Military Festival—Turkish Ladies—Female Curiosity—Eastern Coquetry—A Few Words on the TurkishFèz—The Imperial Horse-Guards—Disaffection of the Imperial Guard—False Alarms—The Procession—The Troops at Pera—Imitative Talent of the Turks—Disappointment.
Havingaccidentally rowed down to Pera in order to visit some friends, a week or two after the presentation of the Sultan’s portrait to the Imperial Guard at Scutari, we were startled on arriving at Dolma Batchè to see the shore lined with the caïques and barges of the Pashas, and the principal Officers of the Fleet; and the heights covered with military. Such being the case, we landed at the pier below the palace, and I addressed myself to a group of Turkish ladies who had established themselves very comfortably under the shade of a fine plane tree, to ascertain the cause of so much unusual parade.
Women assuredly have some freemasonry by which they contrive to be intelligible to each other, for it is certain that, with barely half a dozen sentences of the language, I have frequently kept up something that bordered upon a conversation; and on the present occasion, by a judicious use of my very limited knowledge, and considerable gesticulation, I made the persons to whom I put the question perfectly comprehend its import. The reply commenced by an invitation to avail myself of part of their carpet, which, as it was easy to see both by their appearance and attendance, that they were highly respectable, I did not hesitate to do; and they then informed me that the Sultan was to pass in an hour, in state, to present his portrait to the Artillery, at their barracks in the Great Cemetery.
In five minutes my new acquaintance had confided to me that they were sisters, and that a sweet little girl who sat between them was the only child of the younger one, and would be immensely rich; and had, in turn, inquired my country, and my relationship to my father, who stood aloof, lest he should annoy them; but whom they forthwith invited into the shade by the usual title given to all Franks:—“Gel, Capitan, Gel—Come, Captain, come”—while the daughter of the eldest lady, a pale, slight, dark-eyed houri, who was perfectly conscious of her extreme beauty, played off a thousand little coquettish airs to attract his attention. First she let the lower portion of her yashmac fall, to discover the prettiest mouth in the world; with,what is very unusual among the Turkish females, a fine set of teeth, which she displayed in a laugh of affected embarrassment at her awkwardness; and then, in her great haste to remedy the misfortune, she contrived to throw back her feridjhe, and disclose a throat and arms as dazzling as mountain snow; and a pair of delicate little hands, of which the nails were deeply stained with henna. I had seen several yashmacs adjusted in the harem, but I had never yet met with one which required so much arranging as this; and the young Hanoum was so persevering, and kept up such a soft little murmur of Turkish ejaculations, that I had time to take an excellent lesson in the difficult art of veiling.
And all this within ten paces of one of the sentinels, who stood leaning cross-legged against the stock of his musket, according to the most approved system of Turkish discipline; and who did not interfere to remove the Frank strangers from the vicinity of the women, although a couple of years ago it would have perhaps subjected my father to temporary imprisonment, and certainly to insult.
As we had already had sufficient experience of the slight attention which His Sublime Highness ever paid to time on public occasions, we felt no inclination to spend half the morning under a tree on the edge of a dusty road; and, having ascertained by the line of sentinels, thatthe procession would pass the Military College; we accordingly made a parting salutation to our new friends, and plunged once more into the hot sunshine.
As we ascended the hill we came upon a squadron of the Imperial Guard, who were to form a portion of the shew, and who were lying comfortably in the dust, some asleep, and others nearly so; while the horses were huddled together in groups in the centre of the road? This was a portion of the corps which I mentioned in my account of the marriage festivities of the Princess Mihirmàh, and they certainly were considerably more like soldiers at a distance, than when seen thus on our very path.
Nothing requires more management than afèz. It may be so arranged as to form even a becoming head-dress; but wo betide the unlucky wight who pulls it on until he isfèzedover head and ears! As worn by the Turkish soldiers, it were impossible to conceive any thing more hideous; generally nearly black, and always more or less greasy; some fling it down into their necks, where it forms a deep fold, others drag it over their eyebrows, and others again bury their whole heads in it, till it takes the form of the skull, and looks like a red clay basin. I need not expatiate on the appearance of their white overalls, even on such an occasion as the present, because I have already stated thatthe wearers were lying about in the dust; and it were equally supererogatory to do more than allude to the effect of a lancer jacket of coarse cloth, braided with yellow cord, nine times out of ten a misfit.
The horses were in excellent keeping with their riders, and presented a beautiful independence of accoutrement. Some had blue saddlecloths, and some had brown ones; some scarlet, and some white; some had European saddles, and some Tartar—some had holsters, (many of them, by the by, to my great amusement, charged with cucumbers, of which the Turks are extremely fond) and some were without. Their lances looked as though they had dropped down among them by mistake, their points were so glittering, and their crimson pennons so fresh and bright, for a Turkish soldier is always careful of his arms. They do not carry these graceful weapons like our own Lancers, although they are similarly provided with slings, but grasp the pole in the Russian fashion.
We were curious to witness the bearing of the Sultan on this occasion, as on the presentation of his portrait at Scutari, a portion of the Imperial Guard had murmured openly against so glaring an infringement of their law, which forbids literally the likeness of any human being to be taken; whereas this had, moreover, been carried with great pomp, and saluted after the same fashion as would have been the augustpersonage whom it represented. “We are be coming Giaours—Infidels,”—was the complaint—“The Franks are turning the head of the Sultan, and he will soon be as they are.”
The first intimation of this disaffection on the part of the troops which reached the inhabitants of the capital, was the appearance of bodies floating in the Bosphorus; and the fact that a Greek captain, who had moored his vessel in the current, found it clogged in an incomprehensible manner; and, on employing half a dozen men to remove the evil, discovered that it was choaked with corpses!
After so decided a manifestation of the sentiments of the soldiery, it was a courageous act of the Sultan to venture thus immediately on a repetition of the offence; and the rather that a portion of the troops are composed of the sons of the Janissaries, who cannot be supposed to entertain the most favourable feelings towards the destroyer of their fathers; and who would naturally embrace so favourable an opportunity of spreading their own hate, as that which permitted them to enforce their expressions of disgust with the name of the Prophet, and the authority of their religion.
As it was uncertain whether His Highness might not descend at the College, as he had done on a previous occasion, three temporary steps covered with scarlet cloth had been prepared for him to descend from his horse; and a carpet laid down from thence to the apartment of Azmè Bey, where a handsomely-embroidered, and elaborately-cushioned sofa had been arranged for his reception. In this room we took up our position, near a window that commanded the long stretch of road, by which the procession was to advance; and we had calculated justly on the procrastination of the Sultan, for we waited nearly four hours ere thecortègewas actually in motion. “The cry was still ‘they come!’” and during all that time they came not. There were two or three false alarms. The drums beat off at the Palace, and were answered by those on the heights, and at the College; the gallant cavalry gathered themselves up out of the dust, and mounted their horses: the Bey turned out his guard, and all in vain. There was a mistake somewhere; and consequently the cavalry dismounted, and lay down again to finish their sleep; and the young Colonel turned in the guard; and we drank another glass of sherbet, and tried to think that we were not at all out of patience; in which attempt, I, at least, was very unsuccessful.
