours of him ; these, one
after the other, kiss the hem of his robe, and take
their places in line before him.

Surrounded by these people, the Pasha drinks
his bottle of raki, eats some dried raisins and
filberts, and smokes several pipes. When the hour
of dinner arrives, his Excellency places himself at
the head of the hungry troop around him, and con-
ducts them to the dining-hall. All who have the
honour of sharing his repast do not fail to give
loud expression to their gratitude ; and at each
mouthful which they swallow they never omit to
make a profound reverence. The great man, on his
part, seeing how injurious his august presence is to
the satisfactory digestion of his guests, does not cease
during the repast to encourage them, and urge
them on by the powerful stimulus of his voice.

FAMILY LIFE. 285

With this view, at each occasion of a new dish
appearing, he never fails to request them to attack
it in earnest, crying out continually in a- loud and
sonorous voice, " Bmurun, bumrun "- —" ~Eiai, my
friends, eat."

When the dinner is concluded, the Pasha and
his friends return and place themselves in the
same seats which they occupied before it com-
menced ; then begins a course of coffee and pipes,
and a renewed course of social and political gossip.
Sometimes, but rarely, as a variation, cards are
played ; but tric-trac is more in vogue : the great
world at Constantinople have a preference for this
kind of diversion. The Pasha and his circle spend
their evenings in this fashion amongst themselves,
without caring what their wives may do in the
harem. These, on their part, endeavour to amuse
themselves as best they can, by assembling round
them their friends and all the gossips of the neigh-
bourhood, and with these companions they laugh,
they feast, they play games, and sometimes have a
little music with tambours — tef.

It is generally half-past eleven before the Pasha
definitively retires for the night to the harem ; he is
received at the threshold by the eunuch, who waits
his approach, standing with lights in eacli hand,

286 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

and who precedes him through the entrance-hall to
the apartment of his wife.

At the time of rising in the morning, the Pasha
is attended by slaves, who assist at his toilet and
ablutions ; when these are completed, and he is ready
to leave his room, he remains a few minutes and
talks with the members of the harem on any subjects
which may interest them. It is usually at this early
levee that his daughters and female relatives take
the opportunity of presenting themselves and en-
joying his society. When this short space of time
has elapsed, he hastily takes his departure, in order
that he may not keep too long in suspense the crowd
of worshippers who are waiting for a sight of his
august countenance.

The description which I have now given of life
amongst the Turkish grandees sufficiently explains
the kind of intercourse which exists between mem-
bers of the same family, and what little care parents
take of their children. It is true that for boys the
case is different, because the latter have the power
of going out, and can enter the harem when they
please ; and, besides, as their education is much
more cared for, the separation from their father has
not such a disastrous effect. The daughters are
those who really suffer from this entire absence of

FAMILY LIFE. 287

family life and of a father's care, whom they do not
see, perhaps, more than once or twice in a month.
Confined entirely to their own apartments, they
depend solely on their own resources, having no
society but that of slaves and old women, who sur-
round them, and amuse and manage them as they
please.

My poor Aisheh was not treated with greater dis-
tinction than the ordinary children of a family,
either as regards instruction or in the general tenour
of her life. If any exception was made, it was
decidedly to her disadvantage, as every means
and trick was employed in order to withdraw
her as much as possible from the eye of her father
and of the world, and to keep a constant watch over
her. The cunning Ferideh was well aware that she
was much beloved by her father. Influenced by an
ignoble feeling of jealousy, she constantly interposed
between them, never ceased to spy on my child, and
took unceasing precautions to prevent any acci-
dental meeting with him.

CHAPTER XXY.

Apprehensions of Ferideh— Her manoeuvres— Marriage scheme — Choice of
Shevket.

THE complete isolation to which Aisheh was
condemned, and the strict surveillance to which
she was subjected, had for their object the pre-
vention of the development of her intellectual
faculties, and it was hoped thereby to retain
her in a permanent state of mental degrada-
tion. But even if this object had been fully
attained, it would not have satisfied this savage
mother-in-law, whose jealousy and cupidity knew
no bounds. By keeping the daughter of her rival
in a brutalizing state of ignorance, she succeeded
wonderfully in her designs, for a brute is never to
be feared ; but a brute has a heart, and knows what
the love of a mother is. This notion flashed across
Ferideh's mind, causing her serious apprehen-
sions, and making her fear that filial love would
find a response in the heart of the unfortunate
Aisheh.

MANOEUVRES OF FERIDEH. 289

"Never," said she, "never! Aisheh is in my
power. She must belong body and soul to me
alone. If the voice of nature calls upon her, I
will stifle it ; for I and my rival can never be on an
equality. Aisheh must forget even the very name
of her mother."

Impelled therefore by blind passion and a bound-
less jealousy, the mother-in-law set to work to attain
her aim, which was to cause every trace of me to
disappear from her mind. For this purpose she
took care to surround the girl with people who were
devoted to her wishes ; and in addition to them she
began a systematic attack, in order entirely to drive
away any remains of filial love which might still
remain in her heart. There was no atrocity or
calumny which could be devised against me which
these people did not repeat to Aisheh, enlarging on
and bringing them forcibly before the tender spirit
of my unfortunate daughter.

These clever tactics, as I had foreseen, did not
fail to obtain a complete success ; for, sharp as she
was, poor Aisheh was forced to feel all the influences
which they brought to bear upon her. So, by dint
of lies and continual efforts, the clever emissaries of
Ferideh succeeded in making my daughter believe
all sorts of absurdities against me, and impressed

200 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

her with the idea that, like the mythological beings,
she was the child of a monster in flesh.

Having succeeded in poisoning and perverting
Aisheh's mind, the wily Ferideh thought it would be
better to endeavour to efface every trace of her rival
from the daughter's mind ; by this means she fancied
she would remain absolute mistress of her destiny.
In causing the last vestiges of a past domination to
disappear, she calculated to consolidate her own.
An order was .therefore given to the people about
the house that they were to spread the report of my
death, and never to mention my name again. The
same order was also given to those who came to the
house, so that none should mention the name of
Melek-Hanum in the presence of the girl. Further,
as a precautionary measure, all those who had fre-
quented the house in my time, and who knew me,
were dispensed with. Ferideh evidently feared lest
kindly disposed or indiscreet persons should reveal
the truth to her whom she desired so ardently to
deceive and mystify. Amongst the persons who
were excluded can be enumerated Atidjeh, Hanum-
Effendi, Zekieh-Hanum, the Hanum Sultanas, and
several others.

Owing to these plots and endless intrigues,
Ferideh and her worthy brother, Bessim-Bey, a

MARRIAGE SCHEMES. 291

downright scoundrel, made my poor daughter
their slave, only allowing her to see what they
liked, and hear what suited them. Aisheh had to
submit to this slavery in the midst even of
her family and under her father's eye for seven
years, until she had attained her sixteenth year.
Having reached this age, when girls in the East are
considered marriageable, Aisheh began to excite
notice, owing to the freshness and beauty of her
face and her youth. Aisheh's charms, at the same
time that all remarked them, equally impressed
Ferideh, who, in her quality of mother-in-law, had
to think of her future. What will be the fate of
this girl ? is a question which Ferideh and her
accomplices must often have put to each other.
Owing to every sort of intrigue, they had succeeded
up to that time in doing what they liked, and in
keeping her in the most complete dependence.

In Turkey, girls of good family usually marry at
sixteen, and that because aspirants to obtain the
hand of a great Pasha's daughter are never wanting.
This grand question, namely, to know to whom would
be intrusted my daughter's future, became the topic
and question to which all the policy of Ferideh and
her clique had resort. This question became a fixed

idea for them in the day-time and a nightmare dur-

u 2

292 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

ing the night ; but a real and tangible nightmare,
for they were forced to decide one way or another.
In fact, the question which arose before them, like
an insurmountable mountain, was truly one of the
most difficult which a set of scoundrels and rogues
had ever to solve.

Two courses presented themselves to Ferideh's
and Bessim/s consideration, by which to resolve the
problem of marriage. Either they had to give the
girl to a young man who was able to keep her
in the ease and comfort to which her birth en-
titled her, or they had to seek a suitable parti, who
would be admitted to the house in the capacity of
son-in-law to his Highness Kibrizli-Mehemet-Pasha.

The first of these two aspirants did not suit
Ferideh at all, and that because the idea of separat-
ing herself from Aisheh and giving her her liberty
made her tremble with fright. "How," said she,
" can I allow this girl to leave the house, away from
my superintendence, in leaving her to the care of
the first comer whom it would be folly to fight
against, and who would kiss my hand to-day that
he might betray me the next ? No, that cannot be !
And if, unluckily, my rival, on hearing that her
daughter is free and settled, should find her out and
unfold to her our misdoings — how we separated her

MARRIAGE SCHEMES. 293

from her father— how we despoiled her of all she
possessed— how we declared she was dead, the better
to assure her death, — if this were to happen, I am
lost for ever ! But what am I saying ? The union
of the daughter with the mother would inevitably
lead to the union of the husband. Eh ! eh ! eh !
that is a fearful dream, a dream to make my hair
standfc on end ; and if his Highness, drawn into
their midst, should see once again the woman he so
loved . . . and whom he loves still, the triumph
of my rival is certain, and I should be for ever
lost ! "

Terrified by such a terrible occurrence, Ferideh
turned her attention to another method which still
remained for her to dispose of Aisheh, which was to
marry her to a man of her choice, who would keep
her under the paternal roof. This was the only
means which offered a certain guarantee, and it was
to this that the perfidious mother-in-law had re-
course. But, even whilst deciding on this last,
Ferideh's troubles appeared only to increase ; the more
she surmounted, the more appeared to arrive. Being
determined not to let go of her prey, she sought for a
husband — a sort of make-believe husband — an
ignoble being, who would lend himself to play the
role of accomplice, and who would be transformed

294 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

into the jailer and even the executioner of his
victim.

Amongst people who wish to make their fortune
at one stroke by marrying a girl, there are some of
all sorts ; thus Ferideh had not far to go before she
found the individual who would suit her, had she
been simple enough to rely on the first rogue who
presented - himself as suitor. But Ferideh wste too
cunning to trust too indiscriminately to anyone.
She sought for a sure husband, one who would be
proof against all exterior influence and romantic
sentiment, one who would be hired to do anything.
To judge by the absurd requirements and preten-
sions advanced by this mother-in-law, one would
have decidedly thought she was choosing a husband
for herself and not for another.

And yet all this was simply mere play-work, but
serious play-work too, by means of which the players
sought to blind everybody, more especially Kibrizli,
the father, in whose eyes they threw dust. Whilst
Ferideh, Bessim, and the rest appeared to be con-
sidering the future of Aisheh, and were carrying on
all sorts of intrigues, they had already passed sen-
tence on their victim, and were considering the
means by which they could put it into execution.
Kibrizli had no other issue but two daughters ; one

CHOICE OF SHEVKET. 295

was Aisheh, my child, and the other by his second
marriage. These two daughters were therefore the
successors to his fortune ; for at his death his pos-
sessions were to be equally divided between them.
It was evident that at the death of the Pasha, with
the remainder of this fortune Aisheh would have
acquired her own portion, which she would have
been able to dispose of as she liked, even to
sharing it with me, her mother.

To prevent this, and further to render it impossible *
for her to share and enjoy it with me, Ferideh and
her relations decided on taking possession both of
Aisheh and her fortune. But this could only be done
by keeping the unfortunate girl to themselves —
marrying her, in fact, to one of their relations.

As often happens amongst rogues, several of
Ferideh's relations who had come forward as
suitors fought between themselves and intrigued
to obtain the girl and her fortune. Each thought
he was the favoured individual, and did his best
to keep in the good graces of, and conciliate
himself with, Ferideh and the father of the
girl Ferideh had, however, already chosen her
man, which she concealed all the more carefully
because she feared lest anything should compromise
her success. The handful of suitors which the

296 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

mother-in-law kept by her, included three principal
ones, Bessim-Bey, her eldest, Shakir, her youngest
brother, and Shevket, her son by Sarosh-Eeshid.
The two former were only lay-figures : the latter
was, as it were, the trump card by which she hoped
to win the game.

Having made up her mind to drag Aisheh into
her family, Ferideh began insensibly to alter her
manner towards her, by taking her out of the soli-
tude in which she had been left. Thus the unfor-
tunate girl was subjected to the trial of a complete
transformation, for her usual habits and surroundings
were suddenly changed, and she was drawn, as if
by enchantment, out of the cell where she had been
kept. By Ferideh's orders, her wardrobe was imme-
diately filled with rich clothes, her apartments were
luxuriously furnished, the number of her servants
and slaves was augmented, whilst several carriages
and horses were put at her disposal.

Thus at the age of fifteen my daughter was with-
drawn from this prison, where her intelligence and
bodily health had languished for the long period of
seven years, and she made her first appearance in
the society of ladies. Having been gilded by the
rays of Ferideh's favour, from that time Aisheh
became the object of the adulations and attention

TED TO ABDUL-AZIZ. 297

of all the acquaintances and friends of the house.
The guests, who came in great numbers to solicit
the patronage of his Highnesses wife, began to turn
their steps towards the apartments of the Pasha's
daughter, whose goodwill they also desired to
obtain.

From this time, whenever Ferideh wished to go
out paying official calls, or, better still, ceremonious
ones, she took care to be accompanied by Aisheh,
whose beauty only added brilliancy to the cortege.
After having exhibited her in the houses of the dif-
ferent ministers and nobles of the empire, the
mother-in-law took her with her when she was
received into the Imperial palace, and on this occa-
sion she did not fail to present her to Abdul- Aziz,
who at this time was on the throne.

The description of the ceremonial, and the curious
incidents which took place on the occasion of this
reception, such as they were repeated to me by my
daughter, offer such a striking interest that I cannot
refrain from giving an account of it here.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Coronation of Abdul- Aziz — Reception at the Seraglio — Extraordinary
custom — Incident at the reception — The Lost Jewel.

As it may be remembered, Kibrizli-Mehemet-
Pasha, the father of my child, was at the head
of the Ottoman cabinet, at the death of the late
Sultan, Abdul-Medjid. In his capacity as head of
the government, like a sort of ad interim Sultan,
it was he who had the upper hand in affairs during
the interregnum. It is to him, too, that the empire
is indebted for the inauguration of the new reign,
and the installation of Abdul- Aziz on the Imperial
throne ; for the fidelity and energy of Kibrizli con-
tributed enormously to the maintenance of order
and respect for the laws and dynastic traditions.

This period (1862) was assuredly the most bril-
liant epoch of the political career of Kibrizli-Pasha,
for Providence had reserved for him the role of
supreme umpire, who, on the one hand, could consign
the mortal remains of a Sultan to the tomb, and
with the other, aid his successor to gird on the sword

CORONATION OF ABDUL- AZIZ.

of Osman. Being first amongst the vezirs, he ral-
lied them all around the throne, and his voice was
law from one end of the empire to the other. His
power and authority, which threw their rays over all,
were shared to a certain extent by the woman who
served him as companion, and that was Ferideh.
Notwithstanding the complete separation of the two
sexes in the East, the woman who shares her life
with the man ends by also sharing, to some extent,
his power and honours ; bound together as they are
by common fate, this division becomes inevitable.

Ferideh was then, at this time, the first amongst
her fellow- women, the grand vezir of the women as
her husband was amongst the men. She was at
the head of the vezir's wives, surrounded by the
highest class of women, for her protection and good
graces were sought after by all those who found any
allurement in her power.

At the period of the inauguration of the new
reign, Kibrizli's wife also played a part, and, being
the first amongst the women, she considered it her
duty to be present at the ceremonies, fetes, and re-
ceptions which were given to celebrate the succession
of Abdul- Aziz to the throne. On the occasion of
the official reception, which took place at the palace
of the Dolma-Bagtcheh, Ferideh presented herself at

300 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

the head of the feminine branch of diplomacy to

swear fidelity and congratulate his Imperial Majesty

•
on his accession to the throne.

Accompanied by my daughter Aisheh, and sur-
rounded by a numerous suite of ladies in waiting
and slaves, who vied with each other in the beauty
of their faces, the elegance of their figures, and the
magnificence of their jewels, — in the midst, I say, of a
brilliant staff, Ferideh approached the golden doors
and marble staircases which, on the shores of the
Bosphorus, give access to the interior of the Imperial
harem.

Hardly was the arrival of the caique signalled
which bore the harem of the Grand-vezir, than a
crowd of guards and eunuchs in full dress arranged
themselves in two lines, so as to render the honour
due to the wife of him who held in his hands the
seal of the Padishah. Supported under her arms
and elbows by numerous masters of the ceremonies,
Ferideh had to walk the whole distance between
the banks and the entrance-door, trampling under
her feet the rich shawls which had been spread out
the length of the quay in her honour.

Once arrived at the entrance-door, Kibrizli-
Pasha's wife was received by the first mistress of
the ceremonies of the Imperial harem, who awaited

RECEPTION AT THE SERAGLIO. 301

her standing ; with the ladies and slaves of her
retinue.

As separate chambers had been prepared for each
of the guests, where they were to remain during the
reception, the mistress of ceremonies hastened to
show Ferideh into the room which had been re-
served for her ; after which she and her suite
were regaled with splendid refreshments, including
Eastern sherbets and Neapolitan ices. The refresh-
ments were served during the interval which was
accorded to the ladies to arrange their toilettes and
make themselves worthy of the Imperial glance.

The mistresses of ceremonies having announced
the time was come for the ladies to pass into the
reception-room, the whole number of guests arose
with measured tread, and took the attitude required
by the court ceremonial, crossing their hands before
them. This attitude or position is known to the
Turks under the name of " pencheh-divan," and it is
in this posture that the women pray. On present-
ing themselves before the Sultan, who is a man and
a .mortal like any other, Ferideh and her com-
panions were not veiled.

This incident demands a moment's pause and also
a little explanation, for my readers wiU feel natu-
rally curious to know how it is that the Turks allow

302 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

their wives to appear before any one with, their faces
uncovered. " Decidedly/' they will say, " that must
be a sign of progress amongst the Turks." My
readers must beware of arriving at premature con-
clusions on the faith of such an occurrence. The
Turks may change, it is true, but never will they
change on the point of jealousy : the most refined
» Turk, he who passes for a Europeanized being, once
returned to his home, is certain to eclipse all his
compatriots on that one point of jealousy. As
regards woman, the Turk is jealous of his own shadow ;
he would never allow a profane gaze to fall on her.
But, at the same time, the Turk is a curious being,
with whom contrasts of every description are possible.
For example, the Turk who would shudder to hear
his wife's name on the lips of another man, the same
irascible, quarrelsome and jealous being, consents,
with a light heart, to let his wife present herself
unveiled before the Sultan.

