CHAPTER XVIII.
The Reiss Effendi—Devlehaï Hanoum—The Fair Circassian—The Pasha—Ceremonious Observances of the Harem—An Interview—Namik Pasha versus Nourri Effendi—Imperial Decorations—The Diploma—Turkish Gallantry—The Chibouks—The Salemliek—The Garden—Holy Horror—The Kiosk—The Breakfast—A Party in the Harem—Nèsibè Hanoum—The Yashmac—The Masquerade—Turkish Compliments—The Slave and the Fruit Merchant—Departure from the Palace.
As I was contemplating a second visit to the Palace of the Reiss Effendi, an invitation reached me from the Minister himself, who requested me to meet him at six o’clock the following morning in his harem, previously to his departure for the Sublime Porte. I started accordingly, accompanied by a young Greek lady who officiated as my interpreter; and at the hour appointed we landed on the marble terrace, and were instantly admitted.
I have elsewhere remarked on the early habits of the Turkish ladies, and on the present occasion they were already astir, and the slaves hurrying in every direction with sweetmeats and coffee. Devlehäi Hanoum was shut into her chamber at prayers, and the door was guarded by a little slave not more than six years of age; one of seven children recently purchased from a slave-ship, so meagre and miserable, that the poor little innocents had evidently been half-starved on their passage from Circassia. One of them had been stolen from the very bosom of its mother, and on its arrival in the harem was immediately provided with a nurse.
On the conclusion of her prayer, the beautiful Georgian entered the saloon in which we were awaiting her; and welcomed us most cordially. Early as it was, the Minister was already, she told us, engaged with an Ambassadorial Dragoman; and meanwhile sweetmeats, water, and coffee were offered to me, of all which I gladly partook, and afterwards strolled into the garden among the sweet-scented lemon trees, to await my summons to the Pasha.
I had taken but two turns in the orangery, when the soft-eyed Conjefèm Hanoum advanced smilingly towards me; and taking me by the hand (a great mark of distinction from a Turkish lady) led me up stairs to the apartment to which I have already alluded as having been honoured by the temporary occupation of the Sultan. When we reached the door, she released my hand, and fell back a few paces, in order that I should approach the Minister alone.
As the room was very spacious, I had an excellent opportunity of obtaining a good view of His Excellency, previously to our entering into conversation; and the first glimpse which I had of him prepossessed me in his favour. He occupied the upper end of the sofa, and was almost buried amid piles of cushions, near an open window looking upon the garden of the harem, whose myriad blossoms filled the apartment with perfume.
Had I not known to the contrary, I never should have supposed him to have been more than sixty years of age; his eye is still so bright, and his brow so smooth. He wore the fèz rather flung back; and his robe was of flesh-coloured silk, lined with ermine.
When I entered, he was busily engaged with his chibouk, which was of the most costly description, the large amber mouthpiece being of the faintest yellow, and divided at mid-depth by a band of turquoise studded with brilliants. He suffered me to advance nearly to the centre of the apartment before he looked up; but he did so at length with a smile of such kindness that I at once forgave him for his etiquettical punctiliousness.
Devlehäi Hanoum was standing about twenty paces from the sofa with her arms folded before her; and the fair Circassian, having, in obedience to a signal from the Minister, placed an armchair for me close to his own seat, immediately took up her position beside her. The Greek lady by whom I was accompanied was not, to my great annoyance, included in the courtesy extended to me; and during the two hours that I spent with the Pasha, she consequently remained standing, or leaning on the back of my seat.
After thanking me for the favour I had done him, and assuring me that he had long wished to make my acquaintance, he desired to know if I would smoke a chibouk; and was much amused when I told him that if he desired I should return to my own country, to prove my gratitude to the Turks for all the kindness and courtesy which they had shewn to me, he must exempt me from the peril of such an encounter with “the scented weed.” He accepted the apology at once, assuring me that he was desirous only to give me pleasure; although, as I was the first Frank lady to whom he had ever spoken, he might probably not succeed in proving his sincerity. Sweetmeats were then handed to me by a slave; and subsequently coffee by the fair hands of Conjefèm Hanoum, but my poor young friend was still excluded from the courtesy. Water is never offered in the presence of a great personage.