At length the moment came, and the distant sounds of a military band announced the approach of the procession. The unfortunate Guardsmen sprang to their saddles for the fourth time, and formed in double file; in which orderthey moved forward at a foot’s pace. They were succeeded by the Military Staff of the Army, and the Field Officers of the different regiments; the Majors rode first, and were followed by the superior ranks in regular succession, until the gorgeous train of Pashas brought up the rear. The Pashas were succeeded by about thirty musicians: and then followed a detachment of Infantry marching in double files, between whose ranks moved the open carriage of the Sultan, drawn by four fine grey horses, each led by a groom; and bearing the portrait of His Highness carefully enveloped in green baize. Saïd Pasha, the Sultan’s son-in-law, preceded the carriage, dressed in a Hussar uniform, and mounted on a noble Arabian; and it was followed by the Seraskier and Halil Pasha riding abreast; succeeded by a squadron of cavalry.
But where, then, was the Sultan?
Alas! for our high-flown expectations—He had reviewed five thousand men in the course of the morning on the heights above the Palace, after which he had started off for the Valley of Kahaitchana, in an open carriage and four; leaving his portrait to the care of the Pashas.
We reached Pera amid the firing of cannon, the pealing of musketry, and the beating of drums; and just in time to see the whole of the troops march through to their respective barracks; which they did six deep, and in verytolerable style—a circumstance rendered the more astonishing by the fact that many of them had their shoes literally tied upon their feet!
It was impossible not to be struck by a conviction of the perseverance and adoptive powers of the Turks, on seeing this body of men; who, although labouring under all the disadvantages of slovenly dress and defective instruction, had, nevertheless, in a few years succeeded in presenting an appearance of European discipline. Self-taught—for the Turks have been deterred from exerting that which their own good sense led them to feel would be the most efficient mean of speedily attaining the perfection at which they aimed; that is, of profiting by the instructions of foreigners; they have, amid all the difficulties of their position, succeeded in proving that their imitative talents are very considerable; and the jealous policy of Russia has only tended to demonstrate to those who have had an opportunity of comparing the present state of the Turkish army with that in which it was but three years ago, that the Osmanlis have every inclination to avail themselves of the opportunities that are afforded to them of studying the institutions of other nations; where their efforts are not frustrated by political considerations.
Recent events have, in some degree, weakened the Muscovite influence at the SublimePorte; and European Officers have lately arrived in Constantinople who, should they be permitted to act, will probably soon convert the “material” of the Turkish Army into available troops, calculated to do honour alike to their country, to their instructors, and to their Emperor. The docility of the Turkish soldier is admirable; and his desire of improvement so unwearying that it is a common occurrence for him to spend his hours of relaxation in perfecting himself, as far as his own knowledge enables him to do so, in the management of his firelock; while the care and time which he bestows upon the arm itself, is visible at once from the lustre of its bright barrel, and the cleanliness of its whole appearance.
But to return to the troops at Pera. The officers were only distinguishable by their arms, being as heavily laden as the men, with a knapsack, a mess tin, a cloak, and a prayer-carpet; and the different corps were attended by numerous water-carriers, with small leathern cisterns under their arms, and clay drinking-bowls suspended from a strap about their waists.
After traversing Pera, the several regiments filed off in different directions; and the faubourg resumed its accustomed tranquillity. The interest of the pageant had however been greatly lessened by the absence of the Sultan, who should have been its “head and front;” and I onlyreconciled myself to the disappointment by engaging to join a party who were to spend the following Friday at the Asiatic Sweet Waters, where preparations were making to receive the Sovereign of one of the most gorgeous Empires of the earth—the Monarch of a million designations!
Turkish Ladies “At Home”—The Asiatic Sweet Waters—Holy Ground—The Glen of the Valley—Hand Mirrors—Holyday Groups—Courtesy of the Oriental Females to Strangers—The Beautiful Devotee—The Pasha’s Wife—A Guard of Honour—Change of Scene—The Fortress of Mahomet—Amiability of the Turkish Character.
Thetraveller who desires to see the Turkish women really “at home,” should visit the beautiful valley of Guiuk-Suy, the Sweet Waters of Asia, on a Friday during the hot months. This lovely spot, shut in on three sides by lofty hills covered with vegetation, is open to the Bosphorus immediately opposite to the Castle of Europe, the prison of the Janissaries, where the branch-embowered river which gives its name to the locality, (literally “chest-water”) runs rippling into the sunlighted channel.
The transition is delicious, as, shooting round an abrupt point of land, gay with its painted palace and leafy garden, you glide into thedeep shadows of the little river, whose fringe of trees throws a twilight softness over the water, and mirrors itself in the calm ripple. Beneath the boughs rise, as is usual on every spot of peace and beauty, the columned head-stones of many a departed Mussulmaun; while the birds, screened from the noon-day heats, are ever pouring forth their glad song in all the gushing joyousness of conscious security.
Your boatmen, refreshed by the grateful coolness of the locality, speedily bring you to an open bridge; which, spanning the river at its narrowest point, unites the secluded valley, in which the holyday-keeping crowd are wont to assemble during the noon-tide sunshine, with the more open space on which they congregate towards the evening, to profit by the waters of a superb fountain of white marble, richly adorned with arabesques; and to inhale the fresh breeze that sweeps over the Bosphorus.
The stretch of turf on which the ladies spread their carpets, drive their arabas, and spend the long summer morning, is screened from the river by a small space thickly wooded, and appropriated to the men; who smoke their chibouks, and enjoy their sherbet and water-melons, far from the gossipry of their more voluble helpmeets. Passing through this “holy ground,” you come at once upon the lovely nook, which, surrounded on all sides by trees, and throngedwith company, affords one of the prettiestcoup-d’œilsin the world.
PART OF THE VALLEY OF GUIUK-SUY.PART OF THE VALLEY OF GUIUK-SUY.
PART OF THE VALLEY OF GUIUK-SUY.
Here the Sultanas move slowly along over the smooth turf, the vizors of their oxen flashing with foil and plate glass, and the deep golden edges of their araba-awnings glittering in the sunshine; while they lean on their silken cushions, with their yashmacs less carefully arranged than on ordinary occasions. Here the gilded carriage of the Pasha’s Harem, with its gaily tasselled draperies, and its gaudily caparisoned horses, rolls rapidly over the yielding verdure; while the veiled beauty within screens her pure, pale loveliness with a fan of feathers, which serves at once to amuse her idleness, and to display the fairy-like hand that grasps its ivory handle, with the priceless gems which glitter onthe slender fingers, and the taper wrist. Here, the wives of the Bey, the Effendi, and the Emir spread their Persian carpets, and their crimson rugs; and, while the elder ladies remove the fold of muslin which veils the lower portion of their faces, and indulge themselves in the luxury of thekadeun-chibouk, or woman’s pipe; the younger of the party find amusement no less engrossing, in the re-arrangement of their head-dresses with the assistance of a hand-mirror, (the constant travelling companion of a Turkish female), which is held by a slave who kneels at the edge of the carpet.
