ABSTRACT
As in most things, there are two parties holding opposite opinions respecting the lot of our sisters in the East; one declaring it to be all that is most degrading, and allowing hardly any compensation or modification, the other (chiefly romancers and poets, but including not a few thoughtful and serious writers also) asserting that they are as well off—some say much better even—than the wives, sisters, and mothers of England. There is something to say on both sides, and some exaggeration probably on both, but the former view is borne out by facts as a general rule, the latter is founded upon conjecture. There are many exceptions, but these do not disprove the rule.
