How Wives Behave in Turkey.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 145, 20 June 1891, Page 2 (Supplement)

How Wives Behave in Turkey.

' The Turk is nofc the man of many wivei he is commonly believed to be. It) is aa exception rather than the rule for the men of Turkey to have more than one wife, The lower classee never have more than one. Ib is only the wealthy Pashas wha have two or three wives, the latter number* according to the Koran, being legally al» lowed to every Mussulman. , This is whaft Carlos Rivero, a Spaniard, has to say abouH life in Turkey. Senor Rivero is engaged in the China trade at Constantinople, and calls the Turkish metropolis his home. 'I have lived several years ab Constantinople,' continued the traveller, who speaks excels lent English, ' and have been as close an observer of Turkish harem life as it waa possible for an outsider to be. The number of wives legally allotted to every Mussulman is exclusive of any number of slaves and concubines. Slaves and concubines are not found in the homes of the lower classes. The middle classes keep slaves, but tha heads of these households rarely have con* cubines. But when I say that polygamy 1 is an exception I do nob "mean that there are not numerous harems in the empire, fop there are. The Turk, however, who is ab head of the harem does not have the royal, time'and many privileges one is led to suppose. He pays the bills, though. Hβ calls on his wives when,it is convenient fop them to receive !him. No acquaintances* however slight, must he have with other* \ than those of his own harem. Sometimes he cannot enter his own house. When a lady calls on one of his wives she leaves her slippers outside the harem door. Should, the husband observe them he knows ladiee are visiting, and .'therefore he must take a stroll around the block, smoke a cigarette* or do something else until the fair caller has departed. If in public squares or A bazaar he should see one of his own women he is not permitted to recognise them, even ■ if they are squandering his money on thing that would be of no use to anyone* He may see one of his wives paying moafc fabulous prices for silk and jewels, and know the bills will be sent to him, but) he must not object in public. Whab he sayl or does at some subsequent time I know no» s of, but there is no law I know of that pi* , vents him from blacking her eyes or pulling out her hair when he gets her in her apart* ments ab the harem. ' How are the poon eunuchs treated? , Senor Rivero was asked* ' Poor eunuchs !' remarked the traveller* •The people of Turkey don't think the eunuchs are abused creatures, and they are not. Their life is one perpetual piCDICc They are the greatest personages in the harem ; their power is almost absolute {. \ they are captains of the girls, and when the, latter become unruly the eunuchs are tha ones to chastise them. They whip the girls with rods when the offence conn mibted is eerious enough. But they are the mosb hideous-looking creatures in Turkey. Besides being paid princely salaries, the eunuchs squeeze all the money they can out of the inmates of the harem* and large fortunes are amassed by them. Mutes are still employed by the Sultan an guards or attendants. This close is *f b °°< tamed from an asylum or anything of thao kind, but are manufactured. That brutal practiceofcuttingoutthetonguesofyoutnttU eunuchs in order to obtain attendants in the offices where official business is came* on is still as popular as ever. The youth* are nob only deprived of means of speecn, but everything elee is done to keep them in a state of ignorance. They are never permitted to read or write. p« » "J " Arabian Njghta but a deplorfable truth.!"