Death in a Princely Harem—The Fair Georgian—Distinction of
Circassian and Georgian Beauty—The Saloon—Sentiment of the
Harem—Courteous Reception—Domestic Economy of the
Establishment—The Young Circassian—Emin Bey—Singular Custom
of the Turks—The Buyuk Hanoum—The Female Dwarf—_Naïveté_ of
the Turkish Ladies—The Forbidden Door—The Sultan’s
Chamber—The Female Renegade—Penalty of Apostacy—Musical
Ceremony—Frank Ladies and True Believers—A Turkish
Luncheon—Devlehäi Hanoum—Old Wives _versus_ Young Ones—The
Parting Gift—The Araba—The Public Walk—Fondness of the
Orientals for Fine Scenery—The Oak Wood.
The illness and subsequent death of the Buyuk Hanoum had long delayed
the visit which I had been requested to make to the harem of the Reiss
Effendi, or Minister for Foreign Affairs; and it may be remembered that
this was the lady to whom I alluded in a former portion of my work, as
having failed to find favour in the eyes of the Sultan on the occasion
of the Princess Salihè’s marriage; and whom he had been graciously
pleased to excuse from all further attendance at court, in favour of a
fair Georgian, whom he had himself provided as her successor. The aged
Minister had received with all proper gratitude the gift of his Imperial
master; and had not failed to make the lovely slave his wife with all
possible speed. And the anticipation of seeing this far-famed beauty
added no little to the desire which I felt to avail myself of the very
kind and flattering invitation of the family.
Having, therefore, suffered a sufficient time to elapse after the death
of the Buyuk Hanoum to testify my sympathy for her loss, I prepared for
this long-promised visit, and made it in company with some Greek ladies,
friends of my own, and well known in the harem of the Minister. On
passing the Salemliek I was much disappointed by the discovery that the
Reiss Effendi himself was from home; but on reaching the harem we were
more fortunate, and having delivered our cloaks, veils, and shoes to a
group of slaves who received us in the marble entrance-hall, we followed
one who led the way up a noble flight of stairs to a vast saloon; and in
the next instant I found myself standing beside Devlehäi Hanoum, the
beautiful Georgian.
And she _was_ beautiful—magnificent!—Tall, and dark, and queenly in
her proud loveliness; with such a form as is not looked on above half a
dozen times during a long life.
The character of Georgian beauty is perfectly dissimilar from that of
Circassia; it is more stately and dazzling; the whole of its attributes
are different. With the Circassian, you find the clearest and fairest
skin, the most delicatelyrounded limbs, the softest, sleepiest
expression—the lowest voice—and the most indolently-graceful
movements. There is no soul in a Circassian beauty; and as she pillows
her pure, pale cheek upon her small dimpled hand, you feel no
inclination to arouse her into exertion—you are contented to look upon
her, and to contemplate her loveliness. But the Georgian is a creature
of another stamp: with eyes like meteors, and teeth almost as dazzling
as her eyes. Her mouth does not wear the sweet and unceasing smile of
her less vivacious rival, but the proud expression that sits upon her
finely arched lips accords so well with her stately form, and her high,
calm brow, that you do not seek to change its character.
There is a revelation of intellect, an air of majesty, about the
Georgian women, which seems so utterly at variance with their condition,
that you involuntarily ask yourself if they can indeed ever be slaves;
and you have some difficulty in admitting the fact, even to your own
reason.
Nearly all the ladies of the Princess Azmè’s household are Georgians:
and I have already had occasion to remark that her harem is celebrated
for the beauty of its fair inhabitants.
But Devlehäi Hanoum left every individual of the Imperial Seraï of
Ortakeuÿ immeasurably behind her. And as she welcomed us without rising
from her sofa, I felt, woman though I was, as though I could have knelt
in homage to such surpassing loveliness!
The sofa on which she was seated, occupied the deep bay of a window
overlooking the Bosphorus, at the upper end of a saloon which terminated
in a flight of steps leading upwards to a second apartment, that, in its
turn, afforded similar access to a third: and this long perspective was
bounded by the distant view of a vine-o’ercanopied kiosk, beneath which
a fine fountain of white marble was flinging its cool waters on the air,
from the midst of clustering vases, filled with rare and beautiful
flowering plants.