One can trace to two distinct causes this apparent
contradiction — this act which, for the Turk, is an act
contrary to nature and the divine law : the first is
religious sentiment ; the second, a servile mind.
Keligious feeling is that which compels a Turk to
commit an action which the Koran condemns most
decidedly : in his opinion, the Sultan is a being

EXTRAORDINARY CUSTOM.

placed above all mortals ; he is the Prophet's Vicar,
the shadow of God upon earth — " Zil-ullah"
These divine attributes evidently raise the Sultan
above human creatures, and elevate him to that
height, that none can think of putting him on the
same footing as the rest of created beings.

Such a profound respect for the sacred person of
the Padishah, clearly explains how the Turks put
aside their jealousy, and how they ever consent to
allow their wives to appear unveiled before a mortal.
Thus, since the Sultan has taken the title of Ma-
homet's Vicar, the Turks have tacitly accorded
him the privilege of looking on the wives of his sub-
jects. One thing which I do not know, and which
I am very curious to understand, is, owing to what
theological effort the Ulemas can reconcile the laws
of the Koran upon marriage with the right of cayte
Uanche allowed to the Sultans. According to the
Koran, the moment that a Mussulman woman shows
her face to a stranger, the marriage instantly becomes
null and void.

Servitude is the second cause to which must be

iilmtrd the existence of this privilege in favour

of the Sultans. In fact, the marked disposition

-wn by the Turks in making themselves the

very humble and obedient servants of those who

304 THIRTY YEARS IN .THE HAREM.

govern, added to the total absence of independent
feeling, are reasons which can explain the extra-
ordinary abnegation of the Turk towards Mahomet's
Vicar and the reigning power. In the struggle be-
tween the ruling passions of his soul, fanaticism and
covetousness bear the palm, and jealousy remains
powerless : then he consents that his wife shall pre-
sent herself in all her beauty and attractions before
'the Sultan. " Padishaha yassak yok dur " (" to the
Sultan nothing is forbidden"), says the Turk, shaking
his head ; and upon that he permits his wife to go.

It must be allowed that if subjects, on their
side, give such a signal proof of their loyalty and
veneration for the sovereign, on the other hand, the
Sultans have never abused the confidence placed in
them.

At the request of the grand mistress of cere-
monies, all the ladies who were going to be pre-
sented, with Ferideh at their head, advanced towards
the throne-room. On entering the hall, she and
my daughter were conducted close to the Sultan,
who stood upright and looked with surprise at the
number of his faithful subjects. In accordance with
the etiquette used at such ceremonies, Ferideh knelt
down, and, bending forwards, kissed the feet of his
Imperial Majesty. Aisheh, and all the other ladies

INCIDENT AT .THE RECEPTION. 305

or girls who followed her, imitated the example
which the Graud-vezir s wife had set them. Having

T

achieved this act of adoration, they retreated, walk-
ing backwards, so as not to turn their backs on the
Sultan, and then they ranged themselves in a linfe
along the w^all.

This latter ceremony was succeeded by a prome-
nade, which the Sultan made round the hall— a sort
of review, in fact, which gave him an occasion to
address a few words and compliments to the wives
of his Ministers. Ferideh, who had precedence
over the others, was the first to whom Abdul- Aziz
spoke. When the Sultan came near her, he said
graciously, "Madame, I am highly satisfied with
your husband, and the whole nation appreciates his
high merit/'

After this Abdul-Aziz continued his promenade
without failing to speak a few words to the wives
of Ali and Fuad Pasha, besides other high digni-
taries of the land.

From what I have heard my daughter say, it
would appear that her mother-in-law completely
lost all presence of mind when once she was con-
fronted with Mohamed's representative. But when
the Sultan spoke to her, it was all over with
Ferideh : the poor woman was seized with such a

306 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

palpable convulsion that her head nearly sunk within
the huge mass of her shoulders. When once the
Sultan had passed, Ferideh became more tranquil,
and, taking courage, determined to repair the bad im-
pression she must have given him. She decided,
therefore, on making an ample apology by a master-
stroke, which would put her on a level with her
position. From this resolution of hers there arose
an incident which unfortunately made her fall from
the sublime to the ridiculous, and which proved
very annoying to her husband. Such things often
happen to persons who insist on occupying a posi-
tion for which they are not intended, and, in seek-
ing to repair a fault, they end by making a much
graver one.

On quitting the throne-room the great ladies of
the Ottoman aristocracy were conducted to the
Valideh-Sultan, who, under the title of Empress-
Mother, occupies a very high position. The ladies
received a very courteous reception from the
Sultana, and each took the place on the divan
which was assigned to her. Ferideh, at the head
of the troop, sat cross-legged near the Yalideh, to
whom she hastened to address a few respectful
words. After having congratulated her on the
accession of her son to the throne, Ferideh thought

INCIDENT AT THE RECEPTION. 307

it time to conciliate the favour of her Majesty by
making the following speech : —

' Your Majesty, no doubt, is aware how Kibrizli-
Pasha, my husband, has been ever one of the most
devoted servants and sincere partisans of your
august son, our lord. It is owing to his efforts and
fidelity that the nation has to-day the happiness of
celebrating Abdul- Aziz's accession to the throne."

The Valideh-Sultan could not refrain from re-
ceiving, with visible signs of coolness this doubtful
compliment, in which the speaker clearly informed
her that her son and herself were indebted to Feri-
deh's husband for the throne which they had begun
to occupy. The Sultana, however, restrained herself,
and with much presence of mind and good taste
sought to turn the subject.

But Ferideh, with her usual want of tact, did not
notice the effect which the first part of her speech
had produced on the Sultana. Absorbed by poli-
tical pre-occupations, she continued in the same
strain, and began to unfold the programme of the
reforms which she and her husband intended to put
into execution.

" Yes," said she, " it is time to put an end to the
abuses, the thieves, and wickedness which made the
last reign one of infamy. The Pasha is determined

308 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to put a stop to such a state of things. All thieves
must be summarily dealt with, the abuse of the
Imperial harem must be reformed, and Mussulman
society must be remodelled according to the pre-
cepts of our most holy prophet and the primitive
laws of Islam/'

The effect of such a tirade can be imagined on
the Valideh's mind. No doubt at first she felt un-
decided whether to laugh or be angry; for such
language could only belong to an insolent or a
foolish creature. However, the Sultana gave her the
latter preference ; and she justly appreciated her, for
one must be truly mad to dream of making such
wounding speeches, concerning the honour of the
Imperial family, before the mother even of the
Sultan, and to pry into strictly private affairs whose
solution only depends on the good pleasure and will
of the sovereign. The Valideh, having estimated
the speaker for what she was worth, contented her-
self with simply turning her back on her and be-
ginning a conversation with the other wives of the

different Ministers.

•

No sooner was this done than Ferideh opened her
eyes ; but that only caused her to measure the gulf
which she had made between the Imperial family
and her husband. On her return to her home she

INCIDENT AT THE RECEPTION. 309

found that this unlucky incident had already gone
round the town, and had even reached Kibrizli's
ears. Several scenes were naturally the consequence,
in the midst of which the Pasha could not refrain
from saying to his wife, "When God gave fools
mouths, it was not that they might talk, but eat."

This diplomatic failure of Ferideh's was enough
to cause her many bitter regrets, and to take from
her any further wish to meddle in politics. But,
like a philosophical woman, she resigned herself
to her fate, and decided on taking things as they
came.

It is an ancient custom in the Ottoman court to
give gifts to those who are present at the official
receptions. These presents are given to the guests
when they are about to leave. As a rule they con-
sist of rich brooches and other ornaments in dia-
monds, the beauty and value of which vary accord-
ing to the importance and position of the people for
whom they are destined.

Thus, at this reception, the Ottoman court did
not derogate from its traditional liberality and
munificence, for care is taken to satisfy all the
guests by the quantity and value of the gifts which
were bestowed on them.

Ferideh, in her position of wife of the Grand-

310 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

vezir, received the lion's share, which ought to
have satisfied her. The ornaments presented to her
from his Imperial Majesty were all in brilliants to
the value of one hundred thousand francs. Other
similar things were also given to the ladies of her
suite ; and my daughter Aisheh received a costly
parure, which was barely inferior to that of her
mother-in-law. Contented and joyful on account of
the reception, and still more so because of the pre-
sents which they took away with them, the mother-
in-law, daughter, and attendant ladies returned to
their home. Once there, they barely gave them-
selves time to take off their veils than they rushed
up to Ferideh to obtain possession and revel in the
sight of the jewels which belonged to them.

They pushed each other about in their impatience,
and on all sides arose cries of " Where are my orna-
ments ? where are my jewels ? "

By degrees all these exclamations ceased, each
one received what belonged to her, and all, wild
with excitement, contemplated with avidity their
rich presents.

But, in the midst o£ this general excitement,
there was one who clamoured in vain, and who had
all the trouble in the world to make herself heard.
That one was Aisheh, my daughter, who had vainly

THE LOST JEWEL. 311

endeavoured to get possession of her jewels and
could not find them.

On finding that her case was not there, they
began to search for it everywhere, and to question
everybody, but without any success.

Fear and suspicion seized them all, and they
began to say aloud, " How could the ornaments and
their case both disappear ? "

And this occurrence threw alarm and perturba-
tion into the harem, as much amongst the strangers
as its inmates.

But whilst they were searching everywhere, a
voice made itself heard, it was Ferideh's, who called
out in somewhat troubled tones, " Here is the case !
Come, come, I have found it ! "

The haste with which every one ran up can be
imagined, and the impatience with which they
pressed round her who said she had discovered the
lost object.

But on opening the case, what was the surprise of
every one to see it empty ? It was difficult to be-
lieve one's eyes, and the case became an enigma to
them all.

" Where is the ornament ? "Where did it fall ? "

Such were the questions which arose on every
side, without any one's being able to answer them.

312 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Up to this day the case incident has remained a
mystery.

As for my poor Aisheh, a few tears were shed
and then she forgot all about it.

What is assuredly worthy of remark, is the fact'
that this occurrence of the stolen jewels is similar
to what happened on a subsequent occasion.

At the time of the marriage of Mustapha-Bey,
brother of Kibrizli-Pasha, who was consequently
uncle to my daughter, the Sultan Abdul- Aziz sent
as wedding-present a rich set of brilliants destined
for the bride. The jewels were placed, by the
chamberlain to his Majesty, in the hands of Ferideh
who had taken upon herself the office of god-
mother.

The beauty of these jewels, the light which burst
forth from this mass of brilliants, the exquisite taste
of the setting, all produced on Ferideh an effect so
bewildering, that it is not wonderful that she should
have lost her head whilst contemplating it. After
that she was no longer mistress of herself, and the
giddiness which seized her was such, that the good
woman on going to visit her future sister-in-law,
instead of the superb ornaments she ought to have
taken, brought another set, without being aware of
her mistake. It was true that the parure of jewels

THE LOST JEWEL. 313

she gave her sister-in-law was very inferior to that
sent by the Sultan, but when a mistake has been
made it must be supposed that the value of the
objects exchanged has nothing to do with the mis-
take. Nevertheless, Mustapha-Bey was not of this
opinion at first, as he decided on rectifying the
error ; the fear, however, of troubling his brother
made him keep silent on the subject.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Marriage schemes— Betrothal— Marriage festivals — The apartment of the
bride — Wedding ceremony.

A YEAR was thus passed in receptions and visits of
all sorts, in which my daughter Aisheh took part in
order to become initiated in the habits and customs
of society at Constantinople. But whilst she was
thus engaged, Ferideh had her own plans, and
paved the way towards the realization of the dream
she cherished more than all else in the world, and
this was the marriage of Aisheh with her son
Shevket. The first step she took towards forwarding
this project was to present to the Pasha her eldest
brother, Bessim-Bey, and, immediately afterwards,
Shakir ; but on the refusal of her husband to listen
to such aspirants for the hand of his daughter,
Ferideh raised her mask and proposed her own son.
It is averred that Kibrizli at first absolutely refused
the proposition, for the reason that the two young
people having been brought up together as brother

MARRIAGE SCHEMES. 315

and sister, he could not consent to their being united
by conjugal ties.

This first rebuff did not discourage the woman,
who, to obtain her ends, did not hesitate to put the
Pasha in a very difficult position. In fact, Ferideh
managed things so skilfully, that she led him to
think that having confiscated all my property, there
was no alternative left for them but to keep my
daughter also. For if Aisheh should ever get be-
yond their surveillance, all the chances were in
favour of a meeting between me and my daughter,
and, if so, the question of the confiscation of my
property would inevitably have come on the tapis.
The marriage with her son Shevket would render
such an hypothesis impossible, for not only w^ould
the girl remain under their direct surveillance, but
also she would never be able to hear or know any-
thing of her mother.

With such arguments, and thanks to the skilful
intrigues of Ferideh's coterie, she succeeded in ob-
taining the hand of Aisheh for her son. As for the
poor girl, no one troubled themselves to obtain her
consent. In Turkey, it is the parents who arrange
all these matters ; if the parents think the parti a
good one, the girls can only bow their heads.

Thus one fine day the Pasha and his wife called

316 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

my daughter into their presence, and notified to her
their intention of giving her in marriage. On
leaving the chamber, the slaves surrounded the un-
fortunate girl, drew her into another apartment, and
there attired her in robes of ceremony, and covered
her head and neck with jewels. The preparations
for the betrothment finished, they conducted Aisheh
into the middle of a large room, where were assem-
bled the wives of the Ministers and the aristocracy
of the country. Before the ceremony commenced
they. laid at the feet of the betrothed cashmere
shawls and embroidered carpets of great value.

The ceremony had nothing in itself worthy of
interest ; for it consisted only of a prayer that the
Imam read in a loud voice, and which was fol-
lowed by the reading of a deed before witnesses of
the conditions of the matrimonial contract. In the
middle of the reading of this deed the witnesses
sent by the future husband require the consent of
the fiancee. But this consent, which the law of
the Koran requires, is in reality only a pure and
simple farce, for as the witnesses and ihejiancee are
separated by a large folding-door, they could never
know who the person was who uttered the fatal Yes.

The last act of this comedy was the crowning of
my daughter by her step-mother, who was now

BETROTHAL. 317

about to exchange that title for the sweeter one of
mother-in-law. Thejinale of all this ceremony (as
is the custom nearly everywhere) was the magnifi-
cat, for no sooner is the fiancee crowned than the
guests immediately attack the refreshments, sweets,
and sherbets that are placed before them.

Four months passed between the betrothal and
the celebration of the marriage. This period was
much longer than usual in the generality of cases.
It appears that the resistance of the girl, and her
aversion to the proposed union, was the cause of
this delay. Nevertheless, by means of menaces and
cajoleries they succeeded in overcoming her and
fixed the day for the marriage.

I was at this time at Kadjik, a village in the
vicinity of Constantinople, situated on the borders
of the gulf of Nicomedia at the foot of Olympus.
I had gone there in order to find amongst the good
and simple shepherds of Bithynia that repose of
mind and body that the hatred of my enemies in
the capital so greatly troubled.

Whilst all these plots were becoming developed,
with a broken heart I was, as I have said, retired
from the world, and keeping a strict neutrality as
regards all that concerned the interests and future
of my daughter. In my deserted position, deprived

318 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

as I was of all means, it was the best thing I could
do ; for any effort of mine, with the object of inter-
fering in favour of my daughter, would have had
no other result than that of making her position
still more difficult.

Kesigning myself, therefore, to inaction and
silence, I had but one consolation in my solitude
— the thought that the animosity of my enemies
would lead one day to a crisis that would deliver
my daughter from their hands, and re-unite us for
ever. Until this moment should arrive I considered
it my duty in nowise to trouble the tranquillity of
my child by revealing to her that, contrary to what
had been told her, I was still alive, and that I was
not even far from her.

Such a proceeding would have brought about
complications that I had no desire to provoke.
Whilst desiring ardently the well-being and liberty
of my daughter, I did not wish to attain this end by
upsetting the whole of my husband's establishment.
Besides, the course followed by her mother-in-law
and her associates showed clearly that a crisis
was inevitable, and that the emancipation of my
daughter was only a question of time.

My enemies, on their side, took courage from my
silence and inactivity ; and brought things to a

MARRIAGE FESTIVALS, 319

conclusion by the celebration of the marriage, which
took place without once asking my consent, or even
acquainting me of it.

The marriage of my daughter Aisheh with
Shevket took place in the autumn of the year 1857.
The wedding was not celebrated, however, with all
the pomp that the public of Constantinople expected
to have seen on the occasion of the marriage of the
daughter of his Highness Kibrizli-Mehemet-Pasha.
This circumstance did not fail to raise murmurs
amongst the population, and comments of all kinds
were circulated, from which one could learn that
the sympathies of the public were not for this union.
They thought that the two did not make a pair,
and that a daughter of Kibrizli might have found
a husband more worthy of her than Shevket, whose
exterior was far from attractive, and who, besides,
was penniless.

In Turkey the mass of spectators do not spare
their remarks on the bridegrooms ; for, as they are
exposed to the gaze of the public, everyone picks
them to pieces, and points out all their defects. If
a pretty girl falls to the ]ot of an ugly fellow, the
spectators show him no mercy, and from one end
of the town to the other they denounce him as
being a monster. The Turkish lower classes are

320 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

very unruly as regards this matter, and if they
once take an aversion to anyone they do not easily
change. Thus, in this case, the public hoped to bless
with its sympathy the newly-married couple.

On the day of the marriage, the apartments and
gardens of the summer residence of his Highness at
Gheuk-su were decorated and put in gala costume,
in order to receive the guests who came to attend
the wedding. The guests of the Pasha and his son-
in-law were received in the selamlik, which is the
apartment of the men ; there, at midday, the tables
were prepared, on which were arranged all the most
delicate and expensive dishes, the finest wines and
the best raki. Troops of musicians, seated under the
shadow of the trees, made the air resound with their
pathetic songs, and thus encouraged the merriment
at which Bacchus presides. Between Mohamed and
Bacchus the last prevails, for after the third or
fourth glass, the guests give themselves up, without
reserve, to a wild and disorderly mirth.

