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whole harem under restraint, and however fome particular favourite may be gratified by the particular attention of her lord, the rest of the women are apt to lament the liberty they are deprived of by his remaining too much at home.

in which cafe, it becomes the wellbred physician to turn his eyes another way.

Upon entering the chamber, he finds his patient covered with a loofe veil; and it being a vulgar notion that the malady may be difcovered from the pulfe t, he is no fooner feated than the naked wrist is prefented for his examination 1. She then defcribes her complaints, and if it be neceflary to look at the removed, while the affiftants keeptongue, the veil is for that purpose

The grandees, if fightly indifpofed, continue to fee company in the cuter apartments; but when the disorder becomes ferious they retreat into the harem, to be nurfed by their women; and in this fituation, befides their medical attendants, and very near relations, no perfon what-the rest of the face, and especially ever can have accefs, except on very argent bufinefs. They make choice of the females they with to have more immediately about their perions, and one in particular is appointed to give an account to the phyfician of what happens in the intervals of his vifits, to receive his directions, and to fee them duly obeyed.

Medical people, whether Europeans or natives, have access to the harem at all times when their attendance is requifite. The phyfician, after being announced, is obliged to wait at the door till the way is cleared; that is, till his patient, when a female, her company and attendants, and others who might happen to be in the courts through which he must país, have either veiled or retired out of fight. He is then conducted to the chamber of the fick lady by a flave, who continues in a loud voice to give warning of his approach, dirb, dirb, al hakeem gia-y, way, way, the doctor is coming a precaution which does not always prevent the unveiled ladies, who have not been apprized, from accidentally crolling the court,

When it is known that the phyfitian is about to enter, the flave who undertakes to clear the way, gives notice by calling Amel Dirb! Amel Dirb! Make way, make way, and Jeturning after fame time, fays Fi dirb! the way is clear.

VǝL. XXVI.

the crown of the head, carefully covered. The women do not hesitate to expofe the neck, the bofom, or the ftomach, when the cafe requires thofe parts to be infpected; but never without extreme reluctance confent to uncover the head. Ladies whom I had known very young, and who, from long acquaintance, were carelefs in concealing their faces from me, never appeared without a handkerchief, or fome other flight covering thrown over the head. So far as I could judge from general practice, it feemed to be confidered, in point of decorum, of more confequence to veil the head than the face.

The phyfician is ufually enter tained with tobacco and coffee, which, being intended as a mark of refpect, cannot in civility be declined, though the compliance leads to an intemperate ufe of both. After

fanction to this foolish notion. I folThe native practitioners give a lowed in that refpect the example of my brother, who, except in fevers, always infifted on the fick giving an account of their complaints, before he would feel the pulfe.

I have been offered fometimes the wrift covered with thin muflin, but the Aleppo ladies, in general, ridicule that punctilio, and I always refufed compliance with a piece of prudery not fanctioned by cullom.

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he has examined, and given directions concerning his patient, he requefs leave to retire, but is feldom allowed to escape without hearing the incurable complaints of as many valetudinary vifitants as happen to be prefent, who either fit ready veiled, or talk from behind a curtain occafionally fufpended in the chamber. Thefe ladies always confider themfelves entitled to verbal advice, or at leaft to an opinion of fuch remedies, as have been recommended by others; and a principal part of the medical art, among the native practitioners, corfifts in being able to acquit themfelves dexterously in fuch incidental confultations.

In families which the European phyfician has been accustomed to attend, and when his patient is on the recovery, he is fometimes induced to protract the vifit, and to gratify the curiofity of the ladies, who afk numberlefs queftions concerning his country. They are particularly inquifitive about the Frank women, their drefs, employments, marriages, treatment of children, and amufements. In return, they are ingenuously communicative, and difplay talents, which being little indebted to artificial cultivation, appear, as it were, to expand naturally under a clear sky, and the influence of a delicious climate. Their queftions are generally pertinent, and the remarks they occationally make on manners differing fo widely from their own, are often fprightly and judicious.

When the vifit is at length concluded, notice being given to clear the way, the physician fets out, preceded as before by the flave. But it rarely happens that he is not more than once flopped, to give advice to fome of the demetlics, who wait his return; for however flightly they may be indifpofed, the temptation of telling theircomplaints to à, doctor is irrefiftible. Thefe damfels feld.m have any other veil

than a handkerchief thrown over the head, one corner of which is held in the mouth; but in order to avoid even that trouble, they frequently place themfelves behind a door, or a window-fhutter half open, in which fituation thrusting out one arm, they in fift on having the pulfe examined. It fometimes happens, in the great harems, that another obacle must be encountered before regaining the gate. This arifes from fome of the younger ladies, or flaves, who are at work in the court, refufing peremptorily either to veil or retire; which is done merely in sport, to vex the conductrefs, who is obliged of courfe to make a halt. In vain fhe bawls dirb! and makes ufe by turns of entreaty, threat, and reproach; till finding all in vain, the gives fair warning, and has recourfe to a never-failing ftratagem. She marches on, and bids the doctor. A complete rcut enfues; the damfels fcamper different ways, catch hold of whatever offers firit, by way of veil, or attempt to conceal themfelves behind one another. It is only when none of the men are in the harem, that this fcene of romping can take place. When the phyfician is conducted by the aga himself, every thing paffes in orderly filence, and, in the chamber of the fick, none befide the elderly or married relations offer to join in the converfation: but it is feldom that the aga himself takes the trouble, after the few firft vifits, except the doctor be a franger to the family.

