Show The Sultans Harem Mr Alfred Wey de Castro is a distinguished dis-tinguished Turkish lawser He stands erect and has a fine form He has black dancing eyes and a mustache as fine as silk that droops gracefully over the corners of his mouth When he smiles he shows a set of teeth that would charm a dentist He is a man who will cause great havoc among Gothams women who will do well to keep on the opposite side of the street in which he may be strolling unless they have the temerity to risK losing los-ing their hearts His father is N de Castro Bey piivate counsel to the Sultan who resides in Paris So you wibh to know something about the sultans harem said young Mr De Castro yesterday as he rolled back in a sumptuous leathern chair in his law office at No 55 Liberty street and threw out a curl of smoke from a cigar Yes do they flirt No they cant Like all other women however they would like to Whv cant they Their religion compels them to hide their face whenever they meet a man If they happen to be met without a veil they will gather up one of their skirts and throw them over their heads Where does the Sultan obtain his wives From Circassia and a certain part of Asia These countries are noted for the beauty of their women wo-men and the Sultan has emissaries stationed there to make selections and importations The governments govern-ments of these countries often send pretty young women to the Sultanas Sultan-as presents to obtain his good will and favor Are the women blondes or brunettes bru-nettes Brunettes Do they ever bleach their hair Oh yes Blondes are so scarce that they are in great demand and the women use a plant for turning their hair yellow What is the color of their eyes Black as jet and bright as diamonds dia-monds Are they petite or large Small of stature but very plump When young they are really the handsomest women in the world but they dont last a great while They fade do they Yes Their lives are so luxurious luxuri-ous that they decline for want of healthful exercise What do they do Sit on low divans under bright canopies and smoke cigarettes and drink strong coffee How do they dress II Very temptingly in loose bright garments They dress in the Turkish Turk-ish style but are adopting the European Eu-ropean fashions as much as possible j The Sultan has often issued decrees I against the adoption of ± 3uropean tastes but the women dont care about the dress nowa days and I when on the street many of them wear high French heels and bustles They always wear white muslin veils however which add much to I the seductiveness of their general appearance How do the ladies wear their finger nails t They bleach them red and have them cut short The nails are short I suppose because they are afraid their tempers might get the better of them and Mr de Castro stroked his mustache and laughed heartily But you say the ladies dont flirt How can they refrain Well they do flirt They love to flirt with Europeans because it is forbidden fruit I suppose Is there any danger in flirting with a Turkish damsel Well you would think so if a harem keeper caught you He carries car-ries a big whip for flirts What does the Sultan do with his wives when he tires of them He gives them to his chamberlain chamber-lain who takes them as legitimate wives Are there many Turks who keep harems ii Not so many as you imagine Theyre too expensive When a man has two wives he must have a double home One home is for the husband and the other for the wives But besides the legitimate wives nearly every man has a few slaves When the first wife comes of a high and wealthy family she usually holds sway over her husband hus-band and wont permit him to have slaves or a harem She wont allow him to sit down or even to come into herpresence without her special permission There are two kinds I of slaves One kind are used as servants and the other are called odalisques and they assist in the harem and often become the wives of the Turk Their duties are to play on the banjos dance and sing Then slavery still exists in Turkey Tur-key Yes replied M de Castro with a sly wink but only on the quiet There are marts where we can buy a slave And in spite of the laws prohibiting slavery if you buy a slave and she is not as represented the court will sustain you in a suit for damages against the salesman Are divorces in vogue in Turkey Tur-key Yes T if a man dont like his wife he can easily get a divorce from her for some reason or another But he cant sell her if she has hada child Do the blushing brides bring l doweries with them the same as is the prevailing European and American Amer-ican custom I No the bridegroom hands the cash over to the brides parents which is just the reverse Do the ladies make frequent calls upon each other Yes and when they go into a house they leave a pair of overshoes over-shoes at the outer door which warns the man of the house that he cant come in while the company remains re-mains So you see a man cant flirt with his neighbors wife or harem same as in New York Does the Sultan have his food tasted before he eats it Yes The Sultan lives in a castle surrounded by high walls and 4000 trustworthy soldiers and his chamberlain cham-berlain always tastes his food in his presence before he touches it Then the Sultan waits to see the effect The soldiers are fed better than any of their brethren in other parts of the army to insure their faithfulness ness The Sultan generally eats alone except when visited by an Embassador The palace is known as Teldiz Klosq or the Star Pavilion Pavil-ion How old is the Sultan About 40 years and considering the little education he has had he is a bright and intelligent man His spies keep fullv acquainted with everything that goes on in Constantinople Con-stantinople Do Turks drink Only Vienna beer champagne and a brandy that they make These liquors were not in existence when Mahommed made his laws |