French and Oriental Love in a Harem

I am very cordially welcomed by the whole house, and you may imagine

what interminable discussions the doctor and I carry on. Having been

formerly a professor in the School of Medicine at Montpellier, he was

led by his researches in physiology to a very pronounced materialism.

Now that he has read my spiritualistic articles, he tries hard to break

down my arguments. On the third side, my uncle, as a Mahometan, wants to

convert him to deism; you may judge from this how much harmony there is

between us; you might take us for an Academy!

At El-Nouzha the same life goes on still; but I must take this

opportunity of correcting a dangerous mistake you appear to have fallen

into, to judge from the tone of your letters. In everything that

concerns my harem, you really speak as if you had in mind the fantastic

and tantalising experiences of a second blessed Saint Anthony, exposed

to the continual provocations of the most voluptuous beauties of the

Court of Satan. Indeed, one might say (between you and me and the post),

that your Holiness was less scared than inquisitive regarding these

terrible scorchings. You old sinner! The real truth is that everything

becomes a habit after a while, and that, now the first effervescence of

passion is over, this life grows much more simple than you imagine. You

must not believe that we lead a riotous existence of continual lusts and

orgies. Such notions, my dear fellow, are only the fruit of ignorance

and of prejudice.

Let me tell you that my harem is to me at the present time a most

tranquil home, and that, but for the fact that I have four wives,

everything about it has permanently assumed the every-day aspect of a

simple household. Our evenings are spent in conversation round the

drawing-room table with music and dancing, conducted in a thoroughly

amiable and cheerful spirit, and all set off by the accomplishments of

my sultanas. I combine in my conjugal relations the dignified oriental

bearing of a vizir with the tender sentimentalities of a Galaor, and in

this I have really attained to an exquisite perfection.

In fact, it would be the Country of Love in the Paradise of Mahomet, but

for a few clouds which, since my uncle's return, have obscured the

bright rays of my honeymoon. I have had some trouble with Hadidjé and

Nazli, who seem determined to make a trip over to the château as

Kondjé-Gul had done; for, as might have been foreseen, as soon as her

alarms had subsided, this silly creature, with the view no doubt of

exciting their jealousy, and posing as the favourite, had taken care to

relate to them all the wonders of this, to them, forbidden place. Of

course I refused at once to permit such an irregularity, contrary as it

was to all harem traditions. This refusal was the signal for a scene of

tears and jealous passions, which I subdued, but which only gave way to

the tender reproaches of slighted affections. Well, I try to jog along

as well as I can, as all husbands have to do, but I have a vague

presentiment of troubles still in the air.