Women of diftinction pafs much of their time at home. They have a bath for ordinary occafions, within the harem; the purchase of houfe hold neceffaries does not lie within their province and mercery, dra pery, and trinkets are either feat from the hops to be chofen, or are brought in by the female pedlars formerly mentioned. They are not however idle within doors; the f

perintendance of domeftic affairs, the care of their children, with their needle and embroidery, furnish ample employment.

They are taught when young, to read, and fometimes to write the Arabic, but are very apt, when taken from school, to neglect both; fo that reading ought not to be reckoned a common female amulement, and is never a ftudy. I have known however fome exceptions to this. A daughter of the late grand vizir, Rizab Bafhaw, had made (as he affared me) a furprising progress in Arabic literature, and he thewed me a manufcript very beautifully written with her own hand. Devotion does not appear to take up much of their time; they never go to mofque; and, except the elderly ladies, and those who have, they are not fo punctual in their prayers at home as the men.

innumerable errors and mifreprefentations relating to them, which are to be found in the works of travellers in other refpects of good credit.

Their ufual games are mankala, tabuduk, draughts, and fometimes chefs; but, as was before remarked of the men, they play merely for amufement. In the winter evenings, while the men are engaged in the outer apartment, the ladies often pafs the time in attending to Arabian tales, which are recited, but more commonly read, by a perfon who has a clear, diftinct voice, and occafionally fings the flanzas inter woven with the ftory.-It has been already mentioned, that the Arabian Nights Entertainments, known in England, were hardly to be found in Aleppo. A manufcript containing two hundred and eight nights, was the only one I met with, and, as a particular favour, procured liber. ty to have a copy taken from it. This copy was circulated fuccessfully to more than a score of harems ; and I was affured by fome of the ullama, whom the women had fometimes induced to be of the audience, that till then they were ignorant that fuch a book existed.

This is afferted only as it appeared to me. On the public days, the women may often be feen praying in the gardens, but it is only a small number out of a crowd. In the harem, there is not the fame opportunity of feeing them at prayer as there is in refpect to the men. My opinion was formed from being fo feldom obliged, on vifiting at The toilet confits of a divan noon, or fun-fer, to wait till prayers cufhion reverfed, upon which a small were over; and, on going into the mirror is placed. They do not emharem immediately before the times ploy much time at it; for the attire of prayer, from finding fo few pre- of the head inay be taken off, and pared by ablution; for when they preferved entire, and the braiding have once performed the wodou (a of the hair, which is rather a tedious kind of ablution) they cannot per-operation, is always performed in the mit a chriftian to touch their pulfe, hummam. They drefs neatly for without being obliged to wash over the day, early in the morning, exagain. Indeed allowance fhould be cept on days when they go abroad made for a circumstance peculiar on ceremony, or to the fex, which difqualifies them bath, and then the alteration made to the public periodically from acts of devotion. in dress does not require much time. Sun-fet feemed to be the time when the women chicfly prayed.

They are fond of flowers and odoriferous plants, which are fome. It does not feem neceffary to entimes cultivated under their own ter upon the argument concerning care, but for the most part purthe exclufion of the Mohammedan | chafed of those who raise them for women from paradife, with other fal:. They prefeive them in chiD 2

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na or glafs flower-pots arranged on wooden pyramids placed in the middle of the divan, and form them when required into elegant nofegays. When the ladies fend a congratulatory meffige, or a ceremonious invitation, it is ufually accompanied with a nofegay wrapt up in an embroidered handkerchief. The meffage is ve bal, and often delivered in the firft perfon-Thus fays my mitrefs, I will have no excufe-and, do not tell me did you not promife me? &c." This however is not the conftant practice, but it is always delivered precifely in the words in which it is given. The perfon receiving the meffage takes out the flower with her own hand, and carefully folding up the handkerchief, returns it by the meffenger. They preferve deciduous flowers in the fummer, by wrapping them in a muflin handkerchief fprinkled with water, which is laid in a metal bafon, and placed in a cool cellar. The flow. ers of the orange, the Arabian jafmine, and the mufk rofe, are in this hours. manner kept fresh for many

prefenting it, as if the rejected
threads were improper.