Groups of slaves were standing about the sofa; and gilded cages, filled
with birds, were arranged in its immediate vicinity. I was much amused
by a superb parrot, evidently the favourite of the harem, which had
become so imbued with its high-bred tranquillity, as to speak almost in
a whisper: and which kept up a perpetual murmur of such phrases as the
following: “My heart!—My life!—My Sultan, the light of my eyes!—Am I
pretty?—Do you love to look upon me?” and similar sentimentalities.
Devlehäi Hanoum was dressed in an antery of white silk, embroidered all
over with groups of flowers in pale green; her salva, or trowsers, were
of satin of the Stuart tartan, and her jacket light blue; the gauze
that composed her chemisette was almost impalpable, and the cachemire
about her waist was of a rich crimson. Her hair, of which several
tresses had been allowed to escape from beneath the embroidered
handkerchief, was as black as the plumage of a raven; and her complexion
was a clear, transparent brown. But the great charm of the beautiful
Georgian was her figure. I never beheld any thing more lovely; to the
smoothly-moulded graces of eighteen she joined the majesty and
stateliness of middle life; and you forgot as you looked upon her, that
she had ever been bought at a price, to remember only that she was the
wife of one of the great officers of the Empire.
Nothing could exceed the courtesy of her welcome, except, perhaps, its
gracefulness; and the charming smile with which she told me how anxious
were the Buyuk Hanoum, herself, and Conjefèm Hanoum, to testify by every
means in their power, the delight they felt in having me for a guest.
For a moment I was bewildered; I had made no inquiries relatively to the
domestic economy of the harem previous to my visit, and had imagined
that, as a matter of course, the lovely Georgian had become Buyuk Hanoum
by the death of the children’s mother. But this was far from being the
case; the Pasha having married in early life a Constantinopolitan lady
of high family, who had retained her supremacy in the harem, although
the affections of the Reiss Effendi had been transferred to the parent
of his sons. The fair Georgian proving also childless, the fortunate
mother had never forfeited her hold upon his heart, and had continued
until the hour of her death to be the first object of his favour. But my
astonishment did not end even here; for, when all this had been
explained to me, another question yet remained to be answered:—Who was
Conjefèm Hanoum?
Conjefèm Hanoum, who was in the bath when we arrived, was a beautiful
young Circassian, who had been purchased twelve months previously by the
Minister, in the excess of his disappointment that the Georgian did not
make him a father; and whom, in the first rush of his delight on
discovering that she was likely to become a mother, he had also married.
Unfortunately for her, the child died in the hour of its birth, and once
more the anxious husband found himself disappointed in his hopes.
These domestic details, which were given with a _sang froid_ and
composure evincing how little the heart of Devlehäi Hanoum was
interested in the recital, were succeeded by coffee, which was served
with great ceremony by about a dozen slaves; the salver being overlaid
with gold tissue, as on occasions of state. A stroll in the garden
followed, where we wandered up and down the shady walks, among the
flowers and fountains; and where we encountered the three sons of the
Minister.
Emin Bey, the elder of the brothers, was barely eleven years of age; and
had I not seen him, I should never have been able to picture to myself
any thing at all like the object on which I then looked. So
extraordinary and unwieldy a being as this unhappy boy I never before
met with: and I am moderate in declaring that he must have measured at
least two yards round the body. His jacket of Broussa silk striped with
gold, lay in large folds about his shoulders and waist; his head
appeared to have been attached to his chest without the intervention of
a throat; his hands, his feet, all were proportionably bulky; and when I
looked at the unfortunate child, I could not help thinking how much he
was to be pitied, despite the rank and riches which surrounded him. The
younger boys were fine, noble-looking youths, without the slightest
tendency to corpulency; but Emin Bey is the favourite of the Minister,
who gratifies his every whim; and from the extreme amiability of his
disposition, he is generally popular in the harem.
The sons of Turkish families always inhabit the women’s apartments until
they marry; when, however young they may be, they are immediately shut
out; but, by an extraordinary and apparently inexplicable arrangement,
they are not permitted, as soon as they have ceased to be children, to
intrude themselves on the Buyuk Hanoum without her express permission,
although they have free access to every other apartment in the harem.
Thus Emin Bey, unless summoned by her express desire, could not visit
the elder wife of his father, a venerable old person of at least seventy
years of age, although he was constantly in the society of the two
younger and lovelier ladies; while the other boys, yet mere children,
came and went as they listed, unchidden and almost unnoticed.