But let us leave the men in the middle of their
joy and drunkenness, and turn our steps towards
the harem, where since the morning many interest-
ing scenes had taken place. Marriages are, after
all, fetes for the women, and it is only just that
they play the most important part, in them. What

THE APARTMENT OF THE BRIDE. 321

I say is true for all countries in the world, but still
more so in the East, where for the woman the
wedding day is the one on which her future de-
pends whether it be for good or evil. As for the
man, the day of his marriage does not occupy so
important a place in his life ; if a first marriage
does not turn out well, he can repeat the experiment
as often as he pleases.

Thus the position of the woman is the reason that
in a marriage she attracts the attention of everyone,
and is an object of pre-occupation to all, and con-
sequently all that occurs in a harem on a wedding
day is a subject of general interest.

Several weeks previous to the celebration of the
marriage, preparations on a vast scale had been made
in order to decorate and furnish the bridal chamber
in a manner worthy of the daughter of a Grand-
vezir. The arrangements made to this effect were
such that nothing was omitted, neither trouble or
expense, in order to show to the public an apart-
ment that might truly be called sumptuous.

In the nuptial chamber the divan with its cushions
were all in rich red velvet, embroidered in gold from
one end to the other ; besides which, the cushions
had at each corner tassels composed of pearls. The
windows and doors were ornamented with rich silk

322 . THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

curtains^ the fringe of which was also of gold. The
carpet was one of those rich and soft gobelins whose
design and colour surpassed everything that could
be made of this kind in the East.

The reader will have remarked in this description
of the nuptial chamber that no mention has been made
of chairs, sofas, and the furniture which in the pre-
sent day is considered indispensable even in Turkey.
The fact is, that chairs and tables are excluded from
the nuptial chambers; for, according to custom in this
chamber, there is nothing else but the divan and a
curious article of furniture that they call the aski.

This aski is a thing which requires some explana-
tions, and even detailed explanations, for this article
of furniture belongs to the bride, and it only re-
mains there during the ceremony of the marriage.
The aski is neither more or less than the throne of
the bride, the throne on which she is placed to re-
ceive the homage of the crowd. They give the
name of aski to a sort of tent or canopy of rose-
coloured net, which being suspended from the ceil-
ing descends gracefully on to the floor ; this canopy
is sprinkled with gold stars, and surmounted with a
wreath of flowers which reach to the bottom in the
shape of festoons. It is in this fairy-like niche that
(as I have said) the young bride is seated to receive

THE APARTMENT OF THE BRIDE. 323

the homage and congratulations of the inquisitive
crowd. The day after the marriage the aski naturally
disappears, in order to make way for more useful
furniture.

After having described the bridal chamber, we
must pass to the other room which is also the apart-
ment of the bride. This one is the chamber for the
trousseau, which the Turks call djeiss-odassi ; it is
here where the exhibition of all the riches which
belong to the bride takes place. These riches consist
of all sorts of things, such as toilette-table, massive
silver dinner-service, linen embroidered in gold,
mirrors, slippers, and cups covered with diamonds
and other precious stones, clocks, and costly velvets.
All these articles were in this instance spread out
with much care and art, for in all Turkish houses
they make a point of dazzling the eyes of the public
by the display of the riches they possess.

All Turkish women without exception pride them-
selves so much on the subject of the riches that were
exhibited in their honour on the day of their mar-
riage, that one frequently hears old women boasting
that on the day of their wedding the crowd remained
wonderstruck in contemplating the splendour of
their trousseaux. These good old creatures forget
thirty or forty years of their existence, and their

T 2

324 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

misery ; but it is impossible that they should forget
the diamonds, the bijoux, and the silver services that
* were displayed the day of their marriage. I have
met some who had even forgotten their husbands ;
but none who forgot the djeiss-odassi, the chamber of
the trousseau.

It is needless to say that great precautions are
taken to prevent pilfering. A gilt railing is arranged
in the chamber at a sufficient distance from the
trousseau, and by this means they succeed in pro-
tecting the property of the bride from the effects of
too indiscreet admiration. This precautionary mea-
sure is supported by a system of efficacious surveil-
lance, which is rendered all the more necessary,
because on this day the doors of the harem are open
to all sorts of people. Following the ancient cus-
tom, a wedding day is a day of universal hospitality,
and all women who wish to see the bride, and ad-
mire her trousseau, are free to enter without invi-
tation.

Thus, on each occasion of a wedding, numbers of
women flock from all sides to see the spectacle.
There are some women who seem to have a sort of
madness after weddings ; there is no fear of their
remaining at home when they once hear that there
is a wedding anywhere. With or without invita-

THE KHENAH GUIEDJESI. 325

tion, they rise, dress themselves, and run straight to
the house where the celebration of the marriage
takes place. Once there, the poor things content
themselves by making remarks on the bride, criti-
cising her toilette and her trousseau, eating pilaf
and some sweets, and return home to recount to
their neighbours all they have seen.

Let us take up again the narrative of what took
place at the marriage of my daughter, and thus will
be seen in what manner they celebrate marriages in
Turkish high life.

On the eve of the marriage a grand reception was
held in the harem, at which were present all my *-
daughter's friends and acquaintances. The name
given to this reception is that of Khenali guiedjesi,
for the reason that the fiancee is conducted that
night to the bath by her friends, who paint the
tips of her fingers and the extremity of her feet
with the Khenah.

By this festival the bride is meant to give a sign
of the joy she feels at the approach of her marriage.
The friends and acquaintance of the bride then con-
duct her with lighted candles in their hands all
round the harem, making her at the same time '
a sort of ovation. A good supper completes the
evening.

326 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAJREM.

I must here make a remark on the singularity of
Turkish customs. The evening of the Khenah
which precedes the marriage has been instituted to.
mark the passage of the bride from celibacy to the
matrimonial state. It is on this evening that she
quits the friends and customs of childhood to enter
into a new existence.

But this fete which precedes the marriage has its-
counterpart in the receptions given on the day
following the marriage. On this occasion the bride-
makes her entry into the society of married women
as one of themselves.

On the morning of the great day my daughter
was attired in a long dress embroidered with gold,
and trimmed round the skirt with heavy fringe ;
this dress had two long trains, which were held up
by two Circassian slaves, remarkable for their beauty
and grace. Aisheh was then crowned with a heavy
diadem of diamonds. It is useless to speak here of
the necklaces, bracelets, ear-rings, etc., with which
they ornamented her, it suffices to say that her
shoes were embroidered with gold, pearls and dia-
monds. Evidently this profusion of diamonds and
precious stones were intended to dazzle the girl and
astonish the crowd, for they only figured provi-
sionally during the solemnity, for immediately it

WEDDING CEREMONY. 327

was over all these gems were locked up in the
treasure chamber.

Attired in this manner, Aisheh was conducted
into the presence of her father. According to
custom she knelt down to kiss his feet, but the
Pasha raising her gave her his blessing, and placed
round her waist a belt of diamonds^ a symbol of the
dignity of a married woman to which she was about
to be raised.

With the Turks, a woman must not wear this belt
before the day of her marriage ; and the act of clasp-
ing the belt is a species of investiture that the father
ought to confer on his child ; it is the symbol of
womanhood. This custom is also used for young
men, for in former times it was usual amongst the
Turks to buckle the sabre on to the young warriors.
The investiture of the sabre was made with a pomp
not inferior to the celebration of a marriage. This
institution is even in the present time occasionally
used; thus when a Sultan ascends the throne,
instead of being crowned, according to the cus-
tom adopted in the East, he receives the investi-
ture of the sabre, the emblem of authority and
force.

In ornamenting the waist of his daughter with
the nuptial belt, the father invokes the protection

328 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

of heaven on her, and prays that she may be
fruitful and happy. In receiving the belt a
daughter ceases from that moment to depend on
the paternal authority. This ceremony is the last
adieu that the father makes to his daughter, when
she is on the point of entering into the marriage
state.

The moment Aisheh left her father a shower of
gold and silver money fell on the heads of the
female spectators, who tumbled one over the other
* in their anxiety to catch some of it. This money
is held in great consideration in Turkey amongst
superstitious people, of whom there are many ; it is
said that these coins bring happiness, consequently
they are kept as long as possible by their fortunate
possessors, so as not to let their good luck leave
them.

As for the master of the house, who distributes
this metallic manna, he is more than convinced that
in throwing away money in this fashion, he brings
good luck on the purse of his daughter.

On leaving her father the bride was again brought
into the presence of her mother-in-law, who gave
the finishing touches to her toilette — fastening on
to Aisheh's forehead, cheeks, and chin diamond stars
and flowers. This done, there only remained to

WEDDING CEREMONY. 329

cover her face with a rose-coloured veil, which com-
pletely concealed her features.

Enveloped in this manner, my daughter was
conducted to the top of the stairs, there to await
the arrival of Shevket. Naturally he soon made his
appearance, and presenting her with his arm, they
directed their steps to the bridal chamber. Once
there, he handed her to her place under the aski,
which I have already described.

After having installed her under the canopy,
Shevket left the chamber, without having dared to
raise the veil from the face of his bride. As will
be seen further on, the veil is only raised in the
evening after the benediction of the Imam.

The bride, after her husband's departure, remains
seated in her niche, while the inquisitive crowd
press round her on all sides, and shoals of admirers
stand open-mouthed before her trousseau.

As the bride could not remain exposed to the
gaze of the crowd for any length of time, after one
or two hours of this martyrdom they generally
allow her to retire into the guest-chamber. Here
the bride mixes with the rest of the society, and
partakes with them of the repast which is served in
the harem.

A\e must now endeavour to give an account of

330 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

what takes place amongst the men. After twelve
o'clock they meet in the salons of the selamlik,
where, as I have said, they pass their time in
tasting ot the delights of the table, and the charms
of music. The hour for evening prayer and
the voice of the Imam all at once terminates
the orgies, and interrupts the songs. Everyone
hastens to take his place in the ranks of the faithful
who go to invoke the heavenly benediction on those
who this day are united by the sacred tie of mar-
riage.

In the first line was Kibrizli, the father of
the bride ; by his side were several Pashas and
people intimately connected with his Highness. In
the second line was the bridegroom, Shevket, and
by his side were his relatives and friends. The
other line was composed of invited guests of less
importance and the members of the household, and
all who wished to offer prayers like true and good
Mussulmans.

When the prayer was ended, all the company rose
and formed a circle round the Imam, who, turning
towards the bridegroom, recited a short prayer in
order to invoke the divine blessing on the union he
was about to make. But scarcely were the last,
words of the prayer finished, before the bride-

WEDDING CEREMONY. 331

groom slid away from the midst of all the guests,
and quickly ran towards the door of the harem.
Many of his companions followed him, and being
quicker than he was, they overtook him and adminis-
tered to him several blows on the back. These blows
are the last adieux that young men make to a com-
rade who is about to enter on married life. This is
a very ancient custom with the Turks ; sometimes,
however, instead of giving the bridegroom blows
on the back, they throw old slippers after him.

At the door of the harem the bridegroom was re-
ceived by a eunuch, who, with a torch in his hand,
conducted him to the nuptial chamber. When there,
however, the bridegroom has by no means finished
with the ceremonies and formalities that custom
imposes. He sees his bride, who, covered with her
veil, awaits him at the end of the divan ; he gazes
at her, and, full of impatience, desires to approach
her; but behold ! to augment the troubles of Tantalus
the mistress of the ceremonies of the nuptial cham-
ber (yeiifjliieh-kadin) makes her appearance, and
spreads In-fore the bridegroom a praying carpet,
embroidered in gold. The bridegroom, obeying this
invitation, recites a prayer, which is very short, for
in this supreme moment each minute appears to him
to be a century.

332 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

This short prayer finished, and the mistress of
the ceremonies having taken her departure, the
bridegroom approaches his bride. It is not the
custom for the bridegroom to raise his bride's veil
without a good deal of ceremony and finesse.
Oriental manners do not tolerate that the husband
should be guilty of rudeness. It is true that he
has now become absolute master, and that the
woman is there to obey his will ; nevertheless, a
delicate and romantic sentiment imposes on him
respect for the woman he has made his wife. It is
only, therefore, after praying and beseeching, that
the bridegroom succeeds in overcoming the modesty
of the bride, and that he obtains the favour of
admiring her countenance for the first time.

Having repeated his petition three times conse-
cutively, the bridegroom raises her veil, and hastens
to show his recognition of the favour he has received
by fastening a diamond pin in her hair. Custom
makes this present obligatory, for the husband has
to pay for the happiness of seeing his bride's face :
Yuz-gurumluk is the name the Turks give to the
present that a girl requires for showing her face.

It must be understood that it is only girls who
have the right to demand a price for showing their
faces ; women who marry for the second time are

WEDDING CEREMONY. 333

not allowed to have this privilege. On the contrary,
if a woman who has already been married unites
herself with a person who enters for the first time
into the married state, it is she who has to make a
present to her bridegroom as the price of seeing his
face.

The day after the wedding is also a day of
solemnity. On leaving the nuptial chamber,
Shevket went, according to custom, to kiss the
hand of his father-in-law, who gave him a beau-
tiful diamond ring and an Arab horse. The mother-
in-law, on her side made the bride a present when
she went to pay her respects, and acknowledge her
as being her mother-in-law.

Towards noon, the banquet of legs of mutton
took place, at which the bride and the married
women, friends of the family, took part. As for the
legs of mutton, it must be said that on such occa-
sions they are very recherche by the Turks, who
attribute to them hygienic and exceptional qualities.

The fete of the legs of mutton (patcliak-guiunu)
is the counterpart of the fete given on the eve of
the marriage. By the former the girl made her
adieu x to the companions of her childhood : by this
one she is introduced officially to the society of
matrons.

CHAPTEK XXVIII.

Remarks on Aisheh's marriage — Aisheli's sorrows — I rejoin my daughter —
Crisis in the harem — Aisheh's flight.

THE account I have just given of the fetes which
took place to celebrate the marriage of my daughter,
suggests to the mind reflections which can only
sadden my heart. How can persons who have
taken upon themselves the grave responsibility oi
insuring the future of an innocent creature, make
her contract an alliance in which everything con-
spires towards discord and unhappiness \ Never-
theless, to render the farce complete, they do not
hesitate to fete with all possible pomp and cere-
mony the sacrifice of their victim ! While they
purposely neglect everything really necessary to
make her a worthy wife, they throw away handfuls
of gold and diamonds in order to dazzle the eyes of
the crowd with puerile and fantastic ceremonies.

And in fact this marriage was only a derisive
fiction, an atrocious deed. By this marriage nothing
was changed in my daughter's position, who continued

REMARKS OX THIS MARRIAGE. 335

to remain dependent on her father and mother-in-
law. The husband they had given her was only
used as an intermediary to keep up this servitude ;
in other words, this husband was nothing but a
sham, who had neither position, fortune, or per-
sonal charms of which he might boast; his only
value consisted in his falling in with all the designs
and inspirations of those who employed him as their
alter-ego. It is generally understood that the
woman plays an important part in the matrimonial
state ; in this case, however, the unhappy Aisheh
was considered of no account in the matter; she
was simply to serve the interests and good pleasure
of those who had her fate at their disposal.

A marionette has but one string by which it is
put in motion ; my daughter on her entry into
conjugal life found herself influenced by three sepa-
rate sources of motion ; the string of one of the
sources was in the hands of the Pasha ; the second
was in the hands of the mother-in-law, and the
third was held by the husband. It was not neces-
sary to possess any extraordinary amount of foresight
to prophesy the downfall of an edifice which rested
on a foundation as little firm as that on which the
establishment of my daughter was based.

From the earliest period of her married life she

336

THIRTY YEAES IN THE HAREM.

found herself placed at the mercy of the caprices of
a mother-in-law, who pretended to dictate her con-
duct in every point. The constant grumblings and
complaints which arose from these caprices, left the
unhappy bride a prey to continual changing and
mischievous impulses. Tossed about by conflicting
interests, placed in the midst of intrigues and plots
of all kinds, she no longer knew what to say or
what to do.

Continually exposed to discomforts and the most
wearying annoyances, Aisheh made desperate efforts
to set herself free, and to place herself on a level
with women of her position in life. But all her
endeavours proved useless, for both husband and
mother-in-law were there to stop the road, using
paternal authority as their weapon. Had this autho-
rity been employed sparingly, Aisheh would have
yielded, for she loved her father, and nothing in
the world would have induced her to displease
him.

Meantime, this continued struggle, which went
on between the woman who wished to secure her
just rights and those persons who desired to impose
their authority upon her, at length resulted in a
crisis, which took place in the following manner : —

Aisheh, seeing herself at the mercy, and subject

AISHEH'S SORROW. 337

to the caprices of everyone, began in her despair to
consider how she could obtain her deliverance, and
from whom she could hope to receive aid and pro-
tection. To count upon her father was useless, for
he himself, being a prisoner in the hands of Ferideh
and of her numerous relatives and adherents, was
in no state to offer any succour to his daughter ; it
was, in fact, from him that most was to be feared,
for the wily Ferideh did with him what she
chose.

My unhappy daughter, being thus deprived of all
hope, naturally turned her eyes elsewhere. But
whither could she look when she was in the last
agony of despair, but to her mother? A mother
who, as she well knew, had tenderly loved her;
and from whom she had been by a cruel destiny
separated.

" I am despised, trodden in the dust, tyrannised
over, and no one will protect me ! Where is my
mother ?"

Something of this kind Aisheh must have said
in the midst of her tribulations. The mere name
"mother"' must, in her moments of desperation,
have appeared to be the one plank to which she
could cling for safety from shipwreck in that stormy
sea, in which she was being tossed ; and having

338 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

once uttered the name of mother, my child's me-
mory would naturally turn to the happy days of
her early childhood, when she was the object of con-
stant tenderness and caresses ; her mother's image
must have appeared like a living reality before her
eyes, and with sobs and tears she must have recalled
the bitter consequences of our separation.

" Where are you, mother, where are you ? Shall
I in my life ever see you again .?"

It is easy to conceive, that when her thoughts had
for some time taken this direction, the poor child
would have her eyes opened to the state of cruel
and deceitful usage to which she had hitherto been
subjected.

In uttering those words, " Shall I ever see her
again?" Aisheh conceived a doubt of the truth of
what had been told her respecting my death. The
enmity and ill-will showed to her by her mother-in-
law had naturally filled her with distrust, and this
distrust instigated her now to make inquiries. The
experience of the past having taught her that she
should not believe one word in a hundred of those
that were spoken to her, it was only natural that
she should say to herself, " They tell me that my
m other is dead ; have they not deceived me in this,
also?"