These hand-mirrors are the prettiest toys imaginable; and the taste displayed in their decoration, as well as the expensive materials of which they are frequently composed, prove their great importance in the eyes of an Oriental beauty. One of these indispensable playthings is constantly beside her in the harem; every latticed araba has four of them panelled into the gilding of its interior, in which she may see her charms reflected during her drive; and no Turkish lady would ever undertake the three hours’ voyage from Buyukdèrè to Stamboul, without carrying along with her the belovedainali.
Some of these mirrors, which are universally of a circular form, and generally provided with a handle of the same material as the setting,and similarly ornamented; are mounted in a frame of richly chased gold or silver, studded with precious stones; but these, as I need scarcely remark, are to be seen only in the Imperial Seraïs, or in the palaces of the most wealthy among the nobles. Others are of coloured velvets, wrought with seed-pearls in the most delicate patterns, or worked with gold, which the Turks do to perfection. Nor are the meaner classes without theirainalis, framed in wood, gaudily painted, and frequently most minute in size.
The Valley of Guiuk-Suy, thronged as I have attempted to describe it, presents a scene essentially Oriental in its character. The crimson-covered carriages moving along beneath the trees—the white-veiled groups scattered over the fresh turf—the constant motion of the attendant slaves—the quaintly-dressed venders ofmohalibèandsèkèl(or sweetmeats) moving rapidly from point to point with their plateaux upon their heads, furnished with a raised shelf, on which the crystal or china plates destined to serve for the one, and the pink and yellow glories of the other, are temptingly displayed—theyahourt-merchant, with his yoke upon his shoulder, and his swinging trays covered with little brown clay basins, showing forth the creamy whiteness of his merchandize—the vagrant exhibitors of dancing bears and grinning monkeys—the sunburnt Greek, with his large, flapping hat of Leghorn straw, and Frank costume, hurrying along from group to group with his pails of ice; and recommending his delicate and perishable luxury in as many languages as he is likely to earn piastres—the never-failing water-carrier, with his large turban, his graceful jar of red earth, and his crystal goblet—the negroes of the higher harems, laden with carpets, chibouks, and refreshments for their mistresses—the fruit-venders, with their ruddy peaches, their clusters of purple grapes from Smyrna, their pyramidically piled filberts, and their rich plums, clothed in bloom, and gathered with their fresh leaves about them—the melon merchants sitting among their upheaped riches; thepastekswith their emerald-coloured rinds, and the musk-melons, looking like golden balls, and scenting the breeze as it sweeps over them; the variety of costume exhibited by the natives, always most striking on the Asiatic shore—the ringing rattle of the tambourine, and the sharp wiry sound of the Turkish Zebec, accompanied by the shrill voices of half a dozen Greeks, seated in a semicircle in front of a beauty-laden araba—all combine to complete a picture so perfect of its kind, that, were an European to be transported to Guiuk-Suy, without any intermediate preparation, he would believe himself to be under the spell of an Enchanter, and beholding the realization of what he had hitherto considered as the mere extravagance of some Eastern story-teller.
The Valley, or at least that portion of it which I am now describing, is further embellished by a magnificent beech, called the Sultan’s Tree, beneath which the Imperial carpet is spread for His Highness when he visits Guiuk-Suy. And a little beyond this rises a platform shaded with willows, and occupied at one of its extremities by a handsome head-stone. I could not learn what favoured dust had been deposited on this sweet spot.
When we had selected a pleasant nook, and had spread our carpet, arranged our cushions, and provided ourselves with fruit, one of the party started on a shooting expedition among the hills; and my friend Madame S—— and myself strolled round the magic circle, which became each moment more thronged. We received many a gracious salutation as we moved along, in return for our glances of involuntary admiration; and at length were fairly stopped by a smiling entreaty that we would inform a party of ladies, who had been too aristocratic in their ideas, or too indolent in their habits, to descend from their araba, who we were, whence we came, and to answer a score more of those simple questions, which make a claim only upon your patience. Not one among them was pretty,but they were all polite and good-natured; and, if they did ask us many things which concerned them not in any possible way, they at least communicated to us, in their turn, a variety of circumstances relating to themselves, which regarded us quite as little.
Nothing can exceed the courtesy of the Turkish ladies to strangers. They always appear delighted to converse with an European female who seems disposed to meet them half way; and they do so with a frankness and ease which at once destroy every feeling ofgèneon the part of the stranger. In five minutes every thing they have is at your service; the fruit of which they are partaking, and the scented sherbet that they have prepared with their own hands. To make acquaintance with them, you require only to be cheerful, willing to indulge their harmless curiosity, and ready to return their civility in as far as you are enabled to do so. There is none of that withering indifference, or that supercilious scrutiny which obtains so much in Europe, to be dreaded from a Turkish gentlewoman; but there is, on the contrary, an earnest urbanity about her which is delightful, and which emanates from the intuitive politeness so universal among the natives; coupled with a simplicity of feeling, and a sincerity of good-nature that lend a double charm to the courtesies of life. Nor is the eye less satisfied thanthe heart, in these moments of agreeable, although brief, communion; for the graceful bearing of an Oriental female greatly enhances the charm of her ready kindness; and her self-possession, and dignity of manner, render her superior to the paltry affectation of assumed coldness; while they convince you that she would be as prompt to resent impertinence, as she had been ready to proffer courtesy.
When we bowed our adieu to the party in the araba, and prepared to continue our stroll, the elder lady presented to us four large cucumbers, a vegetable highly relished by the Orientals, and eaten by them in the same manner as fruit. Of course we accepted the offering in the spirit in which it was made, although we declined indulging in the unwholesome luxury; and I merely mention the circumstance, trivial as it is, to prove the truth of my position. The ladies had been regaling themselves with this primitive fare when we joined them, and shared it with us from precisely the same feeling of courtesy, as an English gentlewoman would have tendered to a stranger the sandwich and champaign of her carriage luncheon.
A short distance beyond the araba, we came upon a beautiful young female, who had alighted from her carriage, and was kneeling upon a costly Persian prayer-carpet, on whose eastern edge was placed a vase of wrought silver. Threeslaves stood, with folded arms, immediately behind her; and she was so completely absorbed in her devotions, that not even the apparition of a couple of European females, always objects of curiosity to a Turkish lady, caused her to lift her eyes. She was strikingly handsome, and her attitude was most graceful, as, with her small hands clasped together, she bowed her head to the earth in the deep, voiceless, prayer, which is the heart’s offering, and requires not to shape itself into words. Had she been otherwise engaged, I could have lingered for an hour, for the mere pleasure of looking upon one of the loveliest faces in the world; but I felt that it would be indelicate to intrude upon her devotions, and once more I moved forward.
No occupation, whether of business or pleasure, is permitted to interfere with the religious duties of a Turkish female, however distinguished her rank; nor has locality or circumstance any influence in deterring her from their observance. It is a common occurrence to see the sister of the Sultan alight from her araba at Kahaitchana, or any other public place in which she may chance to find herself when her accustomed hour of prayer arrives; and, when her slaves have spread her prayer-carpet, kneel down within sight and sound of the crowds that throng the walk, as calmly and collectedly as though she were shut within one of the gilded chambers ofher own Seraï. It were idle to comment upon such a fact.
