Though A Few Are Highly Educated, The Majority Of Persian Women
Are Ignorant, Indolent, And Sensual.
_Mariages de convenance_ are as
common as in France, and have a good deal to do with the immorality
and intrigue that go on in the larger cities.
An eye-witness thus describes an "anderoon," or harem, of a prince in
Ispahan: "A large courtyard some thirty yards by ten in extent. All
down the centre is the 'hauz,' or tank - a raised piece of ornamental
water, the surface of which is about two feet above the ground. The
edges are formed of huge blocks of well-wrought stone, so accurately
levelled that the 'hauz' overflows all round its brink, making a
pleasant sound of running water. Goldfish of large size flash in
shoals in the clear tank. On either side of it are long rectangular
flower-beds, sunk six inches below the surface of the court. This
pavement, which consists of what we should call pantiles, is clean
and perfect, and freshly sprinkled; and the sprinkling and consequent
evaporation make a grateful coolness. In the flower-beds are irregular
clumps of marvel of Peru, some three feet high, of varied coloured
blossom, coming up irregularly in wild luxuriance. The moss-rose, too,
is conspicuous, with its heavy odour; while the edging, a foot wide,
is formed by thousands of bulbs of the _Narcissus poeticus_, massed
together like packed figs; these, too, give out a pleasant perfume.
But what strikes one most is the air of perfect repair and cleanliness
of everything.
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