I REJOIN MY DAUGHTER. 339

When this suspicion had once entered Aisheh's
mind, she could not rest until she had caused in-
quiries to be made, in order to satisfy herself
whether I was really dead, and to discover traces of
me if I was alive. The person to whom she applied
to carry out this delicate mission was a woman who
had long been in her confidence. But how great
was her surprise when she heard this good creature
announce to her with a timid voice, "Your mother
is still living, my child."

These words made Aisheh's heart bound with a
mad joy, which her ardent and affectionate tempera-
ment could not control. Her first excited emotion
had scarcely passed before she had entreated this
woman to commence her search for me at' once, to
find out my abode, and to place her in communica-
tion with me. The woman did in fact seek me in
my place of retreat ; she communicated to me my
daughter's message^ and gave me a detailed state-
ment of her position. - At the same time the mes-
senger brought me an invitation from my child,
who was awaiting me in a retired part of her park,
for she felt she could no longer live without seeing me.

The meeting which took place between my
daughter and myself in a sequestered portion of the
:, situated behind the residence of his Highness,

z 2

340 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

is one of those scenes which it is impossible for me
to describe. The emotion which I felt on embracing
my child after so many years made me quite beside
myself. The account which my daughter then gave
me of her own sufferings nearly broke my heart.
Nevertheless I considered it my duty to try to
soothe the irritated condition she was in, by show-
ing her what the consequences would be if she were
to oppose the will of those on whom her future
prospects depended.

These counsels which I gave my daughter were
the counsels of a mother who has at her heart the
happiness of her child. Unfortunately, these coun-
sels came too late, and when the alarm had already
been given to those who wished for our destruction.
Having been informed of what had passed between
my daughter and myself, Ferideh and her accom-
plices suspected that a secret understanding would
take place between the daughter-in-law and their
rival. The fear of this made them alter their
tactics.

Up to this time, these people had nourished the
hope that by giving Aisheh to their Shevket, they
secured for themselves in a lump the inheritance of
Kibrizli-Mehemet-Pasha's property. But suddenly
they discovered they were brought face to face with

CRISIS IN THE HAREM. 341

obstacles whose possibility they had not foreseen
even, and which were the ever-increasing resistance
made by Aisheh and also her renewed acquaintance
with myself. Thus, believing their project would
get noised abroad, that project whose realization had
cost them so many intrigues and troubles, Ferideh
and her relations said to themselves : —

" In appropriating for ourselves the fortune, we
should have been wilh'ng to spare Aisheh ; but since
she will not have anything to do with us, well, she
also must be sacrificed."

From that very day sentence of death was passed
on Aisheh !

With implacable hatred, Ferideh and her asso-
ciates then began to persecute the poor girl by dis-
playing a refined and subtle art. Concealing them-
selves from view, these people employed agents of
different kinds, so as to compromise Aisheh before
her father, while they secretly excited the fierce
anger of the latter. These designs did not fail to
meet with the results which they expected.

Profiting by the inexperience and want of tact
of the young wife, her enemies circulated all sorts
of rumours about her, and sought to put her in a
false position with her father. His mind having
been poisoned and excited by all kinds of evil

342 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

reports, violent quarrels followed, in the midst of
which the Pasha's anger blinded his good sense.
On one occasion things went so far, that he, in a
passion, seized his daughter and struck her several
times. This most deplorable incident was caused
by a rumour which attributed to Aisheh the design
of escaping and coming to me. The rumour having
taken a firm hold, the Pasha declared that to prevent
such a catastrophe, he would not hesitate to bind his
daughter to a tree and have her beaten till she died.

" I would far rather mourn her death for forty
days than live dishonoured for the remainder of my
life."

Such were the words which, in a moment of rage,
they say, escaped from his mouth.

Whether these words really came from the Pasha
is a point on which there are some doubts ; but
whichever way it may be, whether the Pasha pro-
nounced such a threat or not, the fact is that the
unfortunate girl was terrified and fancied herself on
the eve of a bloody catastrophe. Seeing herself, as
it werey between life or death, Aisheh decided on
finding a refuge by flight ; gaining from her despair
and delirium almost supernatural strength, she did
not hesitate to risk everything sooner than fall
beneath the blows of her enemies.

AISHEH'S FLIGHT.

The violent emotion, the fear, the panic which
seized on Aisheh caused her terrors, to which the
silence of the night gave more strength and inten-
sity. Her bewildered imagination made her think
of her end as inevitable, amidst tortures and cruel
sufferings. But if, on the one hand, -her excited
imagination disordered her reason, on the other she
could not be deluded as to the instigations of her
enemies, who wished to provoke acts of violence,
whose consequences would be fatal to her and her
father. These instigators had nothing to lose by
such a catastrophe ; by these means the whole heri-
tage of Aisheh must fall wholly into their hands.
They did not care how much misery befell either
the daughter or the father. At first they had
sought to appropriate the daughter and her large
fortune by means of a farce of marriage ; now they
wished to attain the same aim by sacrificing her
who would not do as they wished.

Those terrible words, " If she died, I should
mourn her loss, but at least I should not be dis-
honoured," made Aisheh believe that it was only
by flight she could prevent a catastrophe whose
consequences would have been terrible for her and
her father. Having thus resolved on seeking
her safety in flight, my daughter decided on her

344 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

plan of evasion, a plan in the execution of which
she met with every description of dangers. First,
she had to decide on the easiest method of escape ;
then she had to think of some way in which to
deceive the vigilance of the guardians and slaves
of the harem.

In order to deceive the latter, Aisheh decided
to flee towards the dawn of the day, for at this
time everyone is sound asleep, and none were
spying out her movements; besides the darkness
was also favourable to her after she had made her
escape, whilst she was wandering about the neigh-
bourhood. An attractive young woman, and bear-
ing the stamp and the manners of a lady of conse-
quence, would naturally have attracted the notice
of the sentinels and patrols who wandered about
during the twilight.

As the easiest place from which to make her
escape, Aisheh chose a window opening on to the
roof of a wing of the harem, where the eunuchs and
the guardian lived ; this roof ended in a boundary
wall, by which one could drop himself down into
the street. The height of this wall was about
fifteen feet.

Towards four in the morning Aisheh arose
quietly, avoiding the least sound, gave a last kiss

AISHEH S FLIGHT. 345

to the child she was abandoning, took the few.
diamonds she possessed, and climbed unperceived
on to the roof. Once on the wall she did not
hesitate, but sprang into the road, without consider-
ing the risk she ran of being lamed for life.

Fortunately the jump succeeded wonderfully
well, and Aisheh, finding herself free, began to run
in the direction of the Eau Douces (gheuk-su).
AYhen she passed through this smiling plain the first
glimmer of dawn was making its appearance, and
the song of the birds announced the awakening of
nature. On the other side of the plain was a
barque, which served to maintain communication
with the village of Anadolu-Hissar. It was on this
barque that Aisheh traversed the small river of the
Eau Douces d'Asie, and it was by the little door,
with its iron chains, that she managed to penetrate
into the interior of the old chateau. In this village
lived one of his Highness's slaves, who had been
married to one of the villagers. Aisheh, not know-
ing to whom to turn or how to procure a barque,
decided on going to her, and imploring her help and
succour.

She went straight to the house of the slave, and
after having knocked at her door several times,
succeeded in making her jump half-frightened out

346 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

of bed. One can imagine what an impression th(
sudden apparition of her master's daughter, at such
an early hour, made on the slave ; also her pitiable
condition, without servants or slaves. Her face
even was in a fearful condition, for Aisheh, after,
having jumped from the wall,. had rubbed mud and
dust over her face. This excessive precaution she
had considered necessary so as not to attract the
attention of any one.

Once informed of the details of this adventure,
the slave and her husband believed it their duty to
counsel the fugitive, by making her understand the
gravity of the step she had taken. Seeing, how-
ever, that their words were of no avail, and also
that the time for advice was passed for ever, hus-
band and wife offered their services to the unfortu-
nate girl, and put her into a barque which was
going down the Bosphorus. Owing to the strength
of the current the distance between Anadolu-Hissar
and Stambul does not take very long : in about
three-quarters of an hour one can accomplish this
voyage and arrive at Un-kapan, the nearest port for
those who wish to visit the centre of Stambul. It
was towards this part that Aisheh turned, for she
counted on going on from thence to Balat, where
she knew I lived when I was in the town. In fact,

AISHEH'S FLIGHT. 347

when she disembarked, she got into one of those
carriages called in the country coutchi, and told the
driver to take her quickly to Balat. That also was
the only thing she could say, for she was ignorant
of my address, and in her precipitate flight she had
not been able to learn it. Evidently her mind was
so unsettled that she had never given a thought to
the danger she was running in throwing herself into
the streets without knowing quite where to go, or
to whom to address herself. Whilst Aisheh, seated
in her carriage, was wandering about the streets of
Stambul, a strange coincidence occurred which led
her to the door of the house where I was staying.
This was such an extraordinary event that it cannot
be accounted for in any other way than as a striking
instance of Divine assistance.

Now it happened that hardly had they perceived
in his Highness's harem the flight of the daughter,
than the alarm was given so that the fugitive might
be found, and brought back to the bosom of her
family. Not only were numerous police agents put
on to her traces, but Shevket, the husband, at the
head of valets and house servants set off in pursuit
of her whom he was pleased to call his rebellious wife.

Provided with peremptory orders, all these people
began to rush about the town and its suburbs,

34-8 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

searching every place where they thought it likely
their master's daughter might be concealed. My
house was naturally the first to be visited by these
zealous emissaries, for they knew well that in her
misfortune A'isheh would not have implored other
protection than that of her mother.

In fact Mustapha, the valet de chambre of his
Highness, accompanied by two or three other indi-
viduals, presented themselves at my door and ques-
tioned me on the subject of my daughter. As may
well be imagined, the unexpected apparition of all
these people, and the news they brought, caused me
great uneasiness. Being in complete ignorance of
what was going on in the house of the Pasha, I did
not know how to account for this unexpected
event.

" How did it happen ? For heaven's sake, tell me,
what my poor daughter will do ? "

Such were the exclamations with which I replied
to the search made by Mustapha and his companions,
exclamations which made them perceive that they
must go elsewhere to fulfil the mission with which
they had been charged.

Mustapha having $een that my daughter was not
there, sent away those who accompanied him, giving
them instructions to pursue their researches else-

AISHEH'S FLIGHT. 349

where, and himself went towards the port, and the
most frequented portion of the town, hoping to learn
by so doing if any of the others had succeeded in
hearing anything about the fugitive.

But whilst he was walking towards the sea, he
saw a closed carriage approaching, from the interior
of which a voice proceeded who called " Mustapha !
Mustapha ! " There could be no doubt, the voice was
certainly that of Aisheh, who signed to him to draw
near, and then begged him to lead her to my abode.
Nothing could have been more imprudent than
this step, taken in such a critical moment by Aisheh.
It is true that not knowing how to find me out, she
was constrained to take this means, and to show
herself to Mustapha ; but in doing so she played a
hazardous game on which her fate depended. What
guarantee had she that the valet de chambre on per-
ceiving her would not employ force to reconduct
her to her step-mother. Aisheh, however, did not
act on this occasion without discretion, for she well
knew with whom she had to deal, and she was sure
that Mustapha would never betray her.

In fact, Mustapha was the only man in the house
of his Highness who was attached to our cause after
my fall. In my time he had been my valet de
chambre, and the kindness which I had shown him

350

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

had made him remember me well. But indepen-
dently of these bonds which attached him to our
cause, other reasons prevented him from lending
himself as a servile instrument to the designs of
^people who were capable of everything. These were
his honesty and chivalrous sentiments. For nothing
in the world would the brave man have consented
to betray a woman, the daughter of his late mis-
tress, who implored his succour at such a moment.
The worthy Mustapha, on seeing the unfortunate
girl in such a condition, turned to the driver and
told him to go to my dwelling. He began to follow
the carriage, and reached the door at the same time
as Aisheh ; once there, he turned and hastened to
inform the Pasha of what had taken place.

This act of kindness cost Mustapha his situation.
As soon as it was known in the harem how the meet-
ing had taken place between him and Aisheh, the
old servant was treated as a traitor, and told to leave
immediately. According to them, Mustapha ought
to have seized the girl with the help of the police,
and given her over, bound hand and foot, to those on
whom her fate depended.

CHAPTEE XXIX.

Consequences of Aisheh's Flight— Intrigues of Ferideh— Policy of Kibrizl
— Manoeuvres of Shevket— Our flight from Shevket— Divorce of Aisheh.

As may well be believed, the news of the flight of
Kibrizli-Pasha's daughter soon spread, and produced
great sensation amongst the Mussulman world.
Everybody talked about it, and the strangest ver-
sions were said to be authentic. Our enemies did
not hesitate to seize on this occasion to circulate the
most scandalous tales on the subject of my daughter
and myself. But the Pasha's friends and ours
expressed their regrets on the subject of these piti-
able scenes, which rendered the incompetence of his
Highness in his private affairs so visible.

Amongst these colleagues of the Minister, there
was not one voice which was not raised in blame
against the conduct of Kibrizli, whojpermitted family
quarrels to attain the proportions of a public scandal.
Fuad-Pasha and Ali-Pasha, who were his rivals,
found these tales and scandals very useful in darken-
ing KibrizliV reputation, and making him lose the

352 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

prestige and moral force which rendered him re-
doubtable.

From the manner in which the public regarded
my daughter's flight and party feeling, there resulted 1
a state of things which were favourable to the in-
terests of Aisheh, and which saved her from the
hands of her enemies.

In Turkey, as in every other country where the
'arbitrator takes the place of the law, society is at
the mercy of the powerful and of the greedy. In
.such countries everything is permitted to those
.who have power. The divine law, public opinion,
all are nil ; the only recognized law is the caprice
of those who govern.

My daughter's flight, according to the Koran, was
a perfectly legal act ; for by that a married woman
cannot be compelled to live in the society of other
women with whom she refuses to associate. The
woman in such a case has the right to demand of
her husband a separate dwelling, and she can forbid
the entry into it to anyone. Further, the woman
recognizes no other authority than that of her hus-
band ; she can renounce her father, mother, and
certainly therefore her mother-in-law.

On escaping from the paternal roof, Aisheh had
only protested against the oppressive authority im-

CONSEQUENCES OF AlSHEH's FLIGHT. 353

posed on her by her mother-in-law, who made use
by turns of her husband's or father's name to enforce
it. This protest gave her the right to be installed
by her husband in a house to herself, where she
would be allowed to do as she liked independently
of her mother-in-law. But in insisting on that,
Aisheh put herself in open hostility with her father's
wife, who would not relinquish the power she pos-
sessed over her ; for she knew that once removed
from her sight, Aisheh would associate with whom
she liked, and naturally with me, her own mother.
It was just this that the malicious Ferideh wished at
any price to prevent, by instigating Aisheh's husband
to make an abuse of the paternal authority.

The motives of Ferideh's hostility against any
arrangement which would have rendered Aisheh
mistress of herself and household, are of such a de-
scription that they merit being disclosed. Such a
revelation is all the more necessary since it serves
to reveal the secrets of family life in the East.

All Ferideh's reasons and motives arose from the
instinct of her own preservation ; that of covetous-
ness was only secondary. It was the instinct of
preservation which made her fear a separation from
her daughter-in-law; for, according to her ideas,
this separation could only be the prelude to her loss.

A A

354 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Ferideli foresaw that combined action on our part
would have for result the estrangement of her hus-
band and her expulsion from the home into which
she had succeeded in insinuating herself.

Her fears were only too well founded on this point.
In fact it was plain, that Aisheh once established,
it would become impossible for her father and mother
not to meet some time or other. Thus the daughter's
house would have been transformed by force of cir-
cumstances into a species of rendezvous, where her
rival and her husband would be able to meet and
indulge in affectionate tete-cl-tetes.

The bare idea of these meetings was enough to
make Ferideh tremble with jealousy. One such was
enough to give her the coup-de-grace, for as the
divorce between his Highness and myself was of
the first degree, it only needed a simple encounter
of a few seconds to renew the marriage and do
away with Ferideh.

Divorce with the Turks is, as I have just said, of
three sorts ; the first degree of divorce is the
weakest, for the husband who wishes to do away
with it has only to recite a formula, and pass his
hand over his wife's head to render the marriage
valid again. The second and third degrees of divorce
demand special formalities and ceremonies in order

^RIGUES OP FERIDEH.

to renew the marriage. I must also add that the first
degree of divorce may suddenly become irrevocable.
This happens when the husband showers upon the
wife a battery of three combined divorces, which he
rapidly discharges upon the woman's head ; then it
becomes very difficult to renew the matrimonial bond.

The divorce by which I had been separated from
his Highness was not of this dreadful description,
stigmatised by the Koran under the name of Telaki-
salisseli ; it was a simple divorce, which a spark
would have sufficed to re-kindle. And this is ex-
plained by the fact that this divorce was not
actuated by internal disputes, but by the wiles of *
those who wished to destroy me at any cost. In
other words, the Sultan's mother, her eunuchs and
servants, with my husband's political enemies fell
upon, and obliged the Pasha to separate from me.
The Pasha, over-ruled by his enemies, made the
sacrifice demanded of him ; but this divorce was
only a mere formality, his sentiments really remain-
ing unchanged towards me.

Ferideh who had nominally taken my place, could
not deceive herself on this point; her tranquillity
and happiness depended on keeping Aisheh to her-
self. A'isheh's flight was therefore a mortal stroke
to her, which she sought to parry on all sides, even

A A 2

356 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

by means of brute force. Happily for us, but un-
fortunately for Ferideh, the employment of strength
was out of the question, for an essay of that descrip-
tion would have had sorry consequences for her and
her husband.

The Pasha was not in full possession of power,
and that suffices to explain the moderation which
he had to show under these circumstances.

Fuad and Ali-Pasha had the real direction of
affairs. Kibrizli at this epoch was a minister with-
out a portfolio, an unenviable position, which only
left him a very limited influence. Independently
of that the relations between these high personages
bore a certain stamp of coldness and bitterness, for
Kibrizli was far from wishing Fuad and Ali over-
much, happiness, and the latter well knew he con-
sidered them as rivals.

