Walter Matthew Gallichan

“ But the women would not be content if their suitors showed no roughness; and they simulate resistance by scratching, kicking and biting. Among the Bedouins of to-day, the bride is carried away forcibly by the bridegroom and his ' ' best men. ' ' The girl resists stoutly, often wounding the young men with stones. It is her full intention to marry her captor, but she must keep up the fashion of resistance. And the more she kicks, bites, and scratches, the more is she esteemed by her friends, and presumably by her husband. ”

“ The guardians of the harem are often dull, inactive, and effeminate in their habits. Some tend to obesity. It is doubtful whether the moral qualities suffer to the extent that is usually believed. But it is stated that many of these neuter men are exceedingly sly, cunning, and perfidious.
It is generally believed that eunuchs are lacking in courage, and that they show certain docile, timorous,, and cowardly traits. This has, however, been denied in some instances. The guardians of the harems are reputed to be extremely cruel. ”

“ Cruelty loses its Western connotation in most parts of Africa and Asia. It was the humane, cultured, and artistic Moors who introduced bull-fighting into Spain. To-day, in Northern Africa, and in several parts of Asia, one does not expect to find any conception of kindness to animals as it is practised in many Western societies. ”

“ The role of woman in love is more or less passive, actual or assumed, and in spite of the denials of some of the advanced feminists, many women like to realise mas- culine superiority in the matter of muscular strength. Some women even court and demand subordination at the hands of the men. ”

“ Early in the growth of polygamy the powerful man who surrounded himself with women, purchased or captured, discovered that his wives often exhibited errant desires. Men of less influence in the com- munity envied his good fortune in the possession of several women; and they often used means to seduce his wives from their fidelity. Romances of the harem abound in the stories of elopement, intrigue, clandes- tine assignations, stolen visits to the palace by night, the forcible abduction of ikbals, and the murder of eunuchs and guards by hired bravos and profes- sional stranglers. ”

“ It is said that eunuchs of all ranks frequently accept bribes from the women of the harems, and that some become very rich from this source. Every ambitious girl yearns to shine in the palace as an ikbal> and it is within the eunuch's power to assist her in this promotion from the common file to a position of high privilege.
The Chief Eunuch needs to exercise much vigilance in protecting the favourites of the pasha. Jealousy is extremely common in the harems, and all kinds of plots are hatched against the ikbals to bring them into dis- favour with their lord. ”

“ Sometimes an Arab bride will resist her husband after the ceremony, when established in his tent as duly wedded. In such cases, she expects to be beaten, and there is reason to suppose that she likes chastisement. ”

“ Pain is the common lot; it must be endured by oneself and imposed upon others. Fatalistic doctrines foster the personal endurance of physical and mental travails. That which is must be suffered un- complainingly. ”

“ It was essential also that the women should be closely watched and kept under lock and key, for the human nature of women is like that of men, subject to variability in love, and apt to revolt against the strictest domestic conventions. ”

“ Women of the seraglios have been known to elope with eunuchs and to marry them.
The result upon the secondary sexual characters are several, and very marked. There is a change in structure and appearance. The legs tend to lengthen; and in Cairo eunuchs are often recognised in crowds by their height. It is not true that the emas- culated man is always dwarfed in stature. The voice becomes high-pitched and penetrating. ”

“ In the Indian Kama Sutra there are directions for whipping women, and the women, though they raise protests, would be surprised, and probably dis- appointed, if the husband failed to recognise the time- honoured custom. ”

“ In the Mohammedan religion the believer is enjoined to show kindness to brutes and clemency for slaves. Nevertheless, the counsel is fre- quently, and indeed commonly, set aside when anger is aroused. And apparently much of the cruelty of the East is purposive and carefully devised. ”