Such barbarities are unknown in Turkey. For in no country in the world are mothers more respected, wives more tenderly cherished, and children more idolized. If, in the relative position of the sexes, men rank above women, it is because the man is considered as the vital principle, and the woman the material. Hence the man loves and cherishes the woman, who in return regards him with reverence and respect; and any deviation from these reciprocal affections, would be considered as the greatest breach of decorum. There are certain acts of politeness which devolve altogether upon the lords of creation in the most exquisitely civilized regions of the world, which are however sometimes reluctantly performed--but, as usual, such matters are reversed in the East, where even the sun rises at a different hour. There the Efendi graciously receives a glass of water at the hands of his too happy Hanum; his pipe and his coffee are gracefully served by some fair Hebe of a wife or sister, who naturally considers herself as the helpmeet for her spouse, as did Eve, the first and fairest of woman kind. The reluctance they feel to have their ladies appear in general society does not arise from any want of deference and respect on the part of the men, but rather from an intuitive desire to guard and protect them from public scandal. As the Osmanlis enshrine the objects of their affection in the recesses of their own hearts, so they love to guard them from all contact of a selfish world. Indeed, Moore has beautifully expressed their feelings in the warblings of the Peri, "No pearl ever lay under Oman's green water, More pure in its shell, than thy spirit in thee." They feel so sensitive on this score, that they do not make their Harems a subject of conversation. Even the most distant allusion to this part of their establishment would consequently be, not only indelicate, but also an infringement of etiquette--so that the ordinary questions, such as "how are madam and the ladies," or according to Irish vocabulary, "how's yer wife and the gals," would cause the lord of the house to redden with astonishment. As a further proof of the respect a man is supposed to feel for his family, his enemy, when wishing to touch him to the quick, in cursing him, only utters maledictions against his wife, mother, or sister. A man may be publicly executed, but a woman is sacked, entirely out of respect. A Turkish lady is eminently queen of her own dominions, sometimes even a despot--and most independent on all occasions, both public and private. It is not necessary for ladies to be attended by their husband or any other gentleman when they go out; public sentiment entirely protects them; for, if any one should accost them rudely, the commonest citizen would immediately turn avenger. When the ladies are attended by servants and eunuchs, they are only appendages of rank and distinction.