Lady Mary Wortley Montague, in
her 40th letter, has given a fpecimen
of this mode of gallantry. "There
is no colour, no weed, no flower,
no fruit, herb, or feather, that has
not a veríe belonging to it; and you
may quarrel, reproach, or fend let-
ters of paffion, friendship, or civili-
ty, or even of news, without ever
inking your fingers."

The ladies at Aleppo are not fuch proficients as her ladyhip defcribes thofe at Conftantinople; but the verfes and allafions are much the fame, expreffed only in the Arabic inftead of the Turkish language,

The colour of the filk thread denotes

fear, doubt, jealoufy, impatience,
or defpair.

Amid domeftic occupations, ferious or amusing, the ladies find themfelves fully employed, and feldom complain of time hanging heavy. But various occafions call them abroad. They vifit near relations feveral times in the year, as alfo when in childbed or in fickness; they affift at nuptial and funeral ceremonies; and, at eftablished hours, go to confult their phyfician at his houfe, when the cafe does not re

Thus women above a certain rank are, in proportion to the extent of their connections, more or lefs engaged, while thofe of the lower clafs are often obliged to go out to market, and conftantly to the bagnio: the laft indeed, brings all the women abroad; for even those who have baths at home, are, in cafes of ceremonial invitation, obliged to repair to the public baths.

The young ladies amufe themfelves by tying their nofegays with filk threads of certain colours, which, in the fame manner as the affortment of particular flowers, are fup-quire his attendance at the harem pofed to convey fome emblematical allufior. But thefe are by the women fo generally underfood, that the artifice feems to be unfit for the purpose of fecret correfpondence; and a proof that the colours are for the moit part regarded as indifferent, is the practice of the men, who receiving nofegays from their ladies, either of their own making, or fuch as have been fent to them from other harems, give them away, or interchange them with their vifitors. It may be remarked, however, that, for the most part, the men interchange fingle flowers, or two or three talks untied, and that the la'dies fometimes make an alteration in the binding of a nofegay, before

Mondays and Thurfdays are the women's licenfed days, for visiting the tombs, and, with their children and flaves, for taking the air in the fields or gardens. The flaves carry carpets, pipes, coffee equipage, and provifions: the garden Tupplies lettuces, cucumbers, or fuch fruits

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as are in feafon. Some take poTeffon of the garden or fummer-houfes, others place themselves under the fade of trees, and all pafs the day in high fellivity. In the fpring alba, the gardens in the neighbourhood are crowded with women, and, towards evening, the feveral avenues of the town are filled with tam, returning home. Some parties of the better clafs are preceded by a band of finging women, the lies themflves walking behind with a low and fiately ftep; but the lower people are less formal; they advance in groups, finging as they wak along, and with the tympanum, and the ziraleet make the air refound on all hands. Ladies of diftinction on these occafions drefs in the plainet manner, and wear the ordinary ftriped veil instead of the white furragi; but most of the others drefs in their gayeft apparel, and when at a little distance from town, being more careless of the veil, they give accidental opportunity of feeing more of their faces, than at any other time.

As men on thefe public days are not excluded from the gardens, numbers are of course found ftrolling in the walks, which obliges the women to be more on their guard, and to remain muffled up. But there are felect parties, on other days, exempt from that difagreeable reftraint, and in all refpects more

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at fun-fet. A numerous train of flaves or fervants avail themfelves of the opportunity to make merry, and the day is confidered as one of licenfed frolic. Muficians, dancers, and buffoons, are among the feinale attendants, and their mufic and ziraleet may be heard at the distance of a mile. The gardener, in the mean while, has little reafon to with for parties of this kind, being by no means adequately recompenfed for the mischief dune his fruit-trees, the branches in bloffom being broken without mercy, and the fruit gather, ed before it is half ripe.

From what has been faid, it would appear that the Turkish ladies are not in fact fo rigorously confined as is generally imagined; it may be added, that habit, and the idea of decorum annexed to their refraints, render them lefs irkfome. Their ignorance of the female privileges enjoyed in many parts of Europe, precludes any mortifying comparifun, and when told of thofe privileges, they do not appear very defirous of a liberty which in many inftances they regard as inconfiftent with their notion of female honour and delicacy.

THOUGHTS on Dogs,

elegant. Thefe are compofed of (By the late Governer Livingston, of

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the ladies belonging to two or three harems, who hire the garden for the day. The divans in the fummerhoufes of the gardens are furnished from the city; cooks are fent to prepare the entertainment; the harem-Kehiaffi, with fome pages, attend at the gate, to prevent the intrufion of ftrangers, and, the gardeners being obliged to keep out of the way, the ladies are obliged to walk about more negligently veiled. The company fet Out from town by dawn of day, and

New Jersey.)

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