What a glad scene it was as we wandered on under the leafy branches of the tall trees, over the fresh turf, breathed upon by the cool breeze that swept down into the valley from the encircling hills, giving and receiving a thousand salutations! The Sultan was momentarily expected; and many a dark eye was turned at intervals towards the entrance of the glen, and the noble beech tree to which I have already made allusion; but they were turned thither in vain, for, greatly to our disappointment, he did not appear.
During our progress we came upon an araba which instantly attracted our attention. The painted oxen5had been withdrawn, and were grazing a few paces off; a line of female slaves, reaching the whole length of the carriage, were ranged side by side; and two negroes were stationed immediately in front. All these indications of rank induced us to slacken our pace as we approached, and to glance with more than ordinary attention towards the occupants of the vehicle. They were two in number; a serious-looking elderly person, earnestly engaged with her chibouk; and a fair young creature, soburied among her richly embroidered cushions, that she was scarcely visible.
I have called herfair, but that is not the correct expression, for, as she raised herself at our approach, and removed from before her face a hand mirror, curiously set in a frame composed of ostrich feathers, I never beheld any thing living with such a complexion. She was so deadly white, that no difference was perceptible between the folds of her yashmac, and the brow on which they rested! She looked as though she had been the partial prey of a vampyre; who, sated with some previous victim, had left his unholy repast only half completed—But such eyes! so dark—so sad—veiled by lashes as black as night, resting upon the pallid cheek like sable fringes—I never saw such eyes, save in a dream!—Her nose was thin, and finely-shaped; and the perfect oval of her face, was revealed by the tightly-adjusted yashmac—It was the most spectral beauty I ever beheld, but beauty of a most rare description. She was pillowed on satin, and her hands and brow were bright with gems, but I am sure she was unhappy—there was a languid hopelessness in the expression of her pale face, and a listlessness in her manner, that told of a bursting heart. I would have given much to have learnt her history.
There must have been some telltale indication of my involuntary conviction, in the long andearnest gaze that I turned upon her; for ere I removed my eyes, she smiled a sad, sweet smile, and pressed her hand upon her heart as though she thanked me for the melancholy feeling with which I had looked upon her beauty. The elder dame, meanwhile, smoked on in silence, as calmly as if she had been seated beside a more light-hearted companion; and the silver fringes of the costly araba glittered in the sunshine; and the embroidered cushions looked like a parterre of flowers; and all within that gorgeous vehicle was gay and gladsome save its drooping mistress. I made a thousand inquiries, but failed to ascertain who she was. One individual alone was able to assure me that she was the favourite wife of a Pasha; but the name of the said Pasha had escaped the memory of my informant, and I was fain to content myself with this very unsatisfactory fragment of intelligence.
Having completed our tour of the glen, we took possession of our cushions, and regaled ourselves with the delicious water-melons that we had provided to refresh us after our walk; and a small party of Turkish ladies shortly afterwards followed, and established themselves under the shade of the same tree, whom we initiated into the mysteries ofpapillotes, a secret science which has just become highly interesting to them from their adoption of ringlets. Weamused ourselves with these follies for half an hour very pleasantly; and, having shared our fruit and sweetmeats with our new acquaintance, and perceiving that the company were rapidly departing for the sea-side, I established myself under a fine beech-tree to take a sketch of the locality. But although comparatively few persons remained in the glen, I soon discovered that enough yet lingered to form a dense crowd about me, which effectually prevented my obtaining a view of any object more picturesque than a yashmac or a feridjhe; and I was about to give up the attempt in despair, when a Turkish Officer approached, and requested me to favour him with a sight of my sketch-book.
I complied at once, and was rewarded for my ready acquiescence in the most agreeable way in the world; for, perceiving by its contents that it was not persons but places which I was transferring to my little volume, he explained to the ladies who had gathered about me, that I was prevented from prosecuting my design by the fact of their having entirely shut out the view I was most anxious to secure; and at the first hint they moved aside to the right and left with all the good humour imaginable; one succeeding the other in leaning over me, to examine my work; and all rewarding my forbearance with exclamations of “Mashallàh,” and “Pek Guzel.”
At length the little sketch was completed; and, putting up my pencils, I thanked the Officer who had remained on guard over me and my undertaking, very sincerely for his politeness; and we followed the crowd along a lovely green lane on the opposite side of the bridge, to the shore of the Bosphorus.
It was indeed a change of scene. The Castle of Europe, cold, and white, and bare, cut sharply against the blue sky on the opposite coast; and, as the channel is unusually narrow at this point, I was enabled to trace more accurately than I had ever done hitherto, the architectural cypher of the Prophet.
CASTLE OF MAHOMET.CASTLE OF MAHOMET.
CASTLE OF MAHOMET.
Within the walls are clustered about a dozen houses; and their inhabitants are bound by anancient law not to suffer their descendants to marry without the precincts of the fortress; they are consequently all closely related, and no instance has ever been known of their having slighted the injunction.
Immediately before me, on the seaward edge of the fine stretch of turf in which the lane terminated, all the throng of company that had crowded the glen of the Valley during the earlier part of the day, were now collected together under the long shadow of a double avenue of fine trees fringing the border of the channel, and terminating at the elegant fountain to which I have already made allusion. On one side rose the painted kiosk of the Sultan; and near it stood the little mosque, with its slender minaret shooting heavenward, and almost hidden by the leafy branches of the surrounding trees. On the other a cluster of arabas, with their crimson and purple awnings, and fringes of gold and silver—while, in the midst, groups of women were dotted over the greensward, and gaily-dressed children gambolled in their young gracefulness, making the elastic air buoyant with mirth.
It was a heart-inspiring spectacle! and it was beautiful to remark the kindness and good feeling which pervaded the whole assemblage. I cannot understand how any European who has once contemplated a scene of this description, can carry away with him an unfavourable impression of the Turkish character. I have remarked elsewhere on the happy freedom frommorguewhich pervades the wealthier classes of the capital. Neither superciliousness nor assumption on the part of their more fortunate neighbours, withers the enjoyment of the humble and the laborious; the day of rest and recreation levels all ranks, and suspends all distinctions; and thus each is secure to find the pleasure which he seeks; for that pleasure is in itself of so natural and simple a description that it requires no combination of causes to produce it—a bright sky—a balmy atmosphere—a lovely landscape—are all that is necessary to its enjoyment; and they are ever within the reach of the humblest during the long summer season—And when to these are superadded the kindly smile and the ready greeting which are never withheld in Turkey from those who seek them, it must at once be acknowledged that the Osmanlis have made a wise selection, in preferring to the strife and struggle for precedence, and the uncertainty of ultimate success, which clog the more refined and “exclusive” pleasures of Europe, the simple, kindly, and ever-enduring enjoyment of nature and universal good-will.
But I am committing an error in thus applying the word “refined.”—Are not such pleasures as those of Turkey infinitely more refined than theelaborated dissipations of the West? Is not the holiness of nature a loftier contemplation than the gilded saloons of the great?—The power to feel and to appreciate the noble gifts of the Creator, eminently more glorious than the talent to discover the finite perfections of the creature? Is not the breeze which sweeps over the heathy hill, or through the blossom-scented valley, more redolent of real sweetness than the perfume-laden halls of luxury?
