The Dolls From Turkey

       I think that, among the various dollies that have appeared in this book, I must look one of the most remarkable, and I certainly have had a very adventurous life. I began life in a factory in France, where thousands and thousands of other dolls,  just like myself, were made every year. From there I was sent to a shop and displayed in the window, just in the same way as every other dolly begins life, I saw the usual sights: people‚ men and women, boys and girls,  passing by, the carts and motor-cars in the streets, and all the things with which Europeans are so familiar.

       And then, one day, a lady came into the shop and bought me, with three or four of my sisters. I do not know where she came from, because I could not understand a word that she said; but we were all packed away in a box, and I saw nothing more until I awoke in a strange place among strange people, where everything was quite different to anything I had ever seen or imagined. I had to learn to understand a new language, wear new clothes, and live an entirely new kind of life. It was almost like a miracle to me, because, you see, I am a sleeping doll, and all the while I was lying down in the box my eyes were tightly shut, and so I knew nothing. And then I woke, will you believe me,  in the harem of a Turkish home. The lady, who had bought me in the French shop was there, a number of other women, and quite a lot of children. I just opened my eyes in one big stare when I was held upright. The lady was holding me out towards a bright-eyed and attractive little girl with masses of dark hair, and never before have I seen so much wonder in a pair of human eyes as shone from those of Fatme (as, I found, she was called). Could it be possible that this great and wonderful doll was for her, all her very own self? Little girls are of but small account in Turkey, and no one ever thinks of giving them presents in the form of toys. Young as she was, Fatme had quite a considerable amount of jewellery which her father had bought for her; for from the time she was four years old her father had been buying her various gold and other ornaments so that, when she grew up, she would have a rich supply wherewith to tempt a possible husband J but dolls or toys, oh, no!

       And then I came - brought by this wonderful lady from a wonderful foreign land, and allowed to enter the harem as a special favor. No wonder that Fatme could not believe the evidence of those bright, shining eyes of hers. And that is how I became a Turkish lady, living out my whole life in seclusion and wearing the strange dress of a country quite different to my own.

       After my first surprise, when I had time to look round, I saw that all the women and girls wore short skirts that barely reached to their knees, under which was a very large number of other skirts or petticoats, showing that I was in a very fashionable household indeed; for the more skirts, the higher the rank of the woman. All their legs were bare, though slippers with high heels were generally worn, and the top of the body was covered by a short, loose jacket with long, tight sleeves. This bodice was open down the front and highly decorated.

       Almost everyone wore a handkerchief on the head, and two of the girls had an aigrette as well. But the most curious thing of all was that everybody, except the very smallest girls, wore a thin veil over the face. It took me a long time to get used to such a queer life, where no one ever seemed to do anything, because there were so many girls to wait upon you, and one rarely, if ever, went out.

       Fatme, after spending several days in doing nothing but gazing at me in wonder, began to make me a set of clothes exactly as those I have described above, and when I got used to them I began to feel much more at home. One of the most curious things of all to me was that there seemed to be no men in the country, or I never saw any; but day after day we lived the same life in the harem, never going out of doors, and surrounded only by the children and girls who waited upon us.

       But a day came when I was to get a glimpse more of my new land, though, as you will agree, it was but a glimpse. For we went out - a rare and unusual event. Everything that I had just begun to grow accustomed to was changed by this, for we all had to put on an entirely new set of garments. These consisted of three pieces: a pair of trousers, a "chuddar," and a long veil. The trousers were very wide, and over these the large black "chuddar," then the veil, which consisted of a strip of white calico with openwork for the eyes, and which was fastened at the back of the head with a gold brooch. I did not like this at all, but all the girls seemed to think it just a matter of course, as soon as they are over ten years old, and all that we met were dressed in exactly the same way. The men walk the streets uncovered, and many of them wear great dark beards, and take no notice at all of any of the women and children that they pass.

        It is a beautiful and wonderful country, with its unusual buildings and mosques, and I love to be here with my dear Fatme; but never, never, never will it seem other than strange, when I think of France, and the days before I became a Turkish dolly.