CHAPTER XV.
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.