Such being the relative relations of the parties,
it is not difficult to understand that any illegal
attempt or false step would have seriously com-
promised the position and reputation of Kibrizli-
Pasha and his associates. His political adversaries
would have been enchanted to find an opportunity
of compromising and paralysing him for ever. They
would have fallen upon him, making use of his
wives' quarrels and family scandals. They would

MANOEUVRES OF SHEVKET. 357

not have hesitated to say that Mussulman society
was tired of the endless gossip and squabbles which
were taking place in Kibrizli-Pasha's house.

The force of circumstances, therefore, obliged
the enemies of Aisheh to set to work softly and
with circumspection. Every coercive measure being
out of the question, they decided on winning over
the rebel by ruses and wiles. The first measure
which Ferideh and the Pasha thought fit to adopt
was that of entering into conversation with us, to
try and find out our designs, to know whether they
were to look upon my daughter's flight as a protest
against her father or husband's authority. In other
words, they wished to find out whether my daughter
had decided on getting rid of her make-believe
husband, Shevket. This point once clearly defined,
they would have decided on the part they wanted to
take ; for if Aisheh appeared to desire to live under
the matrimonial yoke, Shevket would then have
served as spy to watch over Ferideh/s interests ; if,
on the contrary, Aisheh wanted to break off
with her husband, they could have pursued her by
bringing forth the conjugal rights invested in the
son.

From the second day of Aisheh/s flight negocia-
tioiis were set on foot. Emissaries of the Pasha

358 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

presented themselves to us in the hope of obtaining
a categorical answer on the subject of her husband,
and to assure themselves whether my daughter was
disposed to submit to his authority. Having re-
ceived a satisfactory answer to this cardinal ques-
tion, the negociators took a further step, and invited
Aisheh to Hadji-Bekir's house, where her husband
would rejoin her.

This proposition gave us some cause for reflection
— a refusal would have hastened the crisis, whilst
by accepting it we should have placed ourselves
completely in the power of our adversaries.
Situated in such a dilemma, I did not hesitate to
accept a proposition which could not compromise
materially my daughter's interests. I therefore
informed the envoys that my daughter would go to
the rendezvous which had been agreed upon to meet
her husband. This having put an end to the nego-
ciations, the emissaries joyfully returned to their
master, being the bearers of what they believed to^
be good news.

But hardly had they left than I hastened to enter
into a treaty with the ministry, to inform them of
the state of things, and solicit their protection.
Evidently, by entering the house of one of the
Pasha's domestics we were risking our lives, it

MANOEUVRES OF SHEVKET. 359

was as though we had put our hands bound in
those of our enemies. It will, therefore, be under-
stood that these precautionary measures were not
altogether superfluous. My overtures were received
with kindness by Fuad, who assured me that we were
under his protection. This assurance was followed
up by secret instructions sent to the head of the
police department, ordering us to be guaranteed
against any attempt which might be made to take
us away from Hadji-Bekir's house.

Having thus done all that he could to prevent us
falling into the snares of our enemies, we went to
Hadji-Bekir's house, where we found Shevket, who
was impatiently waiting for us. After having ex-
changed a few words, Shevket told us he was the
first to regret what had recently occurred, and that
in spite of his mother he had resolved on living
apart with his wife. Further, he informed us that
his Highness, ceding to his wishes, had authorized
him to choose a house and furnish it in a manner
worthy of his daughter. The Pasha, continued
Shevket, was resigned to such a sacrifice in the hope
that his daughter would understand how much he
desired her happiness, and that she should continue
to live with her husband. Then, turning towards
me, he said affectionately, that he could not permit

360 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

me, his mother-in-law, to live anywhere but with
my daughter.

From the next clay, in fact, all the necessary
measures were taken to find a convenient house,
and decide on the necessary furniture required for
it. The house on which Shevket's choice fell wa&
one opening on to Shekh-zadeh's mosque ; its posi-
tion offered certain strategical advantages, one, for
example, being that it was surrounded by the
friends and abettors of Shevket and his mother ••
another, equally great, was that on the side of the
mosque it was easy to attempt a master-stroke — a
forcible abduction. By scaling the house on the
court side during the night it would be easy to carry
off any number of women without the neighbours
on the right or left being at all the wiser.

Pleased at having found such a house, Shevket
hastened to finish furnishing it. Everything having
been arranged, he invited Aisheh to install herself in
the new residence which her father had provided.

This new household, as may be seen, was only a

•

clever device by which they could better destroy
their adversary : we were not once deceived about
it. An arrangement situated on such a volcano
had no chance of lasting long; each side under-
stood the intentions of the other, and yet feigned

OUR FLIGHT FROM SHEVKET. 361

ignorance. We each held the tinder in our hands
fearing to set fire to the mine ; as for myself I did
not dare to hasten a separation whose responsibility
would fall on myself.

From the first days of our residence at Shekh-
zade-bashi, Slievket altered his manner, and became
cold and distant ; his prayers were changed into
peremptory commands ; nothing pleased him ; and
the slightest incident was enough to cause alterca-
tion and disagreement. One week was enough to
disgust Shevket, and make him hasten his designs.

In fact, on the eighth day, the first act of the
master-stroke was disclosed beneath the form of a
supreme decree, in virtue of which the entry to the
harem was forbidden to all who were not possessed
of a previous authorization. At the same time he
adopted this measure, Shevket provided himself
with a reinforcement to aid him at the given
moment. This reinforcement consisted of an over-
seer, Hadji-Ibrahim, and of five or six individuals,,
sbires and bandits, used by the Pashas to do any
decisive deed.

But the most dreadful of all these preparations
was the attempt made by Shevket to imprison us by
closing all the issues which might have favoured our
flight. There was one small door which served to

362 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

afford communication between the harem-kitchen
and the stables. Shevket understood that it was an
important point which must be guarded at any risk.
He, therefore, ordered some masons to come and
close it up, and raise in its place a small wall.
After having made the personal inspection of these
places, Shevket went away, enjoining his people to
keep in readiness for the evening.

He was much deceived, however, in his calcula-
tions, for he might have known that some women
have more perspicuity than men give them credit
for. In fact, since I had put my foot inside the
prison which had been prepared for us, I had never
once been deceived on the subject of Shevket's in-
tentions. I instinctively knew that we were living
on a volcano as it were, on the bosom of which
violent eruptions might be expected. Thus, during
these seven days of worry, I was continually on
the qui vive, ready, like a sentry, to seize on the
slightest sound or index.

The lucky star which presided over my birth, so
arranged that the very day when the masons began
to dig the foundations of the walls, I went down to
the kitchen to see what was going on. Hardly had
I been there for a few seconds than the sound of
workmen struck my ear. Having been informed of

OUR FLIGHT FROM SHEVKET. 363

what they were doing, it only needed a few minutes'
reflection for me to see through Shevket's designs
and decide on what measure to take in order to
upset them. Evidently the only thing was to
escape before the iron circle closed in on us. With
a heavy and beating heart I ran to my daughter,
told her what I had seen, and declared that there
was no time to be lost, for if we waited till the
evening we certainly should be done for. Where-
upon my daughter and myself set to work to collect
everything we could in the way of silver or jewels.
We made it up into large packets, and we filled our
pockets with everything that could be carried con-
veniently.

I must here observe that the feradjehs (mantles
worn by Turkish women) are very useful for such
purposes : for when wrapped in one of these
mantles it is easy to conceal a quantity of mer-
chandise. This was what my daughter and myself
took care to do on this occasion. We well knew
that everything would be taken from us, and that it
was folly to leave Shevket what we could adroitly
conceal. Besides, both legally and morally, we had
more right than he had to consider everything in
the house as belonging to ourselves.

Once these preliminary measures taken, I had to

364 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

have recourse to some cunning in order to disarm
any suspicions amongst the slaves of the harem. As
I could not conceal our clandestine sortie by the
small door, I said that as we had no money in the
house we had decided on selling some of our things,
and that with the results we should buy what we
most needed. In order the better to conceal my
game, I promised them each beautiful silks and
pretty presents. These promises did not fail to
take effect, for the slaves entered into our designs,
and helped us in our flight and in getting out of
the little door.

Whilst all these events were passing in the
harem our guardians were outside smoking and
chatting. Hadji-Ibrahim, their chief, amused him-
self by giving {instructions to his subordinates on
the way in which they were to watch over us. He
had been heard to say—

" Our master is resolved to make those people
behave."

On leaving the house my daughter and myself got
into a carriage and went straight to one of the court
ladies, who was a friend of ours, and she put her
house at our disposal. Once in safety, we hastened
to send a message to Shevket, in which my daughter
declared that she no longer consented to live with

DIVORCE OF AlSHEH.

him, for she was tired of him, his mother, and their
intrigues.

This move on her part was the result of the con-
viction she felt that in their midst she should
vainly search for tranquillity or happiness. Several
years of experience only confirmed her in this con-
viction.

Towards evening, Shevket returned to the house,
the bearer of fresh instructions which his mother
and the Pasha had given him in the conference he
had held with them during the day. But barely
had he entered than our messenger, Eessim-Bey,
approached and informed him of the letter of which
he was the bearer. This announcement quite over-
came Shevket ; he was thunderstruck ; for if, on the
one hand, lie resented the humiliation of the r61e
which had been imposed on him, on the other he
trembled at seeing himself for ever compromised in
the eyes of his mother and of the Pasha.

Shevket was the pulley by which they sought to
keep my child under their control, and that explains
all the importance they attached to him. Unfor-
tunately Shevket did not sustain the attack with
that courage which might have been expected from
him ; for on learning his wife's flight he lost every
vestige of the sang froid for which he had been

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAEEM.

famed. Furious at finding himself so humiliated
and debased, Shevket sought to forget in drunken-
ness the insult which had been offered to him.

Turning to his servants he bade them bring arrack,
and the accessories which charm the drinkers of this
chosen beverage. Then surrounded by his boon
companions, Shevket got so drunk that he lost
every sentiment of honour, and the respect he owed
to himself and the daughter of his benefactor. It
was in the midst of this orgie that Shevket ' pro-
nounced the formula of divorce according to the
Mussulman law — Shart olsun.

Barely were the words uttered than emissaries
were sent to •• inform both ourselves and his High-
ness. This news was the very best we could have
had, whilst in the Pasha's palace and the harem it
caused sorrow and consternation. Shevket was dis-
graced, for neither his mother nor the Pasha could
forgive his having betrayed their interests.

CHAPTER XXX.

Efforts of She vket— Confiscation — Law-suit — Mahmud- Bey — Protracted
hostilities— My view of the case — Ai'sheh's sentiments.

THE first excitement produced by the news that
Aisheh was at last free having been appeased,
agents were immediately sent in the hope of regain-
ing the ground lost and enticing Aisheh once again.
These agents were the bearers of propositions and
counter propositions whose aims were to renew the
marriage. They sought to touch my daughter's
heart by relating the agony and distress felt by
Shevket when, on coming to his senses, he understood
the harm he had done. He was inconsolable, and
his repentance was sincere and in earnest they said.
For the future he was determined to allow his wife
to do as she pleased, and neither his mother" nor the
Pasha should meddle in their affairs.

As may be well imagined, after what we had

suffered from the hands of our adversaries, such

. proposals and words were far from touching us in

the le. The only reply vouchsafed to these

envoys was a decided refusal to pay any attention

368 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to the proposals, menaces, or promises of Shevket
and his associates. This ultimatum was the sig-
nal for the commencement of hostilities, which con-
tinued during a period of seven years. This new
miniature seven years' war only terminated with
the death of his Highness, the 9th September,,
1871.

The first thing done on receiving Aisheh's refusal
to accept for the second time a husband she never
cared for, was to empty Shekh-Zade's house of all
the furniture which had been given to her. Two .
days after the divorce had taken place, a crowd
of domestics were sent to empty the house of every,
thing, even the clothes and linen belonging to the
unfortunate Aisheh. To render this cruel act still
more insulting, they took care to send her a few old
dresses shut up in an old broken box.

I must here observe that this dastardly act of
vengeance was further a violation of the law and
established customs. According to Mussulman law
and Turkish usages, the effects and furniture given
to a girl at the time of her marriage become her
unalienable property. Now, at the period of Aisheh's
marriage, half her trousseau had only been given .
her. The Pasha, on furnishing her house, had only
acted as he ought to have done before.

CONFISCATION. 309

So every thing employed in furnishing the house
belonged by rights to his Highnesses child, and even
he had no right to seize upon it. According to the
Mussulman law, this act was equivalent to a con-
fiscation. But it did not only end with Aisheh's
furniture and clothes, for her money underwent the
same treatment. My daughter had some time before
bought a large farm in the neighbourhood of Aleppo ;
this property belonged to her in her name, and the
title-deeds were in the hands of Shevket, who kept
them.

Eminent economists, like Stuart Mill, have brought
forward a theory, according to which it appears that
women's rights are better established under the
Mussulman than under the European law. When
one considers that, according to the law of the
Sheriaht, a woman is not for a moment sure of
what she likes best in the world, her husband and
children, of what use to her are the few posses-
sions she may have ? But if from the written law
we turn to the living one, from theory to practice,
it is there one sees of what little use for the woman
are her pretended rights.

The confiscation of goods made by Kibrizli-Pasha
and Shevket was one of those deeds carried out every
day by th^se who feel powerful enough to execute

370 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

them. Now, where are women's rights amongst this
fight between the strong and the weak ?

My daughter having failed in her attempt to re-
gain possession of her furniture, there was nothing
left for us to do but to settle at our own cost
somewhere. We sold our valuables and jewels,
and the few thousand pounds they realized permitted
us to face the expenses of re-settling and leaving a
little reserve.

I must here say that this sort of arrangement did
not receive my approbation, for the initiative in
money affairs * remained entirely with my daughter.
Prudence, therefore, recommended the strictest eco-
nomy, for the clouds were dark and the tempest
imminent. My daughter did not believe in a storm,
and she hoped still that her father would relent and
furnish her with the means of subsistence. Truly
one might have said 'that the mother's experience
ought to have dissipated the daughter's illusions,
but, unfortunately, a feeling of delicacy prevented
my taking the law into my own hands. I did not
wish her or any one else to reproach me with having
profited by the abandoned position of my child in
compelling her to submit to my will in money
matters.

The house we hired in the suburbs of Scutari for

LAW-SUIT.

the summer of 1864 was a beautiful residence,
admirably situated, offering the advantages of a
charming view over the Bosphorus and a garden
full of oranges and lemon trees. Our existence in
the midst of this beautiful scenery ought to have
been very pleasant ; but the charms of the country
were spoilt by the ceaseless worry caused us by our
adversaries. Our door was literally besieged by
emissaries, men as well as women, sent in the hope
of preventing us feeling a moment's repose. Now
it was the Pasha who sent to find out some means
of bringing us under his domination ; now the ex-
husband Shevket who sent women to plague us ;
then agents, who came to spy upon us on the part of
the tribunal and to annoy us in every way.

The law-suit we were obliged to bring against
Shevket in order to reclaim the property and mar-
riage-portion of Aisheh was our principal occupation
during our stay at Scutari. Aisheh could not obtain
any of her goods or property, for the Cadi or Judge
told her openly that he was not powerful enough to
compel her husband to give up what he had taken.
As for her marriage portion, no obstacle was raised

»

to oblige her husband to refund the sum he owed ;
yet, when the question of paying the nafakah, or
the husband's marriage present, came, Shevket

B B 2

372 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

turned Jew, and the tribunal helped him to play
this part.

The nafakah, or its equivalent in money, is what
the husband ought to give for his wife's maintenance-
during the three months following after the divorce.
The amount which the husband ought to give his
wife is agreed on by the tribunal, which takes inta
consideration the social position and means of the
parties concerned, as well as the price of food, and
such primary matters. Where the lower classes are
concerned, the divorced woman is only allowed for
nafakah two or three piastres a day. There are often
even people who refuse to give as much to their
wives, under the pretext that their means do not
allow them to be extravagant ; then they merely
give them bread and a candle a day. In such cases
they take care to leave the candle and bread before
the woman's door, by which means they escape all
legal pursuit.

Amongst the middle classes the husbands allow
their wives something like two or three hundred
francs a month ; whilst in the higher classes it is
generally agreed upon to give either a good round^
sum or nothing at all. We came to a compromise
of this sort with Shevket; he never attempted to give
a farthing, and we never mentioned the nafakah.

LAW-SUIT. 373

With autumn the charms of the country begin to
depart, and the approach of winter is the signal for
the flight of those who like the luxuries of Stam-
bul. At the close of the season we hastened there-
fore to re-enter the town, and for this purpose hired
a house in the part of Stambul called Jussuf-Pasha.
This house was large and spacious, but time and
poverty had reduced it to the condition of a dilapi-
dated palace. Formerly it had belonged to a Grand-
vezir, Selim-Mehemet-Pasha, who, having been sent
to quell the revolt at Damas, was killed by the
insurgents. This Selim was the same who had been
famous for the carnage he had made amongst the
Janissaries, in company with Agha-Hussein of
Viddin and Kara-Djehenem. Selim had escaped
the reign of terror at the time of his vezierate, but
at Damas he had to pay his debt to the revolted
population.

These events happened in 1824. Before his
departure for Damas, Selim had built the house
we had hired. He did not neglect anything which
might render this residence worthy of a Grand-
vezir : large halls and kiosques, grotesquely orna-
mented, marble baths, in fact nothing was omitted
which could please his family in the comforts and
luxuries of Oriental life. At his death all this dis-

374 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

appeared as if by magic. Selim's riches, honours,
and property were divided amongst his friends and
attendants; as for his heirs, they only got what
the others could not take from them, which was
their father's house and a small amount to live
on.

This is truly Selim's history and that of his descen-
dants, but by changing the name to that of Mehemet
or Mustapha, it would be equally that of every great
family in Turkey. The father may have been Grand-
vezir, but the sons and daughters do not inherit
much. I can truly say that in Turkey there are not
more than four or five great families who count over
sixty years of nobility. The greater number of soi-
disant noble families only date back one generation ;
in fact they are noble so long as the person who
elevated them exists ; at his death his sons maintain
themselves for a few years and then disappear ; and
by the third or fourth generation the name of
Yezir, which ennobled the family, is completely
forgotten.

