Pasha, who had been prevented joining us at table by indisposition. She
gave me a most kind general invitation to the Kasr ed-Dubárah, and a
particular one to a festival which is to take place on the occasion of a
grand marriage some time before I quit this country. The fantasia, she
assured me, is to be the most splendid that can be prepared or arranged;
and I shall soon be permitted to tell you the name of the bride. This
she told me; but I must not mention it until the day is fixed for the
marriage. It is an Egyptian state secret!
There are many extremely beautiful women in the hareem of the Pasha, and
many handsome young girls; some not more than ten years of age. The
Turkish ladies, and the Circassians, and Georgians, are generally
extremely fair; and I must particularly mention one who was remarkably
beautiful, and more splendidly dressed than any of her companions. She
did not enter the saloon until we heard dinner announced; and her
appearance was something very attractive. Her yelek and shintiyan (or
long vest and trousers) were of rich plum-coloured silk, and the quiet
colour of her dress exhibited with brilliant effect a profusion of
costly diamond ornaments. Her head-dress was tastefully arranged, and
the richer sprays of diamonds were lavishly interspersed in a dark crape
headkerchief.
I cannot take a better opportunity of describing the Eastern dress, as
worn by the Turkish ladies, than while the hareem of the Pasha is fresh
in my recollection. The tarboosh (or red cap) is trimmed with a very
large and full tassel of dark blue silk, which is separated and spread
over the crown, and those ladies who wear rich ornaments almost always
display their most costly jewels on the back of the head, either in the
form of a kurs, which I have described to you, or a spray, very much
resembling in form a _fleur de lis_, but broader and shorter; this is
placed at the division of the tassel, which latter is often so broad
when spread, as to extend an inch beyond the head on either side in a
front view. The headkerchief is wound round the head, partly over the
forehead, and the fringed ends are arranged on one side; the front hair
is cut short, and combed towards the eyebrows, and this is extremely
unbecoming, disfiguring even a beautiful face, excepting in cases where
the hair curls naturally, and parts on the forehead. The long hair is
disposed in numerous small plaits, and looped up on either side over the
headkerchief. In many cases, the hair of the younger ladies, and white
slaves, is dishevelled, and hanging loosely on the shoulders; but this I
have only observed in the Turkish hareems: many in the Kasr ed-Dubárah
wear their long hair flowing on their shoulders, and, in some instances,
their attractions are considerably heightened by this simplicity; but no
_coiffure_, however studied or simple, is so pretty as that worn by the
Arab ladies, whose long hair hanging down the back is arranged in many
small plaits often lengthened by silk braid, and generally adorned with
hundreds of small gold ornaments, resembling oval spangles, which
harmonize better with the Eastern costume than any other fashion.
To return to the Turkish ladies: they wear the yelek considerably longer
than their height; the back part resting on the ground, and forming a
graceful train; and in walking over a mat or carpet, they hold the
skirts in front over the arm. The shirt is of silk gauze, fine muslin,
or a very beautiful thin crape, with glossy stripes, which is made of
raw silk in the hareems, and is cream-colour; the sleeves of this are
not confined at the wrist. The shintiyán are extremely full, and
generally of a different material from the yelek: the former being of
rich brocade, large patterned muslin, or chintz, or sometimes of plain
satin, or gros de Naples. The yelek, on the contrary is made of a
material with a delicate pattern, generally a small stripe, whether of
satin, Indian silk, or muslin.
Those ladies who are not perfectly idle, and who have not slaves as
train-bearers, tuck their skirts through their girdles; and thus, I
think, the dress is very gracefully worn. Ladies of distinction always
wear Cashmere shawls round the waist, generally red; and those in Kasr
ed-Dubárah had a narrow edge of gold, with gold cords and tassels at the
corners. There, the nurz were different from any I had before seen;
being of embroidered cloth, of various colours; and the daughter of the
Pasha, and others, had their long sleeves buttoned at the wrist. The
sleeves are always so made that they can be buttoned if their length
prove inconvenient; but as the great ladies of the land do not occupy
themselves in any way, but spend their time on their divans, they can
scarcely find these hanging draperies incommodious.
This description of dress leads me back to the lady whose appearance so
especially attracted my admiration. After I requested that my
riding-dress might be brought, I observed several ladies crossing the
saloon, among whom she walked, bearing it towards me, and looking like a
queen in person and in dress. She dressed me with much grace, and then
with her companions stepped back into the doorway to receive and give
the parting salutation. One circumstance I have omitted, namely, the
crimson embroidered curtains, which hang before all the doorways in the
palace; for the doors stand open, a closed door being never permitted in
the hareems. Much taste is displayed in the embroidery of these
curtains; indeed, the perfection of taste is to be found in the
decorations of the Kasr ed-Dubárah.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LETTER XX.
