R OS ETTA. 37 
found aji amusing proof of the effect of war an- chap. 
nihilating all civil distinctions. The house we ' 
had formerly occupied was full of sailors, sol- Jjaj^s^ 
diers, and other tenants ; our apartments had "^ R'^^cua. 
been converted into Charems, and were filled 
with Georgian, Circassian, and Egyptian girls; 
these we found sitting unveiled upon the floor ; 
some working embroidery, others chattering 
and laughing. One of them, a beautiful female, 
taken from a tribe of Bedouin Arabs, exhibited a 
fine countenance disfigured with those blue 
scars which were described in the account of 
Bethlehem. They were marks, as she pretended, 
which entitled her to a very high consideration 
among the Arabs of the Desert. These women 
had been presented by the French prisoners to 
the officers and men of our army and navy. 
They appeared to be as much at home, and as 
tranquil, in the protection of their new masters, 
as if they had been thus settled for life. The 
most lamentable part of the story is, that when 
our people were compelled to abandon them, 
they were put to death by the Moslems. A 
woman who has admitted the embraces of a 
Christian is never afterwards pardoned. It is 
lawful, and deemed laudable, for the first Turk 
or Arab who meets with her, to deprive her 
instantly of life. In this scene of confusion we 