The constitution of Mussulman society and the
Turkish system of government are the causes of
such a state of things. As amongst Mussulmans
society is composed of several families, only dis-
tinguishable the one from the other by their proper

MAHMUD-BEY. 375

names, it so happens that a family is first repre-
sented by Hassan, then by Mehemed, his son, and
after by a Mahmud or Selim. These heads of fami-
lies having thus no family name to transmit to each
other, their proper names fall into oblivion, and their
genealogy is forgotten. The Arabs endeavour to
remedy this organic defect in their society by means

of a genealogical tree, which they religiously pre-

.

serve in their families. The Turks do not attach
any importance to blue blood : they consider the
Sultan and his dynasty as alone being noble ; the
rest are plebeians. Their system of government is
also incompatible with the aristocratic system and
the maintenance of noble families.

The actual proprietor of our house was
Mahmud-Bey, s6n of the Grand-vezir, Selim-
Pasha ; he was a little fellow, whose exterior did
not reveal his high birth. Mahmud had a face, on
which was visible the traces left by great trials and
suffering ; his sorrowful and gloomy appearance was
the reflection of an over-burdened spirit, whilst his
worn and mended clothes were the heritage of a
Grand-vezir. Whether owing to misfortune or pro-
digality I know not, but the fact was that Mahmud-
Bey was at his last farthing. All the property left
by his father had disappeared, except the house,

876 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

which was left because the deceased Selim had had
the good idea of making it an entailed property.

In order to satisfy his most urgent needs, Mahmud
had cleared his house of everything, so that nothing
but the four walls were left ; at last he wTas com-
pelled to let it, for it would have been foolish to
stay in a large house, which he could neither fill
nor furnish. Mahmud-Bey retired, therefore, with
his family into a distant part of the harem, which
was his last stronghold against utter misery. There
he meditated on the vicissitudes of human life and
on fate, whilst strong doses of arak served to
soothe the despondency arising from poverty and
'vant.

The winter which we spent with Mahmud-Bey
passed somewhat sadly, and in the- midst of all sorts
of torments and worries. Kibrizli-Pasha did not
cease to impose Shevket again upon us, and we did
not feel disposed to accept his conditions. Things
were pushed to such an extent, that they sought to
buy over and corrupt our servants and slaves, so
that they might make scenes and scandals in the
house. Our coachman got drunk one day and
brought back with him two or three scoundrels,
who made a great noise before the door of our house
and caused much scandal in that part of the town.

PROTRACTED HOSTILITIES. 377

These people evidently did this under the instiga-
tion of those who were endeavouring to defame our
house and worry us. They tried every way in
which they could find some pretext to exile us from
Constantinople. Ferideh trembled with passion
when she saw her rival going about in her equipages
and with her servants. When she heard us called
by our names, as the wife and daughter of Kibrizli-
Pasha, she shook with rage and spite.

Therefore she sought to compromise us, and for
that purpose every means seemed good. One must
have lived, as I have, amidst the Turks to form any
idea of their anger and vengeance. Thus our
enemy, Ferideh, thought of nothing but how to
defame and despoil us of the little we possessed, and
to exile us from Constantinople. Seeing that her
husband's authority was not enough, she began to
work upon his Highness and try to make him solicit
the favour of Fuad-Pasha. This step, as may be
imagined, cost Kibrizli very dear : for no earthly
consideration would he have wished to humiliate
himself before his rivals. That his self-respect and
interests must have suffered there could be no doubt,
for the role of chief of the opposition forbade him
to make any advances to those in authority. Be-
sides, the cause which he pleaded had something

378 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

repulsive about it ; for in begging the Government to-
help him in his troubles with his wife and daughter,
Kibrizli played a pretty part, which could only
spoil his reputation amongst his colleagues and with
the public.

But Kibrizli-Pasha (or his counsellors) put such
scruples aside, and showed themselves ready to carry
it out at the price even of political concessions.
As for Fuad, it can be understood that he did not
disdain to negotiate on the basis of a quid pro quo.

For us, we only needed such ail understanding
between Kibrizli and the Grand-vezir to place us in.
a most critical position. Imprisonment, exile, even
death was to be feared, for our enemies had reached
to such a pitch of exasperation that nothing could
appease them but our ruin. When I was informed
of what was passing, I had no doubt as to the
gravity of our position, and we took counsel
together on the best way to escape the hostile
intentions of our enemies.

My plan was to go straight to Europe, leaving the
Turks to their jealousies and intrigues. "Fleeing
the pleasures which were mixed up with fears," as
the saying is : this forcibly struck me amidst the
dangers in which we were placed. In fact, of what
use to us was a seductive climate, hospitable people,

MY VIEW OF THE CASE. 379

and the luxuries our means allowed us, when our
enemies treated us like wild beasts ? It was use-
less, after what had passed, to think of any com-
promise with them.

The Pasha said that the marriage with Shevket
must be renewed ; the woman, on her side, pre-
ferred death rather than to consent to such an
arrangement. Neither side would yield ; therefore
a collision was inevitable, and this shock could have
no other result than my ruin and that of my child,
as I never would have consented to leave her with
those who were conspiring against her life. To flee
from Constantinople was naturally the first thing
which came into our minds ; but where to go \
That was the question on which we had to think
seriously before undertaking any further steps.
There was no place in Turkey which could shelter
us ; for if Constantinople could not, the provinces
were certainly still less likely to do so. Egypt
offered certain advantages ; for its internal govern-
ment served us as a guarantee against any persecu-
tion. Long experience had taught me the wiles of
Eastern policy, and I knew that in this policy there
is one chapter called that of Betrayal. An arrange-
ment like that which had just been established,
occurring between the Ministers at Constantinople,

380

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

would have sufficed to place us in the underground
prisons.

Europe was the country which alone could shelter
us, for there neither the Padishah nor his vezirs would
be able to reach us. In Germany or France our
enemies might mock at us, but we should soon for-
get envy and persecutions amidst civilized races.
The small property which still remained to us would
have assured to my child a peaceful and happy
existence. Unfortunately, my daughter could in
no wise comprehend the importance of the counsels
I gave her, and my efforts to overcome her opposi-
tion ended in nothing. The reasons which prevented
Aisheh from resolving on a flight into Europe were
the following :

Aisheh, like other Turkish children, had been
educated amidst the most absurd doctrines, of
which the principal taught her was that the Mussul-
mans are the elect race, and that other peoples are a
mass of impure and filthy beings. Imbued with
these ideas, the Turks feel an insurmountable repug-
nance towards Christians, towards their habits and
their persons. This repugnance is so strong, that if
one asked a Turkish woman as a joke whether she
would consent to become the wife of a Christian,
she would hasten to show her horror and disgust by

AISHEH'S SENTIMENTS. 381

spitting upon her own clothes. Aisheh had a simi-
lar horror of Christians, and the idea of going to
live amongst them produced a resistance that I could
not overcome.

The love she bore her father was another reason
which prevented her adopting this plan. In fact,
when I pressed my arguments upon her, and showed
her that in her position she had no other choice, she
sighed from the very bottom of her heart and said,
" No, I love my father too well ; I could not cause
him such a sorrow in his old age. If I went among
the Ghiaurs, he would die of a broken heart."

My child's noble sentiments imposed silence upon
me ; for there are moments when affection carries
away all before it. That in this circumstance my
previsions were just, the future will prove. My
readers will soon see how Aisheh herself decided on
taking refuge in a Christian country, and abandon-
ing for ever the country of her birth. But, to arrive
at such a climax, she had to be reduced to the last
extremity, and, as one might say, almost to have
the knife at her throat.

We finally agreed upon a flight into Egypt.
Egypt has from all time been the polar star of the
unfortunate, the country which offered them an
asylum, and protected them from the hatred and

332 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

persecutions of their enemies. In our days also, any
one who wishes to ameliorate his position finds in
Egypt a hospitable country. Let us therefore tak
flight into Egypt ; for once there our enemies woulc
find it difficult to seize us, and the people of th
country would surely have pity upon two unfortu
nate women.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Departure for Egypt— Abib-Pasha— Arrival at Alexandria— Behaviour of
the Egyptians — Departure for Mityleiie — We are taken by force—
Exile to Kouiah.

OUR preparations for departure were concealed
with care until the day we started for Alexandria.
Towards evening our small caravan, which consisted
of six or seven persons, comprising slaves and do-
mestics, directed their steps towards the steamer
which leaves the Golden Horn at seven o'clock.
During the voyage between Constantinople and
Alexandria, nothing occurred worthy of remark, if
it were not a meeting with a certain Abib-Pasha, a
friend of our enemies, who was going to Egypt to
get some money out of the Viceroy. This sort of
operation is much in vogue amongst the Turkish
Pashas, who fly to Egypt every time they find
themselves penniless. In the time of the Romans,
Egypt was the granary of the empire ; at the 'present
time the Turks have converted it into a mint, where
everybody runs to fill their purses.

384 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Abib-Pasha was a good fellow : his career was
a singular one. He had commenced by being a
writer, but soon changed his vocation to that of a
buffoon. His buffoonery procured him several pa-
trons, amongst others Bessim, the brother of my rival,
Ferideh. It was Bessim who in a fit of drunkenness
made his buffoon a Pasha, and sent him to govern
Croatia, Macedonia, and some other provinces. But,
though a Pasha, Abib did not find himself any better
off, because he would continue to be Pasha and buf-
foon both at the same time. The truth is, that no-
amount of money was sufficient for his extravagances,
and he was over head and ears in debt. Neverthe-
less, his debts were the least of his anxieties ; for,
with surprising good humour, he fancied he could
pay his debts with the same money that he employed
to gain his patrons, that is to say, by means of his
buffoonery. But his creditors would not let him off
with such payment, for they strenuously opposed
the departure of his Excellency, and would not let
him leave Travink or Drama until they had placed
his wife and secretaries in security as pledges.

Abib, on his arrival at Constantinople, went every-
where beseeching his patrons to raise the money for
their release, and succeeded in doing so. He then
took a voyage to Egypt, where he hoped to get into

ABIB-PASHA. 385

favour with Farahon, whose generosity he hoped
would soon fill his pockets. Abib was not altogether
a bad fellow, and showed us every attention and
kindness during the voyage. On our arrival at Alex-
andria, Abib-Pasha hastened to warn the Egyptian
authorities, and gave them information regarding
us which was not, however, inspired by hostile sen-
timents. This was all the more honourable to Abib *
that in the East it is the custom to turn the back,
and even to kick those who are persecuted or in any
misfortune.

In all countries, it is true, the wretched are
shunned like a pestilence ; but in Turkey this is
done without the least reserve or delicacy, and in
such a manner that one need not be surprised if one
receives a box on the ears from him who the even-
ing before had kissed your slipper.

The moment Hafiz-Pasha, Governor of Alexan-
dria, heard that the wife and daughter of Kibrizli-
Pasha was on board, he hastened to send us a
carriage, with an invitation to alight at the hotel
that the Egyptian government places at the dis-
position of travellers of distinction. .This establish-
ment is called the Muscifir-Khaneh ; it contains
apartments sumptuously furnished, where persons
of rank who visit Egypt are lodged. They gave

C 0

386

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

us the first floor of the hotel, and twice every day
they served us with an exquisite repast in the*
Eastern fashion, with patties, sweets, and every-V
thing that one required.

But the attentions and zeal that the Egyptians
displayed, in order to render our visit to Egypt
agreeable, soon gave place to an unexpected cool-
ness, which suddenly manifested itself the fourth
clay after our arrival. Our friends at Constanti-
nople, having learned that we had left for Egypt,
sent, without loss of time, a despatch to the Vice-
roy, to let him know that his Highness Kibrizli-
Pasha having disgraced and disowned us, he felt
wounded by the attentions that had been shown
us.

Having had my suspicions of what was passing,
I asked for an interview with the governor, Hafiz-
Pasha, in order to assure myself of his intentions
regarding us. Hafiz made me understand the
bearings of the instructions that had been sent
him, and informed me that his Government, whilst
offering us hospitality, did not desire to offend his
Highness by giving him, or the authorities at Con-
stantinople, any cause for annoyance ; and he
wound up his remarks by counselling my daughter
and myself to do everything in our power, and by

BEHAVIOUR OF THE EGYPTIANS. 387

any sacrifices to endeavour to regain the favour of
his Highness.

The diplomatic and reserved style employed by
Hafiz-Pasha sufficed to reveal the intentions of
his Government on our behalf, and to show me
the danger which menaced us. A plain and sim-
ple language, without compliment, would have
inspired me with confidence ; whilst this enig-
matical manner of speaking proved that the Egypt-
ians were not people on whom one might count
Evidently they would not have hesitated, had they
been pressed from Constantinople, to handcuff us,
and send us into the subterranean prisons, from
which we should never have escaped.

Terrified by the ideas that the interview with
Hafiz-Pasha had suggested to me, I hastened, on my
return to the hotel, to give the alarm to my daughter,
notifying to her my intention of returning to Turkey
by the first steamer. I made her understand that,
if we were once imprisoned in a distant country, I
should never be allowed to return again ; for the
Turks were so angry with me personally, that they
would lose no time in getting rid of me once for all.
It was true that, in going back to Turkey, we were
both of us in danger; but we should also have
there some chances of safety. Being in Turkey, w,e

c c 2

388 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

could rely on the sympathy of the people, and at
the worst find means to escape. In Egypt and in
the Sudan we should have no one to help us, and,
once there, we should most likely have to remain
for the rest of our lives.

It did not require much persuasion to convince
Aisheh that my fears were but too well founded,
and the same day she decided on returning to Con-
stantinople. Nevertheless, during the few days
which preceded our departure we set ourselves
to think what we should do after our arrival at
Constantinople, and endeavoured to trace out a
line of conduct which would assure to us the
advantages of a retired life, and protect us from,
violence.

It was impossible to disguise from ourselves the
fact that, in going to Constantinople, we placed
ourselves in an abnormal position ; for it could not
be in the proximity of our adversaries, who hunted
us everywhere, that we could hope to find that
tranquillity and security which we longed for.
Besides, from an economical point of view also,
the capital was not exactly the place where
one could dream of economising : the name of
our family, the expensive habits of my daughter,
the example of others, were so many obstacles

DEPARTURE FOR MITYLENE. 889

which would prevent our leading a quiet and
retired life.

After having considered various projects, we at
length agreed on a plan which appeared full of the
required conditions. I had heard it said that the
island of Mitylene was a charming place, where
the inhabitants passed their lives in the midst of
enjoyment and plenty. From the accounts I had
received, house-rent was at a relatively low rate,
food was abundant, whilst the gardens and country
offered all the pleasures that nature could procure ;
and, besides, it was said that the trade in corn and
olives prospered there.

The information that I acquired at Alexandria on
the subject of our safety, taught me that the diffe-
rent Powers had consuls residing in the town, the
chief place of the island. This fact was of a nature
to encourage and reassure us, for it is well known
that everywhere, where there are foreign consuls,
the Turkish authorities are circumspect, and a cer-
tain restraint is placed on their arbitrary actions.
In a place like Mitylene they would not dare to
touch us with impunity, for public opinion would to
a certain extent protect us.

The decision which we adopted was, then, that
we should first go to Constantinople, from whence,

390 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

after having 'realised the money which we required,
and after having made the necessary preparations,
we should leave for Mitylene,

Our arrival at Constantinople greatly surprised
our adversaries, and this surprise on their part
favoured the execution of our project. Whilst the
Pasha and the Ministry discussed amongst them-
selves the coercive measures that they proposed to
decree, we had plenty of time to make our arrange-
ments for the voyage, and to start for Mitylene.

On our arrival at Mitylene we at once occupied
ourselves with getting a house, and procuring all
that was necessary for our subsistence. The house
we hired was a beautiful residence, situated on a
height, from which we had a magnificent view of
the port and of the mountains which surround it.
Our nearest neighbours were the consuls of Italy
and Greece, whilst in our immediate neighbourhood
the consuls of the other Powers and the Greek
Archbishop of Mitylene resided. We had, indeed,
as may be seen, neglected no precautions, and our
position, in the midst of the diplomatic corps, was,
one might almost say, unattackable. Nevertheless,
these very precautions hastened the catastrophe.

Some days after our arrival in the island, I
thought of entering on some speculations, of the

WE ARE TAKEN BY FORCE. 391

.sort which were most in vogue amongst commercial
people, with the aim of increasing the small amount
of capital we still had at our disposal. The specu-
lation which I entered upon was that of importing
flour from Salonica, in order to sell it to the inha-
bitants of the island at an opportune moment. To
this effect I associated myself with a Greek mer-
chant, and I ordered a large cargo of flour, which
was warehoused.

These commercial operations, the administration
of which I left to an overseer, a man called Hadjii,
did not prevent my entering on friendly relations
'with my neighbours, for in our position it Was an
advantage that everyone should know us, and that
we should know everyone. When one has nothing
to conceal, and can carry the head high, 'one has
•everything to gain by being sociable and mixing
with one's equals. Thus we frequently visited the
Italian consul, M. Marinucci, M. Delaporte, the
•Greek consul, as also other families on the island ;
but the society which charmed us more than all the
-others was that of Monseigneur the Archbishop of
Mitylene, a venerable old man, full of goodness and
courtesy.

The archbishop had a magnificent garden, where

lie ivnred with the greatest ' care • the rarest flowers

THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

and shrubs, amongst which the oranges and lemons
were so numerous that they formed a thick forest,
the scent of which perfumed the air. In this
garden my daughter and I used frequently to
walk and enjoy the freshness of the evening, and
the amiable society of the archbishop. One day,
whilst seated near the kiosque in company with
the archbishop and his attendant priests, our
servant Abdullah entered the garden, and with a
terrified air informed us that the soldiers had sur-
rounded our house, and were seeking us every-
where.

This unexpected news, coming into the midst of
the circle of friends in which we found ourselves,
threw consternation amongst us all, and, as was but
natural in a case of such a critical nature, the old
archbishop and his attendants surrounded us at
once to offer their counsels and good offices. To
the kindness of these worthy priests I replied by
thanking them in my own and daughter's name for
all the attentions they had shown us, and prayed
them to be witnesses before God and men of the
barbarous acts that were about to be committed
against women. Turning then towards my daughter,
I endeavoured to raise her spirits by exhorting her
not to be afraid ; for if our last hour was come, it

EXILE TO KONIAH.

would not be remedied by our showing ourselves
cowardly.

Having said these few words, I turned towards
the garden door ; but scarcely were we outside,
when the gendarmes, who were waiting for us,
seized us and led us away to an old fortress, situated
about two miles from the town. The gendarmes
who conducted us remained taciturn the whole way,
and did not say a word as to what was going to be
done with us ; only in reply to an observation of
mine that I supposed it was owing to the receipt of
an order from my husband that they acted in this
manner towards us, the commandant of the detach-
ment said dryly, —

" You know it, Madame ; well, then, march."