If these be “barbarous” pleasures, then are the Turks the most barbarous people upon earth, for in these consist their highest enjoyments—In them the Minister finds his ready solace for the cares of office, and the labourer for the toils of weary days—But if they be indeed those which should be the best calculated to impart their charm to cultivated minds and unsullied hearts; then, as I have already ventured to suggest, the Turks have “chosen the better part,” and are authorised to smile, as they ever do, in quiet pity at the coil and care with which we of “civilized” Europe, cheat ourselves into the belief that we have far outstripped them in enjoyment, as well as science; and toil throughout a long life in pursuit of a phantom which flits before us like a beckoning spirit, but is ever beyond our grasp.
I was never more struck with this truth than at Guiuk-Suy, I never saw the women ofTurkey under a more favourable aspect.—Every heart appeared to be holding holyday; and when, as evening closed, we returned to our caïque, and bade adieu to the valley of the Asian Sweet Waters, I felt that I knew them better—that I understood more correctly their social character, than I had hitherto done; and it is an important fact, and one which is well worthy of remark, that the more an European, resolved to cast aside prejudice, and to study the national habits and impulses, comes in contact with the inhabitants of the East, the more he is led to admire the consistency of thought, feeling, and action which influence them; and the high-minded generosity with which they tolerate the jarring and discordant habits and prejudices of their foreign visitors.
I am obliged to concede that no assemblage of European gentlewomen would have welcomed among them two female strangers, as the Turkish ladies, during the day which we spent at Guiuk-Suy, received my friend and myself. The wandering Giaours were every where greeted with smiles, urged to linger, invited to partake of every rural collation: treated, in short, as friends, rather than persons seen for the first, and, probably, the only time. And such a welcome as this might be secured by every Frank lady, did she consider it worth her while to conciliate the Turkish females; who are always sufficiently rewarded for their courtesy and kindness, by a gay smile and a ready acceptance of their proffered civility; and yet it is a singular fact, that the European ladies resident in Constantinople are scarcely acquainted with one Osmanli family, and I have been asked more than once if I was not frightened of the Turkish women!
It were needless to comment either on the illiberality of the prejudice, or the effects which it is so unfortunately calculated to produce—Effects which are painfully visible; and whose cause is anything but creditable to European generosity or penetration.
The Reiss Effendi—Devlehaï Hanoum—The Fair Circassian—The Pasha—Ceremonious Observances of the Harem—An Interview—Namik PashaversusNourri Effendi—Imperial Decorations—The Diploma—Turkish Gallantry—The Chibouks—The Salemliek—The Garden—Holy Horror—The Kiosk—The Breakfast—A Party in the Harem—Nèsibè Hanoum—The Yashmac—The Masquerade—Turkish Compliments—The Slave and the Fruit Merchant—Departure from the Palace.
AsI was contemplating a second visit to the Palace of the Reiss Effendi, an invitation reached me from the Minister himself, who requested me to meet him at six o’clock the following morning in his harem, previously to his departure for the Sublime Porte. I started accordingly, accompanied by a young Greek lady who officiated as my interpreter; and at the hour appointed we landed on the marble terrace, and were instantly admitted.
I have elsewhere remarked on the early habits of the Turkish ladies, and on the present occasion they were already astir, and the slaves hurrying in every direction with sweetmeats and coffee. Devlehäi Hanoum was shut into her chamber at prayers, and the door was guardedby a little slave not more than six years of age; one of seven children recently purchased from a slave-ship, so meagre and miserable, that the poor little innocents had evidently been half-starved on their passage from Circassia. One of them had been stolen from the very bosom of its mother, and on its arrival in the harem was immediately provided with a nurse.
On the conclusion of her prayer, the beautiful Georgian entered the saloon in which we were awaiting her; and welcomed us most cordially. Early as it was, the Minister was already, she told us, engaged with an Ambassadorial Dragoman; and meanwhile sweetmeats, water, and coffee were offered to me, of all which I gladly partook, and afterwards strolled into the garden among the sweet-scented lemon trees, to await my summons to the Pasha.
I had taken but two turns in the orangery, when the soft-eyed Conjefèm Hanoum advanced smilingly towards me; and taking me by the hand (a great mark of distinction from a Turkish lady) led me up stairs to the apartment to which I have already alluded as having been honoured by the temporary occupation of the Sultan. When we reached the door, she released my hand, and fell back a few paces, in order that I should approach the Minister alone.
As the room was very spacious, I had an excellent opportunity of obtaining a good view ofHis Excellency, previously to our entering into conversation; and the first glimpse which I had of him prepossessed me in his favour. He occupied the upper end of the sofa, and was almost buried amid piles of cushions, near an open window looking upon the garden of the harem, whose myriad blossoms filled the apartment with perfume.
Had I not known to the contrary, I never should have supposed him to have been more than sixty years of age; his eye is still so bright, and his brow so smooth. He wore thefèzrather flung back; and his robe was of flesh-coloured silk, lined with ermine.
When I entered, he was busily engaged with his chibouk, which was of the most costly description, the large amber mouthpiece being of the faintest yellow, and divided at mid-depth by a band of turquoise studded with brilliants. He suffered me to advance nearly to the centre of the apartment before he looked up; but he did so at length with a smile of such kindness that I at once forgave him for his etiquettical punctiliousness.
Devlehäi Hanoum was standing about twenty paces from the sofa with her arms folded before her; and the fair Circassian, having, in obedience to a signal from the Minister, placed an armchair for me close to his own seat, immediately took up her position beside her. The Greeklady by whom I was accompanied was not, to my great annoyance, included in the courtesy extended to me; and during the two hours that I spent with the Pasha, she consequently remained standing, or leaning on the back of my seat.
After thanking me for the favour I had done him, and assuring me that he had long wished to make my acquaintance, he desired to know if I would smoke a chibouk; and was much amused when I told him that if he desired I should return to my own country, to prove my gratitude to the Turks for all the kindness and courtesy which they had shewn to me, he must exempt me from the peril of such an encounter with “the scented weed.” He accepted the apology at once, assuring me that he was desirous only to give me pleasure; although, as I was the first Frank lady to whom he had ever spoken, he might probably not succeed in proving his sincerity. Sweetmeats were then handed to me by a slave; and subsequently coffee by the fair hands of Conjefèm Hanoum, but my poor young friend was still excluded from the courtesy. Water is never offered in the presence of a great personage.
I had not been half an hour with the Minister ere I was convinced that he was rather a good than a great man. There was a gentleness and benevolence about him that were delightful; andas he stroked down his white beard, and looked towards me with a smile of mingled amusement and curiosity, I thought that I had never seen a more “green old age;” but although he touched on a variety of subjects, and asked a variety of questions, they were of the most commonplace description; and he appeared infinitely more gratified by the admiration which I expressed of the magnificent marriage festivities of the Princess, than by the compliments that I paid to the rapid progress of civilization and improvement among the people.
The only subject in which he took a marked interest, was the degree of popularity enjoyed by the present Turkish Ambassador in London.