As soon as the Buyuk Hanoum had left the bath, we were invited to her
apartment; and as I looked from the withered and feeble woman who lay
stretched on the sofa before me, propped with cushions, glittering with
diamonds, and busied with her chibouk, to the stately and gorgeous
Georgian in all the glow of her proud youth, I had difficulty in
believing that they could indeed be the wives of one man!
When I had returned her salutation, and seated myself beside her, I had
time to look round upon the arrangement of her apartment. On a cushion
near her sofa crouched a frightful female dwarf, old, and wrinkled, and
mis-shapen, with a Sycorax expression of face that made me shudder; and
immediately beside her sat Devlehäi Hanoum, in a high-backed chair of
crimson velvet and gilding, looking like the haughty mother of Vathek
with one of her attendant spirits grovelling at her feet. A line of
female slaves extended from the sofa to the door, and several others
were grouped at the lower end of the saloon, which was most
magnificently fitted up.
The never-failing hospitality of the East prompted the first question of
the venerable hostess. She inquired if I had been satisfied with my
reception; and assured me of the gratification she derived from seeing
me in the Palace of her husband: she then thanked me for the careful
toilette which I had made to visit her, and in the most courtly manner
admired every thing that I wore. The usual extraordinary queries
ensued:—Was I married? Had I ever been affianced? Did I intend to
marry? Could I embroider? How old was I? Which was the prettiest,
Stamboul or London?—and many others of the like kind; but they were all
put so good-humouredly, and so perfectly as a matter of course, that it
was impossible not to be amused, although I had answered them a dozen
times before.
There is a great charm in the graceful _naïveté_ of a well-born Turkish
lady. She tells you directly what she thinks of you, without harbouring
an idea that even truth may sometimes prove unpalatable. If you do not
please her, you are never left in doubt upon the subject; while if, on
the contrary, she considers you well-looking or agreeable, she lavishes
on you the most endearing epithets, and always terminates her address by
imploring you to love her. From the moment that you find yourself
beneath her roof, you are as completely unfettered as though you were in
your own house. Are you hungry? In five minutes, by merely desiring the
first slave with whom you come in contact to bring you food, you may
seat yourself at table. Are you weary? Select the sofa you prefer,
surround yourself with cushions, and should you wish to remain
undisturbed, close the door of the apartment; and when you are
refreshed, you will be greeted on your re-appearance with a second smile
of welcome. If you are restless, you may wander over the whole house;
there is neither indiscretion nor impertinence in so doing. In short,
from the first instant of your domestication in a Turkish family, it is
your own fault if you are not as much at your ease as your hostess
herself.
On quitting the apartment of the Buyuk Hanoum, which was oppressive from
its closed windows and the extreme heat of the weather, we strolled all
over the Palace, which is very extensive, and splendid in its
arrangements. One room only was closed against us. It was that in which
the mother of the Pasha’s children had breathed her last; and into
which he had desired every article, however trifling, of her personal
property, to be removed and locked up, until he causes them to be
disposed of by public sale, and the proceeds secured to her sons.
Turning away from this forbidden door, we proceeded to an apartment in
which the Sultan passed a night about three years ago, and which has
only just been re-opened, at his express desire, for the use of the
family. The Imperial bedstead yet remains, but the golden hangings have
been removed, and have probably since figured in anterys and salvas on
the fair forms of the ladies of the harem. The room is now appropriated
to the master of the house; and on a sofa-cushion lay his watch, his
hand-mirror, and a small agate box containing opium pills.
Having understood that there was a young Greek girl on the
establishment, who had been induced, by the representations of
interested and treacherous advisers, to embrace Mohameddanism, I
expressed a wish to see her, when she was immediately summoned; but made
her appearance with great reluctance, being evidently most heartily
ashamed of her apostacy.
She told us that she was very unhappy; for, although she was treated
with great kindness, she could not reconcile herself to the sin which
she had committed; and that, had she been left to her own free will, she
never should have thought of taking such a step. A few weeks only had
elapsed since she had become a Turk, but she already felt that, although
no taunt was uttered by her companions, they never lost sight of the
fact of her being a renegade; and, had she not known the penalty which
must be paid, she declared that she should at once have uttered her
second recantation.
Well might she pause as she remembered it; for that penalty is death!
When once a Christian female has been induced to utter the simple prayer
which is the only necessary ceremony—the few brief words which declare
that “There is but ONE GOD, and Mahomet is the Prophet of GOD”—she is a
Mahomeddan; and, should she afterwards repent her apostacy, and resolve
on returning to the bosom of the Christian Church, and her determination
become suspected before she has time or opportunity to escape from the
power of the Turks, the waters of the Bosphorus terminate at once her
project and her life.