December, 1843.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
I cannot better give you an idea of the order and discipline observed in
the hareems of the great and wealthy than by comparing each to a petty
state, with its rulers and its officers. The person occupying the place
of highest rank, next to the master, is the chief lady, who is often
called, properly or improperly, Hánum, or, correctly, Khánum. This
title, which literally signifies “My Lord,” (for Turkish ladies, whom we
in England generally look upon as persons treated with little respect,
are honoured with male titles) by right belongs first only to those
ladies of the Sultán whom we call sultanas; that is, to any of the near
female relations of the sovereign, and to any of his ladies who has
borne a prince or princess; secondly, to the wives of the grand vezeer;
but it is sometimes given by courtesy to the wives of grandees in
general, and sometimes to ladies of inferior grades. The male title
Efendim (literally “My Master”) is also given to the same ladies.
The chief lady of the hareem is the mother of the master; or, if his
mother be not living, his sister, or sisters, take precedence; and next
to them ranks his favourite wife. The question of priority among the
wives of one man is more easily arranged than you, with European notions
respecting the rights of women, could imagine possible. It is generally
settled thus: the first wife, if she become a mother, retains her rank
above any wife subsequently taken; but if not, she yields to another
more fortunate, and consequently, more beloved and honoured. The other
wives take their stations according to the preference of their husbands.
Each wife, among the higher classes, has her separate apartments, and
distinct attendants; for _even Eastern_ wives might manifest jealousy
under circumstances of constant intercourse with each other. In the
cases of the great, it is not unusual for each wife to occupy a separate
mansion; but whether in one large house, or several smaller ones, the
hareem of the grandee occupies the whole, or nearly the whole, of the
abode, which is generally enclosed by garden walls as lofty as the
houses in the immediate neighbourhood. Without the aid of scaling
ladders, or the more effectual mean of admission—intrigue, the hareem of
the Turkish grandee is well secured from illicit visitors. At the outer
door is stationed a bowáb, or doorkeeper, and the second is guarded by
eunuchs. Beyond the second is suspended the hareem curtain which I have
before described; and in the first of the inner apartments are the black
female slaves who undertake the menial offices of the hareem. After
passing the outer apartments white slaves are found carrying silver
sprinkling bottles of scented water, small silver censers suspended by
chains, coffee, pipes, sherbet, and sweetmeats; each set of coffee-cups
or sherbet-cups being placed on a small tray, and often concealed
beneath a round splendidly embroidered cover, bordered with deep and
heavy gold fringe. Among the white slaves may be observed several who
are considered superior to their companions, walking about as though
superintending their arrangements; and among the former, especially, I
have found the most lovely girls in the hareems, many of them fully
justifying my preconceived ideas of the celebrated Georgian and
Circassian women. Excepting in two cases, cheerfulness has appeared to
me to reign among these fair prisoners; entirely excluded as they are
from intercourse with any persons of the other sex, except their master
and his very near relations. If any other man attempted to pass beyond
the first entrance, his temerity would in all probability be punished
with death the moment his purpose should be discovered.
The houses of the grandees, separate from their hareem, are generally
accessible; and the liberty of ingress is sometimes not a little abused.
Last month Mohammad ’Alee was residing in his palace at Shubra, and two
Europeans resorted thither for the purpose of seeing the gardens. They
wore the Frank dress, with the exception of their having adopted the
tarboosh, a shawl round the waist, and red shoes. After perambulating
the gardens, they entered the palace, and meeting with no opposition,
they examined one apartment after another, and at length entered the
bedroom of the Pasha, where sat his highness, nearly undressed! Although
taken by surprise, his Turkish coolness did not forsake him: calling for
his dragoman, he said, “Inquire of those gentlemen where they bought
their tarbooshes.” The Europeans replied, “They were purchased in
Constantinople;” “and _there_,” rejoined the Pasha, “I suppose they
learned their manners. Tell them so.” Judging from this retort that
their presence was not agreeable, the Franks saluted the viceroy, and
withdrew.
This reminds me of another late occurrence, in which, however, was
exhibited only a want of knowledge of Turkish etiquette; no absence of
gentlemanly mind. An European gentleman who lately visited Egypt was
introduced, among others in this city, to a grandee, and was accompanied
to his residence by a friend of my brother, and Mons. L——, both of whom,
during many years, have resided in this country, and visited in the best
Eastern society. After they had partaken of the usual refreshment of
pipes and coffee, sherbet was brought, and handed first to the stranger.