He asked if I had known Nourri Effendi, and I answered affirmatively: upon which he immediately inquired if he were popular in London.
I replied candidly that since he did me the honour to ask my opinion, I should say, judging from what had fallen under my own observation, decidedly not. That I believed Nourri Effendi to be a very good man; but that he was extremely ill-calculated to make his way in England; or to give so favourable an impression of the nation which he represented, as, since I had resided among the Turkish people, I felt anxious should be produced on the minds of my own countrymen. That he could not speak any European language, had forbidding manners, andmade no attempt to identify himself with the feelings and habits of the people among whom he resided.
He next mentioned Namik Pasha, and said laughingly: “I know that the ladies of England preferred him; and I have heard that the ladies are very influential in your country—Yes, yes—the Pasha was young, well-looking, and gallant; and spoke French fluently. Nourri Effendi will never make his way among you as his predecessor did, but he is, nevertheless, a good man; and perhaps they were not aware in England that he was Secretary to the Porte.”
I observed that Namik Pasha lent himself willingly to European customs, and made himself acceptable to every society into which he entered; and that, in so far, he was consequently infinitely better fitted than his successor for the post of Ambassador at a foreign Court. The Minister looked steadily at me for a moment, and then said playfully; “You are half a diplomatist yourself. I had heard as much before—this is the first time in my life that I ever conversed with a Frank female; and since we have fallen upon this subject, I should like to ask you one more question before we abandon it. You have now been many months in the country; and were you at liberty to select the next Turkish Ambassador to England, tell me frankly whom should you choose?”
I could not forbear smiling in my turn: but I replied without hesitation; “Reschid Bey—the present Minister at Paris.—It is such individuals as Reschid Bey who prove to Europe what the Turks already are, and what they are capable of becoming—Men of fine mind and gentlemanlike manners, as well as of sound judgment and high character.—Had the Sublime Porte sent Reschid Bey to London, a year or two ago, the English would have had a more exalted opinion of its diplomacy than they now have.”
Little did I imagine when I thus undisguisedly gave my opinion of the Turkish Minister to Youssouf Pasha, that the Firman would be so soon despatched which contained his transfer to the Court of England; and I was not a little amused when I was told some time afterwards that the Reiss Effendi, in giving the information of Reschid Bey’s arrival in London to a friend of mine, added with a quiet smile: “You may as well tell your Frank friend that the newIlchíis in England before her. She will perhaps be glad to hear that he is the individual whom she would have herself selected.”
From the Turkish Ambassador he digressed to the King of England, and assured me that there was no European Monarch for whom the Grand Seignior entertained a more affectionate regard. Indeed, he talked so long and so fondly, not only of our good Sovereign, but of hispeople also, that had I not previously known him to be deeply in the Russian interest, I should have believed him to be as sincere an Anglo-Turk as any individual throughout the Sultan’s dominions.
An apology for having received me in his morning dress, rather than keep me waiting, led us to the subject of costume generally; for I could not offer a better reply to his politeness than by expressing my admiration of that which he wore, and declaring how much I considered it preferable to the European frock-coat. He appeared gratified by the assurance, and took this opportunity of desiring Conjefèm Hanoum to bring out his decorations, in order that I might judge of the taste and magnificence of the Sultan; and truly I never beheld anything more costly.
The first, which had been delivered to him with his diploma of Vèzir, was an elaborately mounted medal of gold, inscribed with the cipher of the Sultan, and the rank of the wearer, splendidly framed with brilliants. But the diploma itself interested me much more; it was enclosed in a wrapper of white satin, fastened with a cord and tassels of gold, and occupied an immense sheet of stout paper; the name of Allah stood at the head of the page, and immediately beneath it, but in much larger characters, figured the cipher of the Sultan; these were written in gold, as were also the name of the Vèzir himself which occurred in the body of the document, and the word Stamboul at the foot of the page on the left hand. The remainder of the contents were simply traced in ink, but the characters were beautifully formed; and at the back of the sheet were the signatures of Nourri Effendi who had drawn up the document, as a voucher for its accuracy, and that of the Pasha himself, as an acknowledgment of the duties to which it pledged him.
Having replaced the diploma, the Minister next put into my hands a miniature portrait of the Sultan, surrounded by a wreath, of which the flowers were diamonds, and the leaves wrought in enamel; enclosed within a second frame-work of the same precious gems, formed into emblematical devices, and dazzlingly brilliant. This magnificent decoration was appended to a chain of fine gold, and secured by a diamond clasp.
When I had sufficiently admired it, the gallant old man begged me to wear it for an instant in order that it might acquire an additional value in his eyes; and the gentle Conjefèm Hanoum flung it over my head, and entangled the chain in my ringlets, to the great delight of the Vèzir, who watched the progress of its release with genuine enjoyment, and told me that he had never before seen his decoration to so much advantage.
The only drawback to these costly ornaments exists in the fact that they are insecure possessions; as in case of death, or dismission from office, they are returned to the Sultan. It was consequently with even more pride, that the Minister exhibited to me a smaller, and perhaps more elegant order, bestowed upon him by his Sovereign as an acknowledgment of his faithful services to the Porte; accompanied by an intimation that on his decease it was to be transferred to his eldest son, in order that it might serve to record the regard and gratitude of his master for the exemplary manner in which he had ever done his duty to his country.
I was not a little amused at the epicurean manner in which the Vèzir smoked. Every ten minutes his chibouk was changed by one or other of his wives, by which means he merely imbibed the aroma of the tobacco, while he had an opportunity of displaying the variety and costliness of his pipes, without being guilty of any apparent ostentation; but, handsome as several of them undoubtedly were, that of which he was making use when I entered was infinitely the most beautiful.
When I rose to take my leave, my courteous entertainer begged that I would remain as long as I found any amusement in the Palace, assuring me that every effort should be made to render my visit agreeable; and that the Salemliek shouldbe as free for me as the harem, if I desired to see it. Of course I accepted the offer; and, on leaving the Pasha, I found Emin Bey and a negro waiting to conduct my friend and myself through the mysterious passages which connect the two portions of the establishment. In the Salemliek itself there was nothing remarkable. It was a handsome house, well fitted up, and exquisitely clean; the greatest charm to me existed in its open windows, which, after the closely-latticed and stifling apartments of the women, were truly agreeable; nor was the feeling of enjoyment lessened by the sight of a crowd of birds, that, entering through the wide casements, with the sunshine glittering on their wings, and the song of liberty gushing from their throats, sailed to and fro the vast apartments, as though they could appreciate their magnificent comfort.
But the garden was a little paradise, with its fountains of white marble, its avenues of orange trees, its beds of roses, and verbena, and geraniums, formed into a thousand fanciful devices! And before I could make up my mind to leave it, the young Bey had so loaded me with the fairest flowers he could select, that I breathed nothing but perfume.
