U. 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
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 "87 
 

APPLETONS' NEW HANDY-VOLUME SERIES. 
 
 THE 
 
 RETURN OF THE PRINCESS, 
 
 FROM THE FRENCH OF 
 
 JACQUES VINCENT. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 1, 3, AND 5 BOND STREET. 
 
 1880. 
 
COPYEIQHT BY 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. 
 
 1880. 
 
THE 
 
 RETURN OF THE PRINCESS, 
 
 MARTHA ! Your little princess has reached 
 Marseilles ! Alas, dearest, scarcely a day has 
 flown, and I am already so far away ! It seems 
 almost a century since we parted, and I feel so 
 lonely. After our cruel separation at the station, 
 it is unnecessary to tell you that, despite my pre- 
 tended courage, you had no sooner left the car 
 than I burst into tears, and wept as if my heart 
 would break. While I thus indulged my grief, 
 poor Bell, in the methodical manner which is her 
 second nature, busied herself in arranging our 
 traveling-luggage, and silently let the crisis pass. 
 An overwhelming sense of loneliness oppressed 
 me. Torn so suddenly from those I loved, it 
 seemed as if all the ties which attached me to 
 earth were uprooted ; and with my desolation was 
 mixed a vague terror. Can this unknown family 
 
 43882 
 
THE RETTTRN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 " c' ' . ' i * r t 
 
 that recall' me make me 'forget the one I lose, and 
 with whom I have been so happy ? From my 
 earliest recollection I have known only your home, 
 and, although destiny carries me to Egypt, my 
 heart will dwell with you alone. I will always in 
 memory remain in that dear house and great gar- 
 den, filled with our dreams ; and one half of me 
 will always be with your dear mother and your- 
 self. 
 
 "Bell," I cried, "you will never leave me?" 
 and seizing her hands I sobbed aloud. 
 
 In my utter desolation I was amazed at the 
 thoughtlessness in which I had so long lived. 
 Life had been so sweet in your home that you 
 had seemed like a true sister, and your mother's 
 affection, almost as deep as that she bore you, 
 always made me feel like one of your own family. 
 Why, indeed, should I have distressed myself 
 about the future ? All I know of myself is, that 
 I was born in Cairo, a princess, and rich ; that I 
 was five years old when M. Gtitler, my father's 
 banker, brought me to you. Speaking no lan- 
 guage but Arabic, I was for a whole week so 
 thoroughly obstinate and untamable that the poor 
 baroness, in despair, seriously thought of sending 
 me back to my native pyramids. Thanks to you, 
 however, I was subdued, and Bell transformed 
 me into a little creature I will not say reason- 
 able, but at least civilized. In your home I was 
 too happy to regret my own. Do you remember 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 5 
 
 the morning when my old Arab professor, who 
 came daily to converse with me in my own tongue, 
 observed that I was nearly grown ; and the aston- 
 ishment with which we learned that the customs 
 of my country required that girls should be shut 
 up in the harems before the age of twelve ? I 
 was then fifteen. 
 
 You threw yourself on my neck crying, " Then 
 they have forgotten you ! " 
 
 Martha, I had hoped they always would forget 
 me. Though so grieved, I wept myself to sleep ; 
 but even in slumber my distress continued, and the 
 break of day found me still engrossed with my 
 sad reminiscences. One of those lovely October 
 suns, that we so loved under our shady trees, 
 shone through my windows, recalling our journey 
 together last year over this same road, in going 
 to Nice, and sweet memories rushed in crowds to 
 my heart, dimming my eyes. 
 
 " Poor little thing" whispered Bell, suspecting 
 something of this. I let my head fall on her 
 shoulder, and she soothingly spoke of you, of 
 hope, of the future, of the happiness I should feel 
 when you came to visit me in Egypt. As I doubt- 
 ed if your mother would ever come so far, she 
 suggested that it might be your bridal excursion. 
 So hasten, dearest ; lose no time in getting mar- 
 ried and come. When we reached Marseilles, 
 we went to the same hotel, and had the identical 
 apartments we occupied together. Alas ! how 
 
6 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 lonely did I feel ! I was chilled to the heart. All 
 was over for me ; I had lost you, and the future 
 loomed dark and desolate. 
 
