Sketcher.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 426, 9 June 1904, Page 2

Sketcher.

HOW TUBKrSH WOMEN LIVE. §SjfeN the Eaßfc the fairy tales of its wonam t * erß aa< * which thrilled <M§ the hearts of oar grandfathers are fast fading like a summer mist, Turkey—nay, Islam itself—is waking up, aping Western oußtome,donaißg Christian garments, and generally marching with tfce times. The picture we used to conjure up of a Turkish interior, its boulBtealing atmosphere, its exquisite luxury, and the stately enchantress, whose eyes were of unholy blue, toying with the dulcimer or sweetly playing on the lute.

hare given place to very protutic notion* whioh are mach nearer the reality. To begin with, polygamy is quiokly dying out throughout the BOH-Ohnstian world. In Japan the Crown Prince has given an excellent example in this respect; in Persia the Shah has shown himsself favourable to retrenchment all roundeven in the sanotam of hie harem—and everywhere in Turkey, except at Yildiz i Kiosk and the houses of a few pashas, 1 monogamy is winning the battle. fildiz Kiosk is undoubtedly still the focus'of traditions of the days when Islam was young and wayward. The Sultan's gorgeous palace is a survival of the fairy-tale period of Tarkish history. Here awful mysteries, Bluebeard tragedies, and, at times, even superb comedies are still enacted, which would seem wildly improbable if represented on the stage. Life and death are sundered by a whim, a word, a nod. Heavy sacks now and again drop into the Bosphorus a few moments after dark-eyed maidens have disappeared from the harem, sudden and fatal illnesses follow coffee as rapidly as coflae succeeds dinner, and Abdul Hamid plays the part of Fate to the inmates of the palace prisons. The fair partners of the Padishah's joys and sorrows are as numerous as the latter, and are divided into many classes. There are no lawful wives, seeing that for over two centuries Turkish rulers have wholly ceased to marry. The highest {our ranks—Cadiaas—take the places of the lawful wives of olden times, enjoy extensive -privileges, dwell in I luxurious apartments, growing fat arid looking young until thirty, or dying of consumption at almost any age. Next come the Ikbals, or favourites—ladies who have gladdened the heart of their Imperial master with a child—then the Odaliska and others, the lowest rung of the ladder being, occupied by the coloured slaves, known as Djaris, and treated as helots But the ordinary Turk is contented with one spouse and a quiet life And she is choaen for him by his parents and hers. Although she may surreptitiously get a glimpse of him long before the marriage, from behind the window lattice, he never sees more of her than the irritating veil and the ungainly sack-like garment that disfigures her body while hiding her charms. Indolence is inborn in the Turk, and it comes to the fore in love jast as in business Hence there is no courtship, no flirting, no soul-thrilling glances, no soft pressure of the hands and ferventlyuttered lovers' vowa. Jealousy is the serpent in the paradise of the Turk—it.ls the besetting sin of the husband, while cunning is the moßt effective weapon of the wife, and the mysterious disappearance of maey a warm-hearted European in Pera and Gallipoli is inexplicable only as the outcome of both. A Christian man is not allowed to marry a Mohammedan girl unless he first embraces Islam; but a Mussulman may wed one or more Christian girls if he feels so disposed, and even allow them to remain faithful to their own denomination. When the wedding festivities, which are solemn and wearisome, have come to an end, the betrothed pair are left face to face. It is a dramatic moment. The bridegroom offers the lady a present for the favour she is about to bestow on him: the sight of her comely or homely countenance It is then that something in the nature of a theatrical coup in a comedy of errors takes place. The young husband is often depressed to the depths of despair when he sees the prize the marriage lottery has given him. Later on, of course, he is free to divorce his spouse, with or without good cause, but not without a substantial sum of money. This proviso, which the law very strictly enforces, acts as a wholesome check on divorce. Polygamy, therefore, is a costly luxury nowadays in Turkey, and no more than 6 per cent, of the male population indulge in it, In many oases, when a Turk marries, the parents of his bride insist on his signing a clause in the contract undertaking not to marry a second wife bo long as the first is alive or undiverced. And than the average marriage tends to resemble that of the West more and more.