I had not been half an hour with the Minister ere I was convinced that he was rather a good than a great man. There was a gentleness and benevolence about him that were delightful; and as he stroked down his white beard, and looked towards me with a smile of mingled amusement and curiosity, I thought that I had never seen a more “green old age;” but although he touched on a variety of subjects, and asked a variety of questions, they were of the most commonplace description; and he appeared infinitely more gratified by the admiration which I expressed of the magnificent marriage festivities of the Princess, than by the compliments that I paid to the rapid progress of civilization and improvement among the people.
The only subject in which he took a marked interest, was the degree of popularity enjoyed by the present Turkish Ambassador in London.
He asked if I had known Nourri Effendi, and I answered affirmatively: upon which he immediately inquired if he were popular in London.
I replied candidly that since he did me the honour to ask my opinion, I should say, judging from what had fallen under my own observation, decidedly not. That I believed Nourri Effendi to be a very good man; but that he was extremely ill-calculated to make his way in England; or to give so favourable an impression of the nation which he represented, as, since I had resided among the Turkish people, I felt anxious should be produced on the minds of my own countrymen. That he could not speak any European language, had forbidding manners, and made no attempt to identify himself with the feelings and habits of the people among whom he resided.
He next mentioned Namik Pasha, and said laughingly: “I know that the ladies of England preferred him; and I have heard that the ladies are very influential in your country—Yes, yes—the Pasha was young, well-looking, and gallant; and spoke French fluently. Nourri Effendi will never make his way among you as his predecessor did, but he is, nevertheless, a good man; and perhaps they were not aware in England that he was Secretary to the Porte.”
I observed that Namik Pasha lent himself willingly to European customs, and made himself acceptable to every society into which he entered; and that, in so far, he was consequently infinitely better fitted than his successor for the post of Ambassador at a foreign Court. The Minister looked steadily at me for a moment, and then said playfully; “You are half a diplomatist yourself. I had heard as much before—this is the first time in my life that I ever conversed with a Frank female; and since we have fallen upon this subject, I should like to ask you one more question before we abandon it. You have now been many months in the country; and were you at liberty to select the next Turkish Ambassador to England, tell me frankly whom should you choose?”
I could not forbear smiling in my turn: but I replied without hesitation; “Reschid Bey—the present Minister at Paris.—It is such individuals as Reschid Bey who prove to Europe what the Turks already are, and what they are capable of becoming—Men of fine mind and gentlemanlike manners, as well as of sound judgment and high character.—Had the Sublime Porte sent Reschid Bey to London, a year or two ago, the English would have had a more exalted opinion of its diplomacy than they now have.”
Little did I imagine when I thus undisguisedly gave my opinion of the Turkish Minister to Youssouf Pasha, that the Firman would be so soon despatched which contained his transfer to the Court of England; and I was not a little amused when I was told some time afterwards that the Reiss Effendi, in giving the information of Reschid Bey’s arrival in London to a friend of mine, added with a quiet smile: “You may as well tell your Frank friend that the new Ilchí is in England before her. She will perhaps be glad to hear that he is the individual whom she would have herself selected.”
From the Turkish Ambassador he digressed to the King of England, and assured me that there was no European Monarch for whom the Grand Seignior entertained a more affectionate regard. Indeed, he talked so long and so fondly, not only of our good Sovereign, but of his people also, that had I not previously known him to be deeply in the Russian interest, I should have believed him to be as sincere an Anglo-Turk as any individual throughout the Sultan’s dominions.
An apology for having received me in his morning dress, rather than keep me waiting, led us to the subject of costume generally; for I could not offer a better reply to his politeness than by expressing my admiration of that which he wore, and declaring how much I considered it preferable to the European frock-coat. He appeared gratified by the assurance, and took this opportunity of desiring Conjefèm Hanoum to bring out his decorations, in order that I might judge of the taste and magnificence of the Sultan; and truly I never beheld anything more costly.
The first, which had been delivered to him with his diploma of Vèzir, was an elaborately mounted medal of gold, inscribed with the cipher of the Sultan, and the rank of the wearer, splendidly framed with brilliants. But the diploma itself interested me much more; it was enclosed in a wrapper of white satin, fastened with a cord and tassels of gold, and occupied an immense sheet of stout paper; the name of Allah stood at the head of the page, and immediately beneath it, but in much larger characters, figured the cipher of the Sultan; these were written in gold, as were also the name of the Vèzir himself which occurred in the body of the document, and the word Stamboul at the foot of the page on the left hand. The remainder of the contents were simply traced in ink, but the characters were beautifully formed; and at the back of the sheet were the signatures of Nourri Effendi who had drawn up the document, as a voucher for its accuracy, and that of the Pasha himself, as an acknowledgment of the duties to which it pledged him.