He looked at it for a moment, and then at the gaily embroidered napkin
hung over the arm of the slave who presented it; and following the
impulse given, I conclude by his preconceptions of Eastern habits of
cleanliness, dipped his fingers in the sweet beverage, and wiped them on
the napkin. Mons. L——, with the perfect delicacy which characterises
French politeness, followed his example, dipped his fingers in the
sherbet, and wiped them on the napkin. I wonder whether their host
understood his motive for such strange doings. My brother’s friend sat
at a little distance from his companions, and confessed that he drank
his sherbet.
To return to the organization of the great hareems: the Hánum generally
has four principal attendants, two of whom are elderly, and act simply
as companions: the third is the treasurer, and the fourth, the
sub-treasurer. The next in rank are those who hand pipes and coffee,
sherbet and sweetmeats; and each of these has her own set of
subordinates. Lastly rank the cooks and house-slaves, who are mostly
negresses. The hareem is a little world of women, in which many have
passed their infancy and their childhood; the scene of their joys and
sorrows, their pleasures and their cares; beyond which, they have no
idea of a wider theatre of action; and from which they anticipate no
change but to the hareem of their husbands.
The ideas entertained by many in Europe of the immorality of the hareem
are, I believe, erroneous. True it is, that the chief ladies have much
power which they might abuse; but the slaves of these ladies are subject
to the strictest surveillance; and the discipline which is exercised
over the younger women in the Eastern hareem can only be compared to
that which is established in the convent. A deviation from the strictest
rules of modesty is followed by severe punishment, and often by the
death of the delinquent. The very framework of Eastern society is so
opposed to the opinions of Europeans, that I will venture to prophecy it
must be the work of several generations to root up prejudice before the
mind of the Eastern can be prepared for the reception of our ideas of
civilization. That Christianity is the only medium through which
happiness may be attained by any people is most certain; therefore as
the Easterns are very far from being Christians, except in the mere
dogmas of their faith (inasmuch as they acknowledge the Messiah, though
denying his divine nature, and his atonement for sin), so they are very
far from being really happy.
The prejudice existing among the Turkish women against the pure
doctrines of Christianity is evident from occasional, or rather, I
should say, from frequent remarks made in my presence, and to my
friends. One lady, who gave me a general and warm invitation to her
hareem, and treated me really affectionately, so far betrayed her
opinions, that she exclaimed to me, and to my friend, “What a pity that
you are Christians!” Alas! such feelings are too general for our minds
to be blinded to the fact of their existence; and so long as martyrdom
awaits the convert to our blessed faith, little or no progress will be
made by those benevolent men, whose devotion of happiness and of life to
our Saviour’s cause will secure for them the favour of their God,
however unsatisfactory may be the results of their labours.
Of those female slaves who, after the age of childhood, have been
brought from countries where they have enjoyed almost unbounded liberty,
few, perhaps, become reconciled to the confinement within the narrow and
limited precincts of the hareem. Some, by their personal charms rendered
favourites of the master, doubtless delight in the luxurious prison.
Others, who have, in addition to his favour and affection, a stronger
tie to their foreign home—that of their having borne him a child, would
receive their emancipation, if accompanied by a dismissal and a marriage
to some other person, with earnest prayers for the retraction of the
intended boon. Brought up, in general, with Muslim feelings, they become
the most affectionate of mothers. Their maternal tenderness is often
most especially manifested by their dread of the evil eye; a
superstition which obliges me, in my intercourse with Muslim mothers, to
observe the utmost caution in making any remarks upon children.
In one instance, I was unfortunate, in one respect, in a remark of this
kind; but fortunate in another respect, inasmuch as one of my own
children was the subject. I occasioned much distress to an Arab lady who
was passing the day with me (when, in the course of conversation, the
effects of climate on the constitution of the young were discussed) by
observing that my eldest boy had not suffered as the rest of our party
had done from the heat; adding thankfully, that I considered him strong.
In an instant she vociferated, “Bless the Prophet! bless the Prophet!”
and repeated this for some time, while she coloured deeply, and
exhibited the most extraordinary agitation. I confess I was at first
confounded; for although I perceived that in her enthusiasm she feared
that I had endangered my dear boy’s welfare by expressing my opinion of
his health, and that she earnestly desired I should avert my calamity by
doing as she directed at the moment, I was not at all disposed to _bless
the Prophet_; but I endeavoured to quiet her apprehensions by repeating
in Eastern phraseology “Praise be to God for the health of my family,”
and “If it please God may it continue.” Finding me calmly and gravely
endeavouring to convince her that the English do not fear expressing
their satisfaction in the welfare of those they love, she became more
tranquil, but I do not think she felt reassured. By saying “O God, bless
our Lord Mohammad!” the effect of the evil eye is believed to be
prevented; and it is not a little singular, that my friend feared the
effect of my own admiring eye, upon my own child.