 The vessel was not to sail until the next morn- 
 ing, so Bell, to divert my mind, took me round 
 the town. A very sharp altercation disagreeably 
 marked our promenade. It was the first disagree- 
 ment between us. I went to a florist to purchase 
 some camelia-plants and dwarf bananas, and or- 
 dered them to be expressed to Paris, to you. Bell 
 led me out of the greenhouse. 
 
 " A bouquet ! " she said to me, as we passed 
 along ; " a thousand francs for flowers ! We 
 must be economical, Miriam. Egypt is bank- 
 rupt." 
 
 You know me well enough to understand 
 what my outburst was at this unlooked-for pru- 
 dence ; but I had my way, and you shall have 
 your flowers. 
 
 We continued our walk, and I scolded Bell, 
 who did not seem to mind it in the least. In a half 
 hour I was so weary that she stopped a carriage. 
 
 " It is marvelous," I said, " that you do not 
 compel me to walk to ' economize. 5 " 
 
 " You are not accustomed to walk," she an- 
 swered, " and a carriage is necessary for you. 
 God forbid that I should ever deprive you of ne- 
 cessary things ! " 
 
 " It is also necessary for me to afford pleasures 
 to my friends." 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 7 
 
 She pressed both my hands in hers. " Dar- 
 ling," she said. But this caress did not mollify 
 me. 
 
 After dinner, where I behaved very crossly, 
 as soon as the servant left the room, she rose with 
 that quiet smile which gives her the appearance 
 of irritating wisdom, and unfolded that unlucky 
 letter, the cause of all my trouble. 
 
 I scornfully threw it aside, but, without being 
 in the least disconcerted, she picked it up and read 
 aloud : 
 
 " DEAR M. GUTLER : I beg you will send my 
 daughter home to me by the first steamer. My 
 superintendent will only pay half your account, 
 for I have no more money at present. Egypt is 
 ruined ! " 
 
 How dull this hotel seems without you ! Curled 
 up in the corner of the fireplace, in an easy-chair, 
 I dream of Egypt. . . . Am I not like one of 
 those children we sometimes read of, who, de- 
 serted for the best part of a lifetime, are at 
 length hunted up and recalled, like a package 
 deposited and forgotten in the interval ? This 
 is certainly a romance ; and, if my heart were not 
 involved, my imagination, which you always think 
 extravagant, would recognize the resemblance. 
 What am I to find out there ? I try to picture 
 that father whom I have never seen ; that coun- 
 
8 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 try which only seems to offer one advantage 
 heat for I am always as cold as a dead fish. I 
 try to jest, my poor Martha, but at heart I trem- 
 ble, and that word " forgotten," that in your ten- 
 derness you one day uttered, is it not the painful 
 disclosure of long indifference, or some misfor- 
 tune to which I have no key ? 
 
 Do not scold. Your last little lecture is still 
 remembered. It is, that reasons or circumstances 
 are more compulsory than inclination. If my fa- 
 ther separated from his daughter, it was because 
 it was necessary ; if he now recalls her, it is be- 
 cause the obstacle to her return is removed. All 
 this may be very true, but what of that ? You 
 know I am not gifted by nature with that passive 
 submission which yields blindly and unquestion- 
 ingly. I must inquire into things. My brain will 
 be active in spite of me. Must I own it ? At 
 this moment when I am going to rejoin my fam- 
 ily, my feelings are those of agony. I am terri- 
 fied. Yes, I am terrified at the unknown ! I 
 picture my father cold, severe, hostile even to 
 this daughter reared so far away from him. Why 
 should he love me ? He does not know me ; and, 
 besides, what bond unites us to each other ? The 
 thought of my mother alone would console me ; 
 but I well know that my mother is dead, for she 
 would not have abandoned me. 
 