Having replaced the diploma, the Minister next put into my hands a miniature portrait of the Sultan, surrounded by a wreath, of which the flowers were diamonds, and the leaves wrought in enamel; enclosed within a second frame-work of the same precious gems, formed into emblematical devices, and dazzlingly brilliant. This magnificent decoration was appended to a chain of fine gold, and secured by a diamond clasp.
When I had sufficiently admired it, the gallant old man begged me to wear it for an instant in order that it might acquire an additional value in his eyes; and the gentle Conjefèm Hanoum flung it over my head, and entangled the chain in my ringlets, to the great delight of the Vèzir, who watched the progress of its release with genuine enjoyment, and told me that he had never before seen his decoration to so much advantage.
The only drawback to these costly ornaments exists in the fact that they are insecure possessions; as in case of death, or dismission from office, they are returned to the Sultan. It was consequently with even more pride, that the Minister exhibited to me a smaller, and perhaps more elegant order, bestowed upon him by his Sovereign as an acknowledgment of his faithful services to the Porte; accompanied by an intimation that on his decease it was to be transferred to his eldest son, in order that it might serve to record the regard and gratitude of his master for the exemplary manner in which he had ever done his duty to his country.
I was not a little amused at the epicurean manner in which the Vèzir smoked. Every ten minutes his chibouk was changed by one or other of his wives, by which means he merely imbibed the aroma of the tobacco, while he had an opportunity of displaying the variety and costliness of his pipes, without being guilty of any apparent ostentation; but, handsome as several of them undoubtedly were, that of which he was making use when I entered was infinitely the most beautiful.
When I rose to take my leave, my courteous entertainer begged that I would remain as long as I found any amusement in the Palace, assuring me that every effort should be made to render my visit agreeable; and that the Salemliek should be as free for me as the harem, if I desired to see it. Of course I accepted the offer; and, on leaving the Pasha, I found Emin Bey and a negro waiting to conduct my friend and myself through the mysterious passages which connect the two portions of the establishment. In the Salemliek itself there was nothing remarkable. It was a handsome house, well fitted up, and exquisitely clean; the greatest charm to me existed in its open windows, which, after the closely-latticed and stifling apartments of the women, were truly agreeable; nor was the feeling of enjoyment lessened by the sight of a crowd of birds, that, entering through the wide casements, with the sunshine glittering on their wings, and the song of liberty gushing from their throats, sailed to and fro the vast apartments, as though they could appreciate their magnificent comfort.
But the garden was a little paradise, with its fountains of white marble, its avenues of orange trees, its beds of roses, and verbena, and geraniums, formed into a thousand fanciful devices! And before I could make up my mind to leave it, the young Bey had so loaded me with the fairest flowers he could select, that I breathed nothing but perfume.
We were greatly amused, on passing one of the marble bridges which are flung over the street to connect the grounds, at the astonishment of a party of worthy Musselmauns who chanced to look up as we were crossing, attracted by the unwonted sounds of female voices; and the “Mashallàhs!” with which they greeted our apparition. “Who can they be?” asked one: “And how came they there?” “She with the fair hair is a Frank as well as a Giaour;” was the reply of a second: “I would swear it on the Prophet’s beard.—The infidels are making way among us indeed when their women are thus at liberty to shew their unveiled faces in the Salemliek of one of our great Pashas—but it is no affair of mine—Mashallàh—I trust in God!”
The Kiosk of the Reiss Effendi was by far the most beautiful that I had yet seen—A painted dome, representing the shores of the channel, occupied the centre of the roof; and beneath it a graceful jet d’eau threw up its sparkling waters, which fell back into a capacious bason. The walls were washed by the Bosphorus on the one side, and covered with parasites on the other; and it was floored with marble of the most dazzling whiteness. Here were collected the younger sons of the Minister, and three or four other children, amusing themselves by running barefooted round the basin, and suffering the glittering dew of the fountain to fall upon them in its descent; while each was laughing out in his young joyousness as he marked the dripping condition of his companions, and forgot that he was himself in the same predicament.