When we reached the fortress, they made us pass
through three small iron doors, and led us into a
vaulted room, only partially lighted by an opening
close to the roof. This dark and damp prison had
for its sole furniture two wretched beds with a
woollen coverlet. No sooner had we entered
when the guards, locking us in, left us to medi-
tate on our position and on the fate which
awaited us.

Whilst the orders that the Ministry had sent from
Constantinople were being executed on our persons,

394 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Our house and goods were seized by the detachment
which were charged with this operation. Amongst
all our property and furniture, our clothes were the
only things given over to us ; everything else, com-
prising the flour and other merchandise that we
kept warehoused, and also our ready cash, was con-
fiscated, and passed into the hands of persons greedy
for plunder.

The three days we passed in the fortress were days
of misery and anguish ; each time the door of our
prison was opened, or that we heard a noise from the
outside, we fancied that our last moment had arrivedj
und that the executioners were come to strangle us.
This dread which seized us was not the result of an
excited imagination or terrified mind, but it was
caused by the conviction that our enemies, Ferideh
and Bessim, were persons who would not draw back
from any enormity in order to get rid of us. It
was their inability alone which had paralysed them ;
but now that the authorities appeared to lend them
assistance in their aims, we might expect every-
-thing from them.

Nevertheless, at the end of the third day of our
detention, one of the officials of the government of
the island came to inform us that we were to be
exiled to Koniah in Asia Minor, and in consequence

ROUTE TO KONIAH.

395

we should heave to embark on board the steamer
which was to leave that same night for Smyrna.

e Pasha's officer did not fail to give us some
words of consolation, and made many excuses on
the part of his master, who, he said, greatly re-
gretted having had to perform so sad a duty, but,
as a servant of the State, he could not do otherwise
than obey the orders that had been sent him.

Thus again escorted by gendarmes we were con-
ducted on board, just as though we had been
condemned to the galleys, or like people who had
conspired against the life of the Padishah and the
safety of the country. Our arrest took place in the
beginning of December, 1865.

CHAPTER XXXII.

lloute to Koniah— -Sojourn at Koniah— Escape from Koniah — "We arrive
at Mersine— The French Consul — Arrival at Constantinople.

ON our arrival at Smyrna, we were conducted
under an escort to a Turkish house, where we were
kept for three more days under strict surveillance.
The preparations for our journey being then termi-
nated, we were placed on horses, and took the road
which leads from Smyrna to Koniah by way of Sparta.
Our escort at this time was not a very formidable
one ; it only consisted of two gendarmes. Evi-
dently the Smyrna authorities did not fear our
attempting flight during the journey. Besides, with;
bad horses, bad cavalry saddles, and the snow which
covered the mountains of Aidin, we had need to be
men of exceptional strength instead of women, in
order to attempt such a flight.

Poor unfortunate creatures as we were, we had
barely strength to keep ourselves on our saddles, for
we shivered with the cold, which almost deprived us
of the use of our limbs. Aisheh, who never ought

ROUTE TO RON I AH. 397

to have been exposed to such trials, had to undergo
some great hardships ; her condition was truly
pitiable. The privations and sufferings to which
she was exposed told upon her strength with greater
force, owing to her mind and spirit being so crushed,
and being deprived of all the comforts and luxuries
to which she had been accustomed in her father's
house ; but what rendered her more inconsolable
than all besides, was the knowledge that she owed
all this dreadful treatment to a father whom she
tenderly loved.

The sufferings of my daughter, and the state of
the roads, did not permit us to take long marches,
or to enjoy any of the pleasures of the journey.
Our stages were generally from three to four hours
a day, so that it took us a fortnight to reach
Koniah, the place of our destination. On the way
we rested in many towns and villages : the most
important places we saw were Aidin, the country of
the famous Zeibecks, the troubadour warriors of
Asia Minor. Aidin, or Guzel-Hissar, must bo a
charming place in summer time, as it is surrounded
by gardens and orchards, and offers a beautiful view
of the adjacent plain. Sparta is another town
whose smiling appearance somewhat enlivened the
dreariness of our journey. This place, like Aidin,

398 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

commands a fine view over a valley covered with
fine plane trees : the waters flow plentifully through
the beds of the streams and torrents ; while the
houses seemed to us elegantly and well built in the
midst of gardens.

But in the midst of our sufferings, seeing ourT
selves exiles and outcasts, the beauties of nature
and the sight of towns and villages could not pro-
duce any great effect upon us ; so that it often
happened that we entered inside a place and came
out again without even thinking to ask our gen^
darmes or the country people any questions about
it. In the midst of our anxiety the predominant
thought which engrossed our minds was, " AncU
what next ? What will they do with us when once
we reach Koniah ?"

After a march of fifteen days, we at last arrived
at Koniah, which is situated in the middle of a
vast plain. I will not say anything here on the
subject of Koniah, of its houses, its mosques, and
the gardens which constitute its suburbs ; for, as the
reader will remember, I have already made mention
of this town, in speaking of my first exile here.
Nevertheless I do not hesitate to say that in apr
proaching the town I could not prevent feeling a
lively desire to see it again, and to meet my old

SOJOURN AT KONIAH. 399

friends and acquaintances once more. It seemed to
me at this moment that in all misfortunes there is a
charm, and that the recollection of a sad past has,
in it also something to soothe and please the mind. •

Our arrival at Koniah did not fail to produce a,
lively sensation amongst all classes of the popula-
tion, amongst the men as well as in the harem,
They were astonished to see a daughter sent by her
father into exile in the midst of ice and snow. The
Pasha- Governor was a certain good and fat old man,
called Izzet-Pasha : when the gendarmes placed in
his hands the Jlrman which condemned us to exile,
the poor Pasha remained stupified, and, seizing his
long beard, cried out —

" Tchok shell Tchok shei! bunudah giurduk!"
signifying, " Zounds ! one must live to my age to
see such things as these/'

Izzet-Pasha took care to settle us in a house,
where we were no sooner installed than we were
besieged by a mass of visitors. Every one who had
formerly known me came at once to see me ; some
of my friends hastening to express their regrets for
the misfortunes that had befallen me and my
daughter, whilst my most intimate friends could not
conceal their joy at seeing me again in their midst.

The wives of the Mollah-Unkiar. as also those

400 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

of several dervishes, hastened to send us hot dishes
and sweetmeats, as a proof of their cordiality. In
our private conversations as between mother and
daughter as regarded our position, we came to the
conclusion that it would be folly to think of return-
ing, at least for some time, to our own country, and
that for the moment we could not do better than
resign ourselves to our fate, and to try and render
our exile as agreeable as we could possibly make it.

Evidently the only hope we could entertain of
returning to our home was based on the possibility
that the voice of nature might make itself heard in
the heart of him who had not hesitated to persecute
his wife and child. Nevertheless, Providence, which
watched over us, had in its hidden designs ordered
otherwise ; for without our knowledge, or even
thinking of it, it was about to open the road of our
deliverance.

Three months had scarcely elapsed since our
arrival at Koniah, when one fine day a certain
Hadji-Kadin, the mother of a dervish, came to visit
us. In the course of conversation the worthy woman
said, that if she had been placed in a similar posi-
tion to ours, she should have escaped and returned
to Constantinople.

"You have not committed any crime," added

ESCAPE FROM KONIAH. 401

Hadji-Kadin. " What do you suppose they can do
to you ? If I were in your place, as Allah is my
witness, I would not remain a minute longer here."

These exhortations produced an extraordinary
effect on me and my daughter ; for we felt our
courage and strength reviving at every word. The
question of our flight was then fully discussed, and
between us three we talked over the means we must
employ to carry out our enterprise successfully.
Hadji-Kadin offered with the best good-will to pro-
vide us with horses for the journey, and proposed
that her son, Dervish Ahmet, should accompany us
in secret outside the town, and put us on the road
which leads to Mersiue. The plan to be followed
in our evasion having been decided on, it only
remained to make the necessary arrangements.

Before relating the circumstances attending our
flight from Koniah, 1 must give a few explanations
m this event ; for the explanations will throw a
on the causes which brought about our exile
and our flight.

I must commence by saying that both our exile
and our flight were neither more nor less than
political farces, that the Ministry and Kibrizli-
Pasha played one against the other. In the midst
of these intrigues, it was we, poor unfortunates, who

D D

402 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

had to suffer. According to information which I
gleaned on our return to Constantinople, which
also bore out what I heard Fuad-Pasha himself say
on the occasion of my interview with him at Nice,
a short time before his death, I will now relate
what the circumstances were which brought about
our exile and our flight.

My readers will no doubt recollect what I have
previously said on the subject of the instigations of
our enemies, who, by their tricks and wiles, induced
the Pasha to commit acts of violence on the persons
of his wife and daughter. But Kibrizli, who was
no longer in the Ministry, had no other means of
satisfying the clamour of the people of his house-
hold, than that of asking the Ministers to aid him
by means of their authority. The Ministers at first
hesitated to give Kibrizli their support ; for the
intestine warfare which ravaged the family of a
pretendant to the grand-vezirat, accorded com-
pletely with the wishes and interests of Fuad and
of Ali Pasha.

The good-will which the Ministers at first showed
us, and their refusal to lend themselves as in-
struments of vengeance, sufficiently explains their
policy, during the first period of the conflicts which
were carried on between Kibrizli-Pasha and our-

ESCAPE FROM KONIAH. 403

selves. But an unexpected change in the aspect of
affairs caused Fuad and Ali to alter their plans.
Kibrizli having resolved at any cost to prevail over
us and his political adversaries, presented an ulti-
matum to the Ministry by which he declared that if
they persisted in refusing the arm. of authority
against his daughter, he would go straight to the
Sultan, and get from his Majesty the firman he
desired to have.

Seeing that Kibrizli would get the victory in spite
of themselves, Fuad and Ali changed their tactics,
by giving way to the demands of their adversary,
in according him the firman for our arrest and
exile. In acting in this manner, these two states-
men took into consideration our safety and interests ;
for it was evident that if Kibrizli-Pasha, Ferideh,
Bessim, and our other enemies could have succeeded
in procuring a firman according to their own wishes,
our destruction would have been inevitable.

In giving therefore this firman, the Ministry,
without our knowledge, rendered us a signal service.
Nevertheless, as nothing is done in political matters
without a motive, thus Fuad and Ali only consented
to grant the firman with the aim of preserving the
advantages that they could gather in the midst
of our domestic quarrels. They both thoroughly

D D 2

404 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

well understood that it would be easy to annul a
firman which emanated from themselves, whilst it
would have been much more difficult to revoke a
firman emanating from the Sultan himself. Briefly,
Fuad and Ali said to themselves, "Let us give
Kibrizli the firman he asks for ; afterwards it will
not be difficult to get the women back again, and
things will go on in the same way as before."

This is exactly what they did in sending us two
emissaries, such as Hadji-Kadin and Dervish Ahmet,
her son. That these people acted from instructions
received from head-quarters there can be no doubt ;
for if it was not the case, how can one explain these
facts, that during our stay at Koniah no measure
of surveillance was adopted on our behalf, and that
afterwards, on our arrival at Constantinople, the
Ministry took no notice of our escape ?

Evidently they only wanted to shut Kibrizli
Pasha's mouth by giving him the firman, whilst, in
allowing us to escape, they wished to create new
difficulties.

According to the plan we had laid down,
Dervish Ahmet came and knocked at our door
towards the dawn of day, accompanied by two
guides and horses, which we had to mount. With-
out loss of time, we three, Aisheh, myself and my

ESCAPE FROM KONIAH. 405

m, Djehad, took our places on our saddles, and
3gan to trot across the fields and solitary paths
that Dervish Ahmet had charged himself with the
duty of showing us. When at some distance from
Koniah, Dervish Ahmet confided us to the care of
the two guides, at the same time wishing us good-
by and a prosperous journey.

Now that I see things in a different light to what
I did at that time, I can but regret that they did
not spare us the fear, the agitation, and the fatigue
that this flight from Koniah caused us. If the
Ministry had decided on making us return to Con-
stantinople to play out their game, for myself I
would have promised to play it out to perfection,
without any one guessing it and without causing us
real torments. But the complete ignorance in which
we were kept on the subject of what was passing
behind the scenes made us escape with all the
gravity and fear of dangerous consequences. At
every step we looked behind to see if any one was
following us. Instead of going along tranquilly,
we galloped like maniacs, and not being able to
sit well on our saddles, we fell off at least twenty
times.

As for my daughter, she displayed a great deal of
courage ; she astonished us by the skill which she

406 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

shewed in the management of her horse. Neverthe-
less, she also" fell off several times, but this did not
occur till the moment when her strength failed her,
and she felt herself worn out with fatigue and want
of sleep.

Between Koniah and Karaman there is a distance
of twenty hours' ride; we did the whole of it in
two stages, and halted in a meadow on the banks of
a rivulet. The truth is, that after a march of twelve
or fourteen hours we were so knocked up that we
could not .go on without taking some rest. Leaving
our horses to graze in the meadow, w^e and our
guides lay down on the banks of the stream, and in
a few moments fell fast asleep.

At daybreak Aisheh woke : alarmed by the danger
we ran in prolonging our halt in a place infested by
Turkish marauders, she made us get up and continue
our march. In fact, we were in a most dangerous
position, for if evil-disposed people had presented
themselves, we could not have offered them any
resistance ; our caravan only consisted of two armed
men, and they slept quite tranquilly on the grass.
If thieves had made their appearance, they could
easily have carried us all off — men and women and
horses.

We continued our journey towards Karaman, but

ESCAPE FEOM KONIAH. 407

not able to enter it before sunset, on account
>f the by-ways we had to take, so as to avoid the
most frequented paths. As I have already said, all
these troubles and annoyances might have been
spared us, if they had only hinted that we might
escape by the public road and take our time about
it.

After spending the night at Karaman, we con-
tinued our journey, following the valleys and keep-
ing along by the sides of the mountains of Cilicia
(the Ak-dagh). Before crossing this chain, our
caravan passed the night at Khan, a small town
situated on the road to Mersine. From Khan, on
the following day, we mounted to the summit of the
chain of mountains whose culminating peak the
country people call Dunbelek-dagh. The road was
a succession of zig-zags through the wooded sides of
the mountains. The view was unexceptionably
picturesque and grand.

The third night of our march we halted at a
village on the other side of the mountain, and on
the fourth day, late in the afternoon, we arrived
safe and well at Mersine. As we feared lest the
authorities of the town should take notice of our
arrival, and in consequence raise difficulties and per-
haps prevent our departure, we immediately on our

408 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

arrival went to the French Consul, in order to put
ourselves under his protection.

The Consul was absent at his country place,
for in Cilicia, when the spring-time is much
advanced, the inhabitants are in the habit of
going for the month of March to their country
residences, so as to enjoy the most agreeable season
of the year. This tiresome circumstance necessi-
tated our going in search of the Consul, and to
have another half hour's ride. The concierge at the
Consulate was gallant enough to offer himself as our
guide, and walked at the head of our horses till we
reached the Consul's door. The Consul's house was
picturesquely situated in the midst of rocks, and
commanded a large and beautiful vineyard, sur-
rounded by fig and palm trees.

Having been apprised of our arrival, the Consul
hastened in person to offer us the hospitality of his
house, and, with an exquisite courtesy, assisted us
off our horses, and did us the honours of his house-
M. Geoffroy was a young man, about thirty years of
age, of an agreeable exterior, and with manners
which revealed high birth, and choice education.

The kindness which the chivalrous Consul showed
us greatly surpassed the ordinary limits of hospitality
and etiquette. According to Oriental custom, he

THE FRENCH CONSUL. 409

placed his bath at our disposal, and requested his
mother to see that nothing was neglected for our
comfort. M. Geoffroy hastened, the first moment
we put foot in his house, to assure us that no one
shoud molest us whilst we remained with him, and
he would also give us a safe-conduct to put us on
board the steamer.

We remained for two days the guests of the
Consul, who charmed us by his manners, as also by
the attentions with which he overwhelmed us. But
what pleased me more than all was the service he
did for us in giving us as a friend his best advice
and counsels on the subject of my daughter and
her father. M. Geoffroy, who thoroughly under- *
stood the character of the Turks, did not hesitate to
say that, from what he had heard from us about
our affairs, our return to Constantinople was, under
the circumstances, an act of utter madness. As for
the hope of bringing about a reconciliation with the
Pasha and our adversaries, it was an illusion that
the antecedents entirely contradicted. According

him there were but two courses open : either *
my daughter must decide on a complete submission,
or else she must seek for safety in a foreign country.

In this M. Geoffroy and myself were of the same
opinion ; but unfortunately Ai'sheh would not listen

410 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to the counsels of her mother or a friend, for she
still cherished the hope of arranging matters by
means of a mezzo termine.

On the arrival of the steamer we took leave of
M. Geoffroy and his mother, and went to take our
places on board. As the vessel touched at the
different ports along the coast, such as Rhodes,
Smyrna, the Dardanelles, it took three days for us
to reach the Golden Horn.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Arrival at Constantinople— Our position — Designs of the Turks— We
decide to fly to Europe— My nephew Carlo Galix.

Oufi arrival did not fail to produce a certain
effect on the mass of the populace of Con-
stantinople ; but this sensation was not alone
the result of surprise, for they knew that we
were not women who would allow ourselves to
be easily ruled. The news of our arrival naturally
vexed our adversaries ; as for the Ministry, they
rejoiced, for they knew the struggle was about
to begin again between us and our enemies.

It will not have escaped my reader's notice that,
whilst I do not hesitate to qualify Kibrizli, Ferideh,
&c., by the name of adversaries, I take care not to call
the people in authority our friends : in fact, what
title could I give Fuad and Ali-Pasha, who, whilst
making use of us to attain their own political aims,
nevertheless left us to the mercy of the strongest,
and showed themselves totally indifferent to our
sufferings and anguish 1 If these people had had

412 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

really our welfare at heart, what they should have
done was very simple. They ought first to have
allowed us a sum of money for our subsistence, and
at once have intimated to our adversaries to keep
quiet, or otherwise the Government would interfere
in our favour.