Nor is a male renegade placed in a more secure position. The Mahomeddans
tolerate no off-falling from their faith. They are bound by their law
twice during their lives to _invite_ a Christian to embrace the religion
of the Prophet; but they never outrun the spirit of their instructions:
they simply suggest the conversion, and use no endeavour to enforce it;
while, on the other hand, they permit no apostacy—death is the instant
penalty for the bare idea. Few Missionaries, however talented, or
however zealous, ever made a Turkish convert—and no renegade Christian,
unless by some rare chance he succeeded in escaping at the critical
moment ere his resolution became suspected, ever survived the intention.
As the Buyuk Hanoum had been particular in her injunctions that every
attention should be paid to me; all the musical clocks and watches
throughout the Palace (and they were not few,) were put into
requisition, and the orchestra, completed by a very harsh barrel-organ,
awoke into discord by the fair hands of Devlehäi Hanoum. This confusion
of sweet sounds is one of the highest courtesies which can be exhibited
in the Harem: and it was quite laughable to stroll through the long
galleries, and to escape from the Sultan’s March on the left hand, to
find yourself in the midst of the Barcarole in Massaniello on the right;
and, leaving both behind you, to catch a fine cadence of _Di Piacer_, as
you were beginning to imagine that all was over.
Having at length reached a spacious saloon, whose cool-looking white
sofas occupied recesses in each of which a window afforded the hope of a
little air, I not only threw up the sash but the jalousies also, to the
great terror of a couple of slaves who were looking on. Seeing their
alarm, I explained to them that they were not compelled to approach the
forbidden opening, but they still continued in such a state of anxiety
that I begged them to explain what troubled them: whereupon the elder of
the two, a plain, clumsy-looking woman of five or six and thirty, and as
unattractive a person as can well be imagined, told me that, as the
Buyuk Hanoum loved me so much, she could not bear to see me commit so
heinous a sin. I requested to know in what my transgression consisted,
when she exclaimed with great energy:—“Suppose a Turk passing under the
window should look up, and love you, would you become a Musselmaun, and
marry him?”
“Certainly not.”
“Imagine then the sin for which you will be accountable, if you continue
seated in front of that open casement. Some unhappy True Believer will
look upon you—he will desire to have you for his wife—and when you
continue deaf to his passion, he will grow sick, keep his bed, and
probably die; and how will you be able to appear in Paradise with such a
sin upon your soul?”
I have related this little anecdote, because it proves two distinct
facts; first, that the Turkish women thoroughly believe that a happy
immortality awaits them, if they do not forfeit it by their own
misdeeds; and that they are moreover tolerant enough to consider it sure
that even the Giaours, who have no share in the mysteries of Mahomet,
have nevertheless the same hope.
I put an end to the generous fears of the woman by telling her that such
an occurrence could not take place with the Frank females, who did not
possess sufficient attraction to peril the peace of a True Believer, and
that this was the reason they walked about unveiled; while the great
beauty of the fair Turks had rendered it incumbent on the Prophet to
make them cover their faces, in order to prevent such misfortunes to his
followers as that to which she had just alluded; and she was so well
satisfied with my explanation that she suffered me to remain peacefully
in my corner, breathed upon by the cool air which swept over the
Bosphorus, only taking extreme care to remain at such a distance from
the window herself, as to ensure the heart-ease of every worthy and
susceptible Musselmaun who might chance to pass that way.
From this pleasant position we were summoned to an apartment in which
refreshments had been provided for us; and as we had expressed no
inclination to eat, these consisted only of fruits, conserves, and
similar trifles. Pyramids of pears and grapes; saucers of olives and
cream-cheese; vases of preserves; and dishes of cucumber neatly
arranged, and cut into minute portions, formed the staple of the repast;
and were interspersed with goblets of rose-scented sherbet. To myself
alone another luxury was added, in the shape of a small cake of
extremely delicate bread, made for the exclusive use of the Minister.
The fair Georgian could by no means be persuaded to seat herself at
table; and although the apartment was filled with attendants, she
persisted in waiting upon me herself; and during a considerable time
found amusement in decorating my hair with bunches of small pears, which
had been gathered with great care, in order to preserve the leaves that
grew about them.
