in vain to clear a passage along the centre of the street for the convenience of the Sultanas, and the wives of the different Pashas, whose arabas were momently expected; the mob closing rapidly in their rear as they slowly moved on—and clouds of doves at intervals filled the air, the tenants of the giant mosque before us, scared from the usual quiet of their resting-places by the unwonted stir and excitement beneath them.
As the birds which domesticate themselves about the mosques are held sacred, and regarded with almost superstitious reverence, their numbers necessarily increase to a wonderful extent; and on this occasion they hovered round the stupendous edifice of Saint Sophia, to the amount of several thousands.
A strange military difficulty had been started a short time previously to the occasion of the Baïram, which had been overcome in so extraordinary and even humorous a manner, that it deserves especial mention; and it was to convince myself of the actual existence of the laughable custom engendered by Turkish jealousy, that I remained longer than I should have otherwise been induced to do, in the immediate vicinity of a Constantinopolitan mob. Be it, however, avowed, en passant, that the—what shall I call them? for our European term of “lower orders” is by no means applicable to a people who acknowledge no difference of rank—no aristocracy save that of office—the great mass of the population of the capital—assimilate on no one point with our own turbulent, vociferous, uncompromising, and unaccommodating mobs in Europe. Among above five thousand boatmen, artisans, and soldiers, not a blow was struck, not a voice was raised in menace—among the conflicting interests, feelings, and prejudices, of Christians, Musselmauns, and Jews, not a word was uttered calculated to excite angry or unpleasant feeling; while I am bound to confess that a female, however fastidious, would have found less to offend her amid the crush and confusion of that mighty mass of commonly called semi-civilized human beings, than in a walk of ten minutes through the streets of London or Paris.
The natives of the East have yet to learn that there can be either wit or amusement in annoying others for the mere sake of creating annoyance; that there can be humour in raising a blush on the cheek of the timid, or calling a pang to the heart of the innocent. They are utilitarians; to torment for the mere love of mischief they do not comprehend; and they, consequently, never attempt extraneous evil unless to secure, or at least to strive for, some immediate personal benefit. Thus no rude or impertinent comment is made upon the Frank stranger, and above all, upon the Frank woman, whose habits, manners, and costume, differ so widely, and, doubtlessly to them so absurdly, from those of their own country; while towards each other they are as staid, as solemn, and as courteous, as though each were jealous to preserve the good order of the community, and considered it as his individual concern.
To revert to the military ceremony, from which, in order to render justice to the Turkish population, I have unavoidably digressed; I shall mention, without further preface, that it arose from the reluctance of the Sultan and his ministers, that the troops, in presenting arms to the female members of the Imperial family, should have the opportunity afforded them of a momentary gaze at their veiled and sacred countenances. The difficulty was, how to retain the “pomp and circumstance” of the ceremonial, and at the same time to render this passing privilege impossible. A most original and satisfactory expedient was at length fortunately discovered; and we were lucky enough to witness the effect of the new arrangement.
The slow and noisy rattle of the arabas was heard—the word was passed along the line that the Sultanas were approaching—and suddenly the troops faced about, with their backs to the open space along which the princesses were expected, and, extending their arms to their full length, the manœuvre was performed behind them, producing the most extraordinary and ludicrous scene that was perhaps ever enacted by a body of soldiers! In this uncomfortable, and I should also imagine difficult, position, they remained until the four carriages had passed, when they resumed their original order, and stood leaning negligently on their muskets until the return of the Imperial cortège.
George Cruikshank would have immortalized himself had he been by to note it!
CHAPTER VIII.
Bath-room of Scodra Pasha—Fondness of the Eastern Women for the Bath—The Outer Hall—The Proprietress—Female Groupes—The Cooling-room—The Great Hall—The Fountains—The Bathing Women—The Dinner—Apology for the Turkish Ladies.
The first bath-room which I saw in the country was that of Scodra Pasha; and, had I been inclined so to do, I might doubtlessly have woven a pretty fiction on the subject, without actually visiting one of these extraordinary establishments. But too much has already been written on inference by Eastern tourists, and I have no wish to add to the number of fables which have been advanced as facts, by suffering imagination to usurp the office of vision. Such being the case, I resolved to visit a public bath in company with a female acquaintance, and not only become a spectator but an actor in the scene, if I found the arrangement feasible.
The bath-room of the Pasha, or rather of his family, was a domed cabinet, lined with marble, moderately heated, and entered from the loveliest little boudoir imaginable, where a sofa of brocaded silk, piled with cushions of gold tissue, offered the means of repose after the exhaustion of bathing. But I had seen it tenanted only by a Greek lady and myself, and half a score of slaves, who were all occupied in attendance upon us; and I felt at once that, under such circumstances, I could form no adequate idea of what is understood by a Turkish bath; the terrestrial paradise of Eastern women, where politics, social and national, scandal, marriage, and every other subject under heaven, within the capacity of uneducated but quick-witted females, is discussed: and where ample revenge is taken for the quiet and seclusion of the harem, in the noise, and hurry, and excitement, of a crowd.
Having passed through a small entrance-court, we entered an extensive hall, paved with white marble, and surrounded by a double tier of projecting galleries, supported by pillars: the lower range being raised about three feet from the floor. These galleries were covered with rich carpets, or mattresses, overlaid with chintz or crimson shag, and crowded with cushions; the spaces between the pillars were slightly partitioned off to the height of a few inches; and, when we entered, the whole of the boxes, if I may so call them, were occupied, save the one which had been reserved for us.
In the centre of the hall, a large and handsome fountain of white marble, pouring its waters into four ample scallop shells, whence they fell again into a large basin with the prettiest and most soothing sound imaginable, was surrounded by four sofas of the same material, on one of which, a young and lovely woman, lay pillowed on several costly shawls, nursing her infant.
When I had established myself comfortably among my cushions, I found plenty of amusement for the first half hour in looking about me; and a more singular scene I never beheld. On the left hand of the door of entrance, sat the proprietress of the baths, a beautiful woman of about forty, in a dark turban, and a straight dress of flowered cotton, girt round the waist with a cachemire shawl; her chemisette of silk gauze was richly trimmed—her gold snuff-box lay on the sofa beside her—her amber-headed pipe rested against a cushion—and she was amusing herself by winding silk from a small ebony distaff, and taking a prominent part in the conversation; while immediately behind her squatted a negro slave-girl of twelve or thirteen years of age, grinning from ear to ear, and rolling the whites of her large eyes in extacy at all that was going forward.
The boxes presented the oddest appearance in the world—some of the ladies had returned from the bathing-hall, and were reclining luxuriously upon their sofas, rolled from head to foot in fine white linen, in many instances embroidered and fringed with gold, with their fine hair falling about their shoulders, which their slaves, not quite so closely covered as their mistresses, were drying, combing, perfuming, and plaiting, with the greatest care. Others were preparing for the bath, and laying aside