On our return to the harem we found the breakfast served; and sat down, attended by Conjefèm Hanoum and ten female slaves, to partake of a repast, of which the dishes had been sent from the table of the Minister, who was also about to make his morning meal. Confectionary, pillauf, and stewed meats, were succeeded by some delicious fruits; and when these had been removed, and I had emptied a goblet of sherbet the colour of amber, we joined the party in the great saloon.
And a numerous party it was! About a dozen Hanoums, all splendidly dressed, and with their turbans sparkling with diamonds, were squatted in a group upon the sofa; and in an instant I took my place in the very midst of them, with my feet doubled under me, to watch the departure of the Pasha, whose barge, manned by ten rowers, and covered with Persian carpets, was waiting to convey him to the Sublime Porte.
Away he went at last in fine style, attended by his secretary, his chiboukjhe, three officers of his household, and two soldiers; and as soon as he was fairly out of sight, the curiosity of all the party centered upon me. They ran their hands along the satin of my pelisse, asked me if the brooch that confined my collar was gold, whether I made my own gloves, and if I would teach them to curl their hair. Having satisfied them on all these points, I looked round the circle in my turn, and made an acquaintance with the young and bright-eyed Nèsibè Hanoum, the sister-in-law of the Minister, and her lovely infant.
As the supreme high breeding of the harem is no longer its perpetual idleness, several of the ladies were engaged in needlework, principally in embroidering handkerchiefs, and knitting a coarse kind of lace for trimming the bosoms of their chemisettes; and when each had settled herself to her employment, Conjefèm Hanoum proposed giving me a lesson in the art of arranging a yashmac, an achievement sufficiently difficult.
A slave was accordingly despatched into her chamber in search of the long scarf of muslin necessary to the operation; and in five minutes I had undergone so perfect a metamorphose that I could scarcely recognize myself when I glanced into the mirror. The delight of the whole party was unbounded; and nothing would satisfy them but my adding a feridjhe to my veil, and presenting myself to the Buyuk Hanoum. The voluminous cloak of dark cloth was accordingly thrown over me, and with considerable difficulty I was taught to manage it with some degree of grace; after which the laughing girl dragged me towards the apartment of the venerable lady; and entering before me, announced that a mussafir, or guest, desired to be admitted.
On the invitation of its occupant, I advanced, making the temina[6] with all the ceremony necessary to continue the deceit; and it was not until I had kissed the hand of the Buyuk Hanoum, and stood upright before her, that she detected the masquerade; but when she did so, I was overwhelmed with exclamations and intreaties—I was beautiful—resistless—I should turn the head of every True Believer in Stamboul—Why did I desire to return to England, when there was not a Pasha in Constantinople who would not consider me ‘the Light of the Harem’—Would I become a Turk?—and a thousand other ejaculations of like import.
When the sensation had partially subsided, I returned to the saloon; and as the yashmac had previously been arranged in the manner in which it is worn by the ladies of the Seraï, I took a second lesson, to enable me to put it on in the more general fashion; and I then amused myself for five minutes in watching the manœuvres of a slave who was purchasing some water-melons from a fruit-caïque. Nothing could be more ludicrous: the great gate of the harem was ajar, and one of the caïquejhes stood on the terrace, and took the fruit from his companion; after which he advanced towards the entrance, and rolled it through the open space on to the marble floor beyond: the slave running after each as it appeared, and grasping it with both hands, as she held it to her ear, to ascertain if it would give out the splashing sound without which it is of no value—laying aside those that she approved, and rolling back the others with a velocity that gave her the appearance of being engaged at a game of bowls with the Greeks on the terrace; talking, moreover, all the time with an earnestness worthy of the occasion.
I loitered away another hour with my amiable hostesses, and then, looking at my watch, I urged a previous engagement, in order to overcome their kindly entreaties that I would spend the remainder of the day with them; and having bade adieu to the Buyuk Hanoum and her numerous guests, and promised to pay her another visit before I left Constantinople, I once more quitted the hospitable halls of the Reiss Effendi; carrying away with me the liveliest feeling of gratitude for all the attentions which I had experienced from every member of his family.