We were greatly amused, on passing one of the marble bridges which are flung over the street to connect the grounds, at the astonishment of a party of worthy Musselmauns who chanced to look up as we were crossing, attracted by the unwonted sounds of female voices; and the “Mashallàhs!” with which they greeted our apparition. “Who can they be?” asked one: “And how came they there?” “She with the fair hair is a Frank as well as a Giaour;” was the reply of a second: “I would swear it on the Prophet’s beard.—The infidels are making way among us indeed when their women are thus at liberty to shew their unveiled faces in the Salemliek of one of our great Pashas—but it is no affair of mine—Mashallàh—I trust in God!”
The Kiosk of the Reiss Effendi was by far the most beautiful that I had yet seen—A painted dome, representing the shores of the channel, occupied the centre of the roof; and beneath it a gracefuljet d’eauthrew up its sparkling waters, which fell back into a capacious bason. The walls were washed by the Bosphorus on the one side, and covered with parasites on the other; and it was floored with marble of the most dazzling whiteness. Here were collected the younger sons of the Minister, and three or four other children, amusing themselves by running barefooted round the basin, and suffering the glittering dew of the fountain to fall upon them in its descent; while each was laughing out in his young joyousness as he marked the drippingcondition of his companions, and forgot that he was himself in the same predicament.
On our return to the harem we found the breakfast served; and sat down, attended by Conjefèm Hanoum and ten female slaves, to partake of a repast, of which the dishes had been sent from the table of the Minister, who was also about to make his morning meal. Confectionary, pillauf, and stewed meats, were succeeded by some delicious fruits; and when these had been removed, and I had emptied a goblet of sherbet the colour of amber, we joined the party in the great saloon.
And a numerous party it was! About a dozen Hanoums, all splendidly dressed, and with their turbans sparkling with diamonds, were squatted in a group upon the sofa; and in an instant I took my place in the very midst of them, with my feet doubled under me, to watch the departure of the Pasha, whose barge, manned by ten rowers, and covered with Persian carpets, was waiting to convey him to the Sublime Porte.
Away he went at last in fine style, attended by his secretary, his chiboukjhe, three officers of his household, and two soldiers; and as soon as he was fairly out of sight, the curiosity of all the party centered upon me. They ran their hands along the satin of my pelisse, asked me if the brooch that confined my collar was gold,whether I made my own gloves, and if I would teach them to curl their hair. Having satisfied them on all these points, I looked round the circle in my turn, and made an acquaintance with the young and bright-eyed Nèsibè Hanoum, the sister-in-law of the Minister, and her lovely infant.
As the supreme high breeding of the harem is no longer its perpetual idleness, several of the ladies were engaged in needlework, principally in embroidering handkerchiefs, and knitting a coarse kind of lace for trimming the bosoms of their chemisettes; and when each had settled herself to her employment, Conjefèm Hanoum proposed giving me a lesson in the art of arranging a yashmac, an achievement sufficiently difficult.
A slave was accordingly despatched into her chamber in search of the long scarf of muslin necessary to the operation; and in five minutes I had undergone so perfect a metamorphose that I could scarcely recognize myself when I glanced into the mirror. The delight of the whole party was unbounded; and nothing would satisfy them but my adding a feridjhe to my veil, and presenting myself to the Buyuk Hanoum. The voluminous cloak of dark cloth was accordingly thrown over me, and with considerable difficulty I was taught to manage it with some degree of grace; after which thelaughing girl dragged me towards the apartment of the venerable lady; and entering before me, announced that amussafir, or guest, desired to be admitted.
On the invitation of its occupant, I advanced, making thetemina6with all the ceremony necessary to continue the deceit; and it was not until I had kissed the hand of the Buyuk Hanoum, and stood upright before her, that she detected the masquerade; but when she did so, I was overwhelmed with exclamations and intreaties—I was beautiful—resistless—I should turn the head of every True Believer in Stamboul—Why did I desire to return to England, when there was not a Pasha in Constantinople who would not consider me ‘the Light of the Harem’—Would I become a Turk?—and a thousand other ejaculations of like import.
When the sensation had partially subsided, I returned to the saloon; and as the yashmac had previously been arranged in the manner in which it is worn by the ladies of the Seraï, I took a second lesson, to enable me to put it on in the more general fashion; and I then amused myself for five minutes in watching the manœuvres of a slave who was purchasing some water-melons from a fruit-caïque. Nothing could be more ludicrous: the great gate of the harem was ajar, and one of the caïquejhes stood onthe terrace, and took the fruit from his companion; after which he advanced towards the entrance, and rolled it through the open space on to the marble floor beyond: the slave running after each as it appeared, and grasping it with both hands, as she held it to her ear, to ascertain if it would give out the splashing sound without which it is of no value—laying aside those that she approved, and rolling back the others with a velocity that gave her the appearance of being engaged at a game of bowls with the Greeks on the terrace; talking, moreover, all the time with an earnestness worthy of the occasion.
I loitered away another hour with my amiable hostesses, and then, looking at my watch, I urged a previous engagement, in order to overcome their kindly entreaties that I would spend the remainder of the day with them; and having bade adieu to the Buyuk Hanoum and her numerous guests, and promised to pay her another visit before I left Constantinople, I once more quitted the hospitable halls of the Reiss Effendi; carrying away with me the liveliest feeling of gratitude for all the attentions which I had experienced from every member of his family.
Imperial Gratitude—The Freed Woman—A Female Cœlebs—Hussein the Watchmaker—Golden Dreams—Arabas and Arabajhes—Maternal Regrets—A Matrimonial Excursion—Difficult Position—TheSèkèljhes—A Young Husband—The Emir—The Officer of the Guard—The Emir’s Daughter—First Love—Ballad Singing—A Salutation—Moonlight—Rejected Addresses—Ruse de Guerre—The Arrest—A Lover’s Defence—Munificence of the Seraskier Pasha.
TheSultan occasionally recompenses the faithful services of the slaves of the Imperial Seraï by giving them their liberty, accompanied by a donation sufficiently liberal to enable them to establish themselves in an eligible manner. On a late occasion, he emancipated an elderly woman, who had secured his favour by her unremitted attentions to one of his wives during a protracted illness; and, being light of heart at the moment, and perhaps curious to learn how she would act on such an emergency, he desired her to put on her yashmac, and to take a boat to Stamboul, where she was to hire an araba, and drive slowly about the city, until she saw an individual whom she desired for a husband; when, if he could be identified, she should be his wife within the week.
His Imperial Highness was obeyed on the instant. One of the Palace caïques rowed to the door of the harem; and the freed slave, accompanied by an aged companion, stepped in, and was rapidly conveyed to Stamboul. On landing at “the Gate of the Garden,” she walked into the house of Hussein the watchmaker, with whose wife she was acquainted; and while the stripling son of the worthy Musselmaun was despatched for an araba, she took her place upon the sofa, and partook of the grape-jelly and coffee which were handed to her by her officious hostess. These were succeeded by thekadeun-chibouk, or woman’s pipe; and she had not flung out half a dozen volumes of smoke from her nostrils, ere all the harem of Hussein the watchmaker knew that she was free, and about to chuse a helpmeet from among the tradesmen of the city.
At every “Mashallàh!” uttered by her auditors, the self-gratulation of the visitor increased; and she, who a day previously had not wasted a thought on matrimony, smoked on in silence, absorbed in dreams of tenderness and ambition.