Fuad and Ali took care not to follow such
a line of conduct, for they knew that by this
means an end would soon be put to our quarrels.
Naturally, if Lthey had let us live in peace,
and if they had allowed us some thousands
of francs for our maintenance, we should never
have troubled ourselves about Ferideh and her com-
panions ; we should have left them perfectly tranquil.

Wishing to put an end to a state of things in
which we had nothing to gain and everything to
lose, immediately on my arrival at Constantinople,
I begged my daughter to endeavour to regain her
father's good- will and favour. With this object in
view, A'isheh went to see a Khodja, who was the
spiritual director of his Highness — a pious person
of great repute amongst the grandees of Constan-
tinople, as well as the poorer classes of the people.
The Khodja, by name Ibrahim-Effendi, received
Ai'sheh with every mark of kindness and considera.
tion. He expressed his regret for the misfortunes

OUR POSITION. 413

which had befallen us, and did. not conceal from
her that he disapproved of the acts of violence from
which we had suffered. Ibrahim-Effendi did not
hesitate to say that he had remonstrated on this
subject with his Highness, but that unfortunately
he had not been attended to. The Khodja, in con-
clusion assured Ai'sheh that he would not fail to
seize the first favourable opportunity to intercede in
her behalf ; but he added, that we must keep very
quiet, and avoid giving the least annoyance to the
Pasha.

But whilst Ibrahim-Effendi preached these ser-
mons to Aisheh, and sent her away with fine words,
we were rapidly hastening towards a crisis.

The fact is, we were reduced to the last extremity,
having no other alternative before us than to sur-
render at discretion, or else to make a path for our-
selves through the enemies' lines. Like a garrison
which has used up its provisions, we were compelled
either to lower our arms or to make a sortie.

Our means were entirely exhausted. Of the
hundred thousand francs which my daughter had
brought away with her in her flight from her father's
house there only remained a few thousands. All
this money had run through our fingers under one
pretext or another. A part of it was expended by

414 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

Aisheh in frivolities which she declared she could
not do without ; another portion was confiscated at
Mitylene, or else was absorbed by the expenses of
our exile and flight. Briefly, as I have said, all
had been spent in one way or another, and two or
three thousand francs was all we possessed in this
solemn moment.

Under these circumstances it was impossible to
think of continuing the struggle, or even to remain
in the capital in which my daughter had been ac-
customed to lead a luxurious life. The only chance
that was left us was to go and live in the country,
where a small property which I possessed would
have served us as a shelter, and would have saved
us from the imminent danger of our dying from star-
vation. But after having solved the economical part
of the question, the next thing to be considered was
that of our personal safety. Should we be safe there 1
And if our enemies sent anyone to illtreat us, who
was there to protect us ? In the impossibility
of solving this problem in a satisfactory manner,
I bethought myself of a flight into Europe, in
order to see if this course offered me more chance,
or even a shadow of hope. But it was not neces-
sary to rack one's brains to be able to understand
that in our position it would have been madness to

DESIGNS OF THE TURKS. 415

•

dream of a flight. I well knew that two women
who dared to venture into Europe without money
might expect everything, even death itself.

But whilst we waited with anxiety the result of
our negotiations, and strove to come to a decision
on the subject of what was best to be done, an
incident occurred which decided our fate. We had
a friend, a certain Hussein-Pasha, who was ac-
quainted with Bessim, Shevket, and all that set.
Hussein learnt, God knows how, that Kibrizli-Pasha
and his counsellors had decided on getting rid of us
at any cost, and with this end in view they intended
transporting us to the fortress of Demitoka, from
whence we could never hope to escape. The for-
tress of Demitoka is situated in Thracia, and it is
there that the Porte sends those it wishes to be rid
of. There is no place in Turkey more gloomy or
where the surveillance is so strict as at Demitoka ;
this explains why this place is proverbially known as
a sort of hell upon earth.

Hussein, on learning the intentions of our ene-
mies, hastened to send us a secret emissary, to warn
us of the danger which threatened us. The import-
ance of this information could not be doubted, for
after what had occurred to us at Mitylene, it was
evident there was no outrage that our enemies were

416 THIRTY YEARS IX THE HAREM.

not capable of. As for doubting the veracity of the
message sent us by Hussein- Pasha, this was quite
out of the question, for we knew that Hussein cor-
dially detested our enemies ; and if it was not
entirely out of regard to us, at any rate his enmity
to the others made him desire to be useful.

This news greatly alarmed us, but myself the most,
for clearer than my daughter I could see that a
gloomy future lay open before us. Aisheh, on her side
a prey to a consternation which bordered on delirium,
implored me to leave for Europe, saying she pre-
ferred to die of hunger rather than fall living into
the hands of her enemies. I did my best to calm
her, and in this supreme moment to raise her
spirits by making her understand that she must
on no account despair of the future, for affairs had
not yet reached the point she imagined, and that
in some way or another we should obtain support
and protection.

But all my prayers and exhortations were of no
avail, she turned a deaf ear to them, for her terror-
was such that the unfortunate girl had lost all con-
trol over herself. After having fixed her wild eyes
on the door, Aisheh remained immovable for some
seconds, then, turning suddenly to me, she said, in
a terrified voice, " If you will go with me, well ; if

WE DECIDE TO FLY TO EUROPE. 417

not, I will go immediately to the sea, and embark
in the first European ship I can find, for here I will
not stay."

Having already had a hundred proofs of what
Ai'sheh was capable of, when once she had taken
anything strongly to heart, and knowing that, in
her excited state, she might even destroy herself, I
.gave way to her entreaties. Besides, a mother's
feelings are apt to carry her away from the path of
reason and common sense, and I felt as if a whirl-
wind was drawing me with my child into its vortex.
I, therefore, at once promised to take her to Europe,
and to place her in safety from those who conspired
against us ; at the same time I recommended Ai'sheh
to keep our intentions quite secret, for, if any one
got the least suspicion of it, we should lose our
lives.

In order to give the reader an idea of the dangers
in the midst of which we found ourselves, I must
mention that what Kibrizli-Pasha and the Turks
most dreaded was, that we should escape into •
Europe. Fanaticism and jealousy are the two '
sentiments which predominate with the Turks ;
these sentiments are so violent, that no Turk can
hear that a woman has escaped to the Ghi'aurs
without trembling with rage.

E E

841 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM

It is quite possible that the Turk who hears the
dreadful news may neither know the woman or her
family, or even her country : these things are per-
fectly indifferent to him ; the mere fact that the
daughter of a Mussulman has fallen into the hands
of the Gh'iaurs, and that these latter can look upon
her features, is enough to make his blood boil, and
make him rave. Should it happen, however, that
the woman who has escaped is no unknown person
of low extraction, but the daughter of one of the
princes of Islam, the Turks are ready to declare in a
body that such a fact is a national disaster ; some
of them may in consequence even die of a stroke of
apoplexy.

My daughter Aisheh was the daughter of a Grand-
vezir, of one who had three times held in his hand
the seal of the Padishah ; besides this, she was an
Esseideh, Emir, a descendant of the race of Moha-
med... One can understand that the very idea that
such a woman could escape, and be exposed to the
unclean gaze of the Ghiaurs, would make the Turks
furious to that degree that they would prefer to
confine us for life in the fortress of Demitoka, or
have us strangled, rather than cover Islam with
so lasting a disgrace.

It is a grave error to suppose that jealousy

OUR PRECAUTIONS. 419

and fanaticism were extinguished at the epoch of
the destruction of the Janissaries, for even at this
date the young persons who have been sent to
Europe for their education take the infection of
these diseases on their return to their homes.
Fu ad-Pasha made an exception to the general rule ;
as regards Ali-Pasha, I can form no opinion, inas-
much as I am not acquainted with his ideas and
sentiments. No one could ever guess what this
man really thought or felt ; Ali was a real genius
in hypocrisy.

But to return to our flight. I must mention that
the precautions which I took whilst I made my
preparations were in conformity with the gravity
of the circumstances, and of the risks which we
ran. After having turned several projects over in
my mind, I finally decided upon the only one
which seemed to offer any chance of success ; this
was, in the first place, to discover some one amongst
the Europeans at Pera who would procure dresses
for us in the European fashion — petticoats, bonnets,
mantles, and so on — and who would undertake to
secure places for us on one of the mail packet-boats
that sailed for Marseilles. -

Under these circumstances it was natural that
I should turn my eyes towards my own relations

E E

420 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

at Pera ; for to whom could I apply in a matter
so dangerous and delicate, if not to my own
sister ? The Perotes are so notoriously venal, that
I had good reasons for fearing to confide in any
of them ; there was a great risk that allured by the
hope of making their fortunes, they would betray me
to the Turks, who would readily have given an
enormous sum for information respecting our plans.
To say the truth, I for some time even hesitated to
confide in my own sister, and for the reason, that her
son Carlo Calix, was purveyor to the Imperial Court,
and in consequence intimately connected with the
Turks. " God knows/' I said to myself, " how far
money interests may prevail over family ties ; and
Carlo Calix, who gains thousands and thousands by
the Turks, may possibly betray his aunt, whom he
scarcely knows."

But the honest Carlo proved the falsehood of my
suspicions and fears ; no one in the world could have
acted more nobly ; he took on himself, at his own
cost and risk, to provide our means of escape. In
fact, when I went to Madame Calix and confided to
her our design of escaping to Europe, she imme-
diately summoned her son Carlo, and we three held
a consultation, in which we discussed the project in
all its phases, and we decided on the plan of action

CARLO CALIX. 421

which appeared most favourable. The eagerness
which Carlo displayed in aiding us in this dangerous
business took me quite by surprise, for I had no
reason to expect it.

" Aunt," said Carlo, " as I see things, the only
hope of safety for you and Ai'sheh is in flight. By
escaping to Europe, not only do you place yourself
in safety, but you take a signal revenge on the
Turks, who have ill-treated and tyrannized over
you, and who now seek to destroy you.

"Sacre-bleu, leave us to act, and to-morrow every-
thing will be ready for your departure."

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Our flight— "We disguise ourselves — "We get on board the mail steamer —
Our departure — Off at last for Europe.

EVERYTHING having been made ready for our
departure, we hurried to be off by the very first
mail ; which was to start for France that week. Our
anxiety, our apprehensions may be, in a measure,
imagined, but never fully realised. On the one
hand we had already experienced the terrors of
pursuit, the horrors of re-capture, the long torments
of seclusion. A worse fate awaited us if our pre-
sent project failed: an underground dungeon for
life. On the other hand our success depended upon
our taking advantage of the very first opportunity
of attempting our escape. Should we be fortunate
now ? This was the momentous question the
attempt could alone determine.

At Constantinople the Government and the police
exercise a rather severe control over the passports of
departing travellers. In the first instance, the docu-

OUR FLIGHT. 423

ments must be vised ; they are then presented at
the office of the Messageries, and are only returned
to the travellers a few moments before their de-
parture. Now these formalities threatened to be
for us a most serious business, for this simple
reason that we had no passports, and had no means
of procuring any. But if our being without pass-
ports exposed us to the risk of being stopped by
the local police ; on the other hand the imminent
danger we were in, from the revengeful fury of my
husband, left us no alternative but to incur the risk
of being arrested by the local police, the chance of
bribing whom still remained to us.

Fully aware, therefore, of the immense advantage
to us of using diligence, we accomplished impossi-
bilities in these two days, in order to complete our
preparations. Carlo hastened to bring us dresses,
prepared our trunks, and ordered the sedan-chairs
which were to take us through the streets of Pera
and from Galata to the place of embarkation. I
for my part hurried off to tell Ai'sheh that our
departure was fixed for the following day.

It was necessary to assign some reason for our
proceedings to our own household and neighbours.
We therefore gave them to understand that we were
only going to the quarter of the Ghiaurs to make

424- THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

purchases. Our adieux were the last which we ever
made to them — the last which my daughter made
to her country, and to everything that was dear to
her in the world. As for me, I made my last adieu
to Mussulman society, in the midst of which I had
passed thirty years — a whole existence.

On our arrival at Pera we went straight to
Madame Calix, who was impatiently expecting us,
for everything was ready for our departure. In
such moments, when one is on the point of taking
a final decision, a feeling of strong agitation must
seize on all concerned, be they actors, accomplices,
or witnesses ; and accordingly, on this occasion
when we entered the house, we found my sister and
Carlo in a great state of agitation, caused no less by
the grave responsibility which rested on them, than
by the decisive and irrevocable step which they
knew we were about to take.

With the hurry and excitement which are inevitable
on such occasions, we laid aside our Turkish dress,
and put on the petticoats which are worn by Euro-
peans. Aisheh, with that light-heartedness which
was the charm of her youth, did not appear to be
much preoccupied with either responsibility or dan-
ger ; she was entirely absorbed in the operation of
transforming herself from a Hanum -into a lady.

WE DISGUISE OURSELVES. 425

The idea of approaching freedom made her forget the
dangers which threatened her very life. When our
toilet was ended, we bade adieu to my sister and
her daughters, and went out into the street where
the sedan-chairs were waiting for us. Carlo helped
us in, advising us to be very careful to conceal our
features by lowering our veils, and when everything
was ready gave the order to start.

We passed through the most crowded streets of
Pera and Galata ; whilst our chairs doubtless pushed
against many who would not have hesitated to
attack us, if they had only suspected that we were
the individuals concealed behind those curtains.

Carlo followed in the distance, carefully watching
our progress ; as soon as we arrived at the stairs, he
joined us again, in order to give his assistance at the
difficult office of embarking. The stairs to which
we had gone were close to the custom-house at
Galata, and not much frequented ; it was a spot
admirably chosen for our embarkation, and here
Carlo had stationed a Maltese boat under the English
flag, which was to convey us to the steamer. On
leaving our chairs, we bid adieu to Carlo, with heart-
felt thanks for all that he had done for us, and took
our places in the boat.

The Maltese boatmen rowed us in a few moments

426 THIRTY YEARS IN THE HAREM.

to the steamer, and took us alongside. There was
a crowd of Turkish boats and caiques before the
ladder, which had carried merchants and merchan-
dise to the steamer ; amongst the caiques were two
or three that were there to watch the embarkation,
and in each of these was a police officer. The gen-
darmes looked hard at us, made an inspection of
our luggage, and allowed us to pass ; had they but
known that one of these travellers was nothing less
than the daughter of the Grand-vezir, who can say.
what they would have done to us ? Probably we
should have been made to measure the depth of the
Bosphorus.

As soon as we got on board, we at once de-
scended to one of the cabins reserved for ladies,
and there we placed ourselves out of sight. It is
a most astonishing fact, that none of the officers of
the ship asked to see either our tickets or passports ;
the clerk merely inquired how far we were going,
and seeing that we had no tickets, he gave us the
requisite number.

These were the circumstances under which we
quitted Constantinople, in the autumn of 1866;
arid here I must conclude that .portion of the narra-
tive of my life, of which so large a part was passed
in the harem.

OFF AT LAST FOR EUROPE. 427

The six years we have since spent in Europe,
have been so many years of martyrdom. We have
endured hunger, penury, abject misery. We have
suffered persecutions of every kind, conducted with
an ingenuity meriting the epithet of diabolical, and
prosecuted with a degree of perseverance which
indicates the intensest hatred. The object has
been to discredit us everywhere ; to isolate us
from society ; to drive us to despair — even to
death.

Our vicissitudes in Europe, however, — and they
have been of a most extraordinary kind, — must
form the subject of a sequel to the present recital
of our experiences and misfortunes in the East. I
fervently thank God He has so mercifully preserved
me thus far from my enemies, and I re]y upon His
good Providence to enable me finally to overcome
them, and to obtain justice for myself and my
children.

THE END.

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FOKTNIGHTLY KEYIEW,

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niHE object of THE FORTNIGHTLY EEVIEW is to become an organ

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interest in Politics, Literature, Philosophy, Science, and Art. Each contribution
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The following are among the Contributors : —

J. S. MILL.
PROFESSOR HUXLEY.
PROFESSOR TYNDALL.
DR. VON SYBEL.
PROFESSOR CAIRNES.
EMILE DE LAVELEYE.
GEORGE HENRY LEWES.
FREDERIC HARRISON.
WALTER BAGEHOT.

PROFESSOR BEESLY.
A. C. SWINBURNE.
DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI.
HERMAN MERIVALE.
EDWARD A. FREEMAN.
WILLIAM MORRIS.
F. W. FARRAR.
PROFESSOR HENRY MORLEY.
J. HUTCHISON STIRLING.

W. T. THORNTON.
PROFESSOR BAIN.
PROFESSOR FAWCETT.
HON. R. LYTTON.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE.
JOSEPH MAZZINI.
THE EDITOR.

&c. &c.

&c.

Contents for November.
SECOND EDITION.

CONTAINS :

JOHN STUART MILL ON BERKELEY'S LIFE AND WRITINGS.
PROFESSOR HUXLEY ON ADMINISTRATIVE NIHILISM.

HENRY FAWCETT, M.P., ON THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE GOVERNMENT.
WALTER H. PATER ON THE POETRY OF MICHAEL ANGELO.
JULES ANDRIEU ON THE PARIS COMMUNE : A CHAPTER TOWARDS ITS THEORY

AND HISTORY.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE'S THE EUSTACE DIAMONDS.

Contents for December.

SPECIALISED ADMINISTRATION. By HERBERT SPENCER.

CHURCH AND STATE IN ITALY. By J. W. PROBYN.

THE EUSTACE DIAMONDS. Chapters XXI. to XXIV. By ANTHONY TROLLOPE.

PHYSICS AND POLITICS. IV. NATION-MAKING. By WALTKR BAGEHOT.

THE NEW ATTACK ON TOLERATION. By HELEN TAYLOR.

LYRICAL FABLES (Conclusion). By the Hon. ROBERT LYTTON.

THE IRISH UNIVERSITY QUESTION. By H. Dix BUTTON.

Contents for January.

THE POSITION AND PRACTICE OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS. By LORD HOUGHTON.

THE CLOUD CONFINES. By DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI.

HOME RULE. By W. O'CONNOR MORRIS.

CHAUMETTE. By A. REGNARD.

PHYSICS AND POLITICS. V. THE AGE OF DISCUSSION. By WALTER BAGEHOT.

NEW THEORIES IN POLITICAL ECONOMY. By PROFESSOR CAIRNES.

ST. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, By J. C. MORISON.

THE EUSTACE DIAMONDS. Chapters XXV. to XXVIII. By ANTHONY TROLLOPE.

FORSTER'S LIFE OF DICKENS.

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Thirty years in the harem

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