Connected with the sultan's harem there are estimated to be about fifteen hundred persons. The harem consists of a number of little courts, or _dairas_; and the central figure of each of these courts is a lady of the female hierarchy. In the royal household there are three classes of women. The kadins, of whom we have spoken, who may be termed the legitimate wives of the sultan, though they are never formally married. Next are the _ikbals_, or "favorite women." From this class the kadins are usually chosen. Then come the _gediklis_, "those pleasant to look upon." The ikbals may come from the number of these. The women of the third class are usually of slave origin, purchased or stolen perhaps from Georgian or Circassian parents. Those who are stolen are usually taken so early from their homes, and so clandestinely, that their origin is seldom known to them. If, however, the lady comes of high station her identity usually becomes known, and she not unfrequently succeeds in elevating her family to a position of power and emolument, either by direct influence or by intrigue. In addition to these three classes of women there are _ustas_, or "mistresses," who are maids in the service of the sultan's mother; _shagirds_, or "novices," who are children in training for the higher positions in the harem; and _jariyas_, or "damsels," who do the more menial work of the establishments. Captured slave girls have sometimes had a most interesting career. They are brought in an almost continuous stream, but privately. In the earliest days of their presence in the harem they are called _alaikés_, and are placed under the care of elderly women, or _kalfas_, who bring them up to suit the tastes of an Oriental court. They are instructed in manners, in music, in drawing, and in embroidery. When later they reach the proper age, they become attendants upon the kadins and the princesses of the imperial household. There is no bar to their reaching at length the highest station that it is possible for a woman to attain, the favorite wife of the sultan. The female department of the Turkish household is called the Hareemlick, the male apartments being named the Islamlick. The women's apartments are, of course, secluded. A male physician may see only the hand and tongue of the sick lady. A black curtain is stretched to separate her from his inspection. A eunuch conducts the physician to a point where the sick woman may thrust out her hand through a hole in the curtain so that the doctor may diagnose her disease.