The araba was, of course, a full hour ere it appeared, for the arabajhe had to smoke hisnarghïlè, or water-pipe; and the arabajhe’s assistant had to repair the damages which the last day’s journey had done to the harness, and to wash away the mud that yet clung about the wheels; and after that there were comments tobe made upon the horses, as they were slowly attached to the vehicle; and on the unusual circumstance of a Turkish woman hiring a carriage, without previously bargaining with the owner for the sum to be paid.
But Yusuf, the son of Hussein, who found more amusement in watching the slow motions of the arabajhe than in keeping guard over his father’s chronometers, put an end to the astonishment of the party by informing them that the person who had engaged the vehicle was a slave of the Imperial Seraï; a piece of information which tended considerably to expedite the preparations of the coachman, and to excite the curiosity of his companions.
The female Cœlebs, meanwhile, had emptied three chibouks; and as the ashes of each was deposited in the little brass dish that rested on the carpet, brighter, and fairer visions rose before her; and on each occasion that she drew from amid the folds of the shawl which bound her waist, the cachemire purse that contained her tobacco, and replenished her pipe, she indulged in a more flattering augury of her day’s speculation.
To render the circumstance more intelligible to the European reader, it may be as well to state that there are few tradesmen in Stamboul who would hesitate to marry an Imperial slave, whatever might be her age or personal infirmities, as she is sure to bring with her a golden apology for all her defects: and thus it was not astonishing that the wife of Hussein sighed as she remembered that her son Yusuf was yet a child, and that, consequently, she could not offer his hand to her visiter; and the more sincerely that the worthy watchmaker did not stand high in the favour of fortune; the “accursed Giaours,” as the angry Hanoum did not hesitate to declare, selling for the same price demanded by the Turkish artisan for his inferior ware, watches that were as true as the muezzin, and as enduring as the Koràn.
At length the araba drew up beneath the latticed windows; and the two friends, resuming their slippers, shuffled across the matted floor of the harem, followed by the compliments andteminasof their hostess; mattresses and cushions were arranged in the vehicle by the hands of Hussein himself; and their yashmacs having been re-arranged, they were ere long jolting over the rough pavement of the city of Constantine.
They first bent their course to the Charshees; and the confidant pointed out many a grave-looking, middle-aged Mussulmaun to the admiration of her companion; but the freed-woman only shrugged her shoulders, uttered a contemptuous “Mashallàh!” and turned away her eyes.
The stream of life flowed on beside their path. Turbans of green, of white, and of yellow passed along; but none of the wearers found favour in the sight of the husband-seeking fair one. Hours were wasted in vain; she was as far removed from a decision as when she stepped into the caïque at Beglierbey; and the patience of her companion was worn threadbare; she became silent, sullen, and sleepy—and still the araba groaned and drawled along the narrow streets—Human nature could endure no more; and after having been jolted out of a quiet slumber three several times, the confidant digressed from weariness to expostulation.
“May the Prophet receive me into paradise! Is there not a True Believer in Stamboul worthy to become the husband of a woman whose hair is gray; and who has long ceased to pour out the scented sherbet in the garden of roses? Had it been mykismet7to come hunting through the thoroughfares of the city on the same errand, I should have chosen long ago.”
The freed-woman only replied by desiring the arabajhe to drive to the quarter inhabited by thesèkèljhes, or sweetmeat-makers; the finest race of men in Constantinople. When they entered it, she began to look about her with more earnestness than she had hitherto exhibited; but even here she was in no haste to cometo a decision; and although she passed many a stately Musselmaun whom she would not have refused in the brightest days of her youth, she “made no sign” until she arrived opposite to the shop of a manufacturer ofalva, a sweet composition much esteemed in the East; where half a dozen youths, bare-legged, and with their shirt sleeves rolled up to their shoulders, were employed in kneading the paste, previously to its being put into the oven.
“Inshallàh—I trust in God! He is here—” said the lady, as she stopped the carriage; “See you not that tall stripling, with arms like the blossom of the seringa, and eyes as black as the dye of Khorasan?”
“He who is looking towards us?” exclaimed her companion in astonishment; “The Prophet have pity on him! Why, he is young enough to be your son.”
The answer of the freed-woman was an angry pull at her yashmac, as she drew more closely together the folds of her feridjhe. The young and handsome sèkèljhe was summoned to the side of the araba, and found to improve upon acquaintance; upon which he was informed of the happiness that awaited him, and received the tidings with true Turkish philosophy; and in a few days the bride removed into a comfortable harem, of which the ground-floor was a handsome shop, fitted up with a select stock of sweetmeats at the expence of the Sultan; and those who desire to see one of the principal actors in this little comedy, need only enter the gaily-painted establishment at the left-hand corner of the principal street leading into the Atmeidan, to form an acquaintance with Suleiman the sèkèljhe.
Another occurrence, equally authentic, and still more recent, is deserving of record, as being peculiarly characteristic of the rapid progress of enlightenment and liberality. An Emir of the city, celebrated for his sanctity and rigid observance of all the laws of Mahomet, had a fair daughter who sometimes indulged, in the solitude of the harem, in softer dreams than those of her austere father. Unfortunately for the stately priest, a guard-house, tenanted by a dozen armed men, under the command of an officer whose personal merits exceeded his years, was established not a hundred yards from his house; and, as the youthful commander paced slowly to and fro the street to dispel his ennui, it so chanced that he generally terminated his walk beneath the windows of the Emir’s harem.
The first time that the pretty Yasumi8Hanoum peeped through her lattice at the handsome soldier, the blood rushed to her brow, and her heart beat quick, though she knew not wherefore. The young beauty led a lonely life,for she was motherless, and her father was a stern man, who had no sympathy with womanly tastes; and, satisfied with providing for her daily necessities, never troubled himself further. It was by no means extraordinary, therefore, that she amused her idleness with watching the motions of the stranger; nor that, by dint of observing him, she ere long discovered that he was rapidly becoming an object of interest to her heart.
Then followed all the manœuvres of an Eastern beauty, who has no means of communication with the other sex, save those which her woman-wit enables her to invent. A shower of lavender buds, flung from the narrow opening of the lattice upon his head, first attracted the attention of the gallant Moslem to the Emir’s harem; nor was it diminished by a glimpse of one of the whitest little hands in the world, which, ere it closed the aperture, waved a graceful salutation that could be meant only for himself.
But the youth knew that he was playing a dangerous game, and he consequently moved away without making any answering gesture; and resolved to stroll in the other direction, rather than encourage the advances which had been made to him. Once or twice, he accordingly walked as far as the slipper-stall of a Jew merchant; but this uninteresting individualsquinted hideously, and smoked tobacco of so odious a quality that it half suffocated the more fastidious Osmanli. Of course there was no persevering in such an encounter, and he was consequently compelled to resume his original line of march; being the more readily induced to do so by importunate memories of the little white hand which had showered down upon him the sweet-scented lavender buds; although he did not suffer himself to suspect that such was the case; and lest he should be addressed from the dangerous lattice, and thus become more deeply involved in the adventure, he amused himself by singing one of Sultan Mahmoud’s ballads in his best style.