 Come, dearest, marry quickly, because I wish 
 it, and you never refuse me anything. Then you 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 9 
 
 can come and seek me, and we can consult to- 
 gether with your husband, whether I shall keep 
 you with me, or you shall carry me off with you. 
 Divide with your mother my tenderest love. 
 
 II. 
 
 I HAVE seen my father ! He is good, tender, 
 and charming and I love him ! 
 
 My arrival at Chimilah was a bewilderment 
 a dream, and I write you from the Palace of a 
 Thousand and One Nights. And yet Egypt is 
 ruined ! But I see, if I do not tell you my ad- 
 ventures connectedly, you will think I am crazy. 
 
 After writing my letter from Marseilles I went 
 to rest, as we had to rise very early the next 
 morning to take the Alexandria boat. I will pass 
 over the night, which, as usual with me, was one 
 of unbroken sleep. I will not describe the scene 
 in the morning : Bell forcibly tore me out of bed 
 and dressed me. The account of oar voyage will 
 not interest you any more than the portraits of 
 Madame Panafy, the wife of the most important 
 banker of Cairo, and her two daughters, with 
 hanging, disheveled hair. It must suffice you to 
 know that from first to last, from larboard to 
 starboard, I inspired universal curiosity, and was 
 a subject of general conversation. Bell soon 
 learned the secret of this astonishing sensation, 
 
10 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 caused by the name of the Princess Miriam among 
 the list of passengers first, and afterward, because, 
 according to the habits and usages of Egypt, it 
 was an unheard-of thing, incredible and extraor- 
 dinary, that my highness, seventeen years of age, 
 should go thus without a veil, or habarah, a 
 shrouding robe, and without guardians of the 
 harem. 
 
 The seventh day rose. From daylight until 
 evening we were in sight of Alexandria. It was 
 very rough, but we were on deck by day-dawn. 
 Bell that morning had no need to rouse me. 
 Leaning against the side of the vessel, I gazed 
 upon the muddy stream, upon which floated a 
 crowd of white vessels. We advanced slowly. 
 Some small boats left the bank and came to meet 
 us. All around us the passengers, lorgnette in 
 hand, eagerly sought to find their friends and re- 
 lations. It was a joyous moment for them all. I 
 sadly remembered that the ruin was the cause of 
 my return, and that I was about to fall into the 
 midst of misfortune. I repressed my tears, hold- 
 ing tightly to Bell's arm as if I were clinging to 
 her protection as the only love left me. A half 
 hour flew thus. Trembling and anxious I thought 
 of you. The vessel stopped and an anchor was 
 thrown out, while the little boats crowded like a 
 flock of birds around our ship and exchanged sig- 
 nals. There was no one for me to recognize. The 
 boatmen, clothed in a long blue robe, their heads 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. H 
 
 covered by turbans (or takies), with their guttural 
 voices uttering a strange dialect, seemed to be 
 heard by me for the first time. I entered my na- 
 tive land as a stranger. Yet under this warm 
 light these types, these costumes, this butterfly 
 assortment of colors, this uproar and busy life 
 what can I say of it ? My curiosity so carried me 
 away that I forgot everything I looked only. 
 A very large boat with a canopy, rowed by twelve 
 oarsmen, soon absorbed my attention. At its ap- 
 proach the others made way. It came toward 
 the ship leaving a light track upon the water, its 
 twelve oars falling in measured cadence, its cur- 
 tains flying in the breeze. At the back a man was 
 seated, his head erect and haughty, his arms 
 crossed upon his breast ; he was doubtless some 
 grand personage. When the boat reached us he 
 rose and ascended the ladder to the deck, where 
 the captain received him with uncovered head. 
 What was my surprise when both came toward 
 me ! When they reached me the captain intro- 
 duced me. Martha ! This individual, to whom 
 every one paid homage, was my father ! He 
 opened his arms, and I threw myself into them. 
 
 My father, Martha, is young and elegant. He 
 is barely thirty-nine years old. Tall