While we were thus agreeably employed, Conjefèm Hanoum entered from the
bath. She was a fair, languishing beauty of sixteen, exquisitely
dressed, and extremely fascinating; with a slight expression of
melancholy about her, that seemed as much the effect of a quiet coquetry
as the result of her natural temperament.
When our primitive repast was concluded, the beautiful Georgian inquired
of my friends whether they could suggest any thing likely to give me
pleasure which it was in her power to offer. As the day was lovely, and
the sun beginning to decline, we availed ourselves of her politeness,
and decided on a drive, when the carriage was immediately ordered, amid
the regrets of the two younger ladies that they could not accompany us,
which from their not having previously obtained the permission of the
Pasha, it was impossible for them to do. Had the Buyuk Hanoum desired to
be of the party, she would have been at perfect liberty to indulge the
inclination, as from her advanced age no cause for jealousy could
possibly exist on the part of the husband; but the other wives were too
young and too pretty to be trusted to their own discretion by a worthy
old gentleman of nearly four score; and they were consequently
compelled, much to their annoyance, to see us depart alone.
When we had taken leave of the Buyuk Hanoum in her apartment, where she
still lay pillowed upon her cushions; and that I had promised to avail
myself of her earnest invitation that I would repeat my visit; we
returned to the great centre saloon where the other ladies awaited us,
surrounded by a crowd of slaves, one of whom carried upon a salver a
pile of embroidered handkerchiefs, worked by the fair fingers of the two
younger Hanoums, with gold thread and coloured silks. This gift, which
had been prepared for me, was accompanied by a thousand kindly comments.
I was desired to examine one piece of needlework, and to remark that I
carried away with me the heart of the donor—upon another I was told
that I should find a bouquet of flowers, and discover that they had
presented me with the portrait which they should retain of me in their
own memories; and I at length bade them farewell, amid a thousand
admonitions neither to forget nor to neglect the promise that I had made
to renew my visit.
The araba awaited us in the court of the palace, and ere long we were
all comfortably established in a roomy and commodious waggon, (for that
is the correct name of the carriage) drawn by two oxen blazing with gilt
foil and spangles; upon a mattress of crimson shag, embroidered and
fringed with gold, amid cushions of similar material, and beneath a
canopy of purple decorated in the same rich style. Two attendants, in
the livery of the Minister, ran beside the carriage; and, although our
progress, from the nature of the animals who drew us, was not so rapid
as many travellers might desire, we nevertheless contrived to spend a
couple of delicious hours in driving up and down a public walk,
overshadowed with fine old oaks, beneath whose gnarled and far-spreading
boughs parties of shade-loving individuals had spread their mats, and
were smoking their pipes, or eating their pic-nic dinners, within reach
of a fine fountain and a commodious coffee-kiosk; and in the full
enjoyment of as glorious a view as ever taught the eye of man to linger
lovingly on the fair face of nature.
Assuredly no race of men ever enjoyed a beautiful country more
thoroughly than the Orientals. Every pretty spot is sure to be
discovered, and appropriated on each occasion of festival. Those who can
possess themselves of commanding points, and who have the means of doing
so, build kiosks, and plant vineyards about them, amid which they spend
the long summer day; while the poorer classes carry their mats and their
pipes to their favourite nooks; and enjoy, if not as exclusively, at
least as heartily, as their more fortunate neighbours, the bright
prospect and the balmy air.
The Turk, especially, finds his happiness in this most simple and most
natural of all pleasures. Hour after hour he will sit with his chibouk
between his lips, gazing about him unweariedly, and communing with his
own thoughts in all the peacefulness and luxury engendered by the beauty
of the locality; and the exterior appearance of his dwelling is never
considered, if he can contrive an angle, or throw out a bay, which will
enable him to command a striking feature in the landscape, or a longer
stretch of the lake-like Bosphorus.
On the present occasion the oak-wood was dotted all over with little
groups of holyday-makers. Children ran in and out among the trees,
making the breeze glad with laughter; the oxen which had been unyoked
from the different carriages, were browsing on the young leaves; merry
voices called to each other from amid the underwood; the fountain was
surrounded by servants; the coffee-kiosk thronged with guests; and the
scene was altogether so lively, so cool, and so delightful, that it was
not without regret that we ultimately drove down to the shore, where our
caïque awaited us, and found ourselves once more gliding smoothly and
swiftly over the sunny waters of the channel.