It is very difficult for a stranger, like myself, to avoid making
mistakes in various other ways. For example, I heard footsteps on the
stairs leading to our terrace a few days since, and beckoned a maid, who
was passing, that she might inquire for me who was gone up stairs, when,
to my astonishment, she ran from me immediately; and though I called her
by name, and induced her to look round, she saw me again beckoning with
my hand, and continued her flight. Annoyed at what appeared to be
perverseness, I clapped my hands, and she at once returned. “Why did you
run away when I beckoned you?” said I. “Because,” replied she, “you made
a signal to me to go away.” That is, I turned towards her the back of my
hand. Had I reversed the position, or beckoned with the palm downwards,
she would have understood that I wanted her; as it was, she supposed
that she was to run away as fast as possible.
I do not remember that I mentioned to you the uncouth dresses that are
worn here at this season of the year by the ladies of the higher
classes. When I pay an unexpected visit to such persons, I generally
find most of them in quilted jackets of a description as little becoming
as can be imagined, or enveloped in any warm covering that they have at
hand. Their rooms are warmed by means of the brazier, which produces a
close and suffocating smell, such as I cannot easily endure; and,
indeed, I seldom feel much occasion for a fire. The weather is now
really delightful; but it has not been so uniformly since the
commencement of winter. As in the cases of most travellers, our
residence here has been marked by peculiarities. The extraordinary
inundation of last year, and the heavy rain of this, are events which
have had no precedents on record during the lives of the present
generation. After wishing for occasional showers during eight months in
vain, not a drop of rain falling, we had on the thirtieth of October a
tremendous storm of rain, attended with thunder and lightning, and one
almost continuous peal of thunder lasted two hours, rattling and rolling
in a most awful manner, while the rain fell in torrents; but on the
first of last month, the rain was still more copious: it poured through
the roofs and ceilings; and we and our servants during the storm were
seeking dry corners in which to deposit cushions, mattresses, and other
furniture; and were running hither and thither to remove them as the
water gained upon us. Our house is extremely well built for Cairo, and
yet, in the upper rooms, pretty smart showers fell through the ceilings
for some time after the storm abated, and only one room in the house
escaped the general flooding. Our poor neighbours suffered severely, and
fearful has been the illness which has ensued; indeed, the inhabitants
are still feeling lamentably the effects of that tremendous storm. Many
houses have fallen in consequence of it; and others have been greatly
injured. The roofs, in many instances, are seldom plastered with any
thing better than mud, but simply composed of planks and strong beams,
on which coarse matting is laid; and often over all only rubbish is
strewed to preserve the matting from being blown away: therefore the
showers which penetrate these roofs sometimes become showers of mud, to
the destruction of furniture. Rain, however, seldom falls in this part
excepting in the cooler season, when a few showers occur, and those are
generally light.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LETTER XXI.
January, 1844.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
I was presented yesterday to Nezleh Hánum, by my friend Mrs. Sieder. My
reception was remarkably flattering, and perhaps unusually so, because
it took place in her bedroom. I was not aware that she was suffering
from severe indisposition when I called at the Kasr ed-Dubárah, and
would not have intruded when I was informed that this was the case; but
when she heard that I had arrived, she expressed her desire to see me as
soon as her two physicians, then in attendance, should have quitted her
chamber. Her highness is the eldest daughter of the Pasha, and therefore
holds the highest rank among the ladies of Egypt. I have before said
that she is the widow of the Deftardár Mohammad Bey.
While we were sitting in one of the rooms opening into the saloon, the
curtain before our door was suddenly closed; for the physicians were
passing. In a few minutes the curtain was withdrawn, and I was conducted
to the presence of her highness. She was supported by pillows, and
evidently suffering much from cough and oppression of the chest. She
received me with much affability, and at once requested me to sit by her
side on a raised divan, which I imagine is her bed. Low divans
surrounded the room, and the pavement was covered with a Turkey carpet.
It had in no respect the character of a bedroom, but rather that of a
luxuriously furnished Turkish winter sitting-room. It opens into a noble
saloon, over that which I formerly described to you. I found the
youngest son of the Pasha, Mohammad ’Alee Bey, sitting on a cushion at
the feet of his sister, Nezleh Hánum; and finding me to be unacquainted
with Turkish, he politely conversed with me in French. He is nine years
of age, and in a few months will be considered beyond the hareem age.
His mother, and other ladies, sat on my left hand. Thus I saw, on the
one hand, a lady about fifty years of age—the daughter of the Pasha, and
on the other, a very lovely young woman, step-mother to her highness,
the wife of her father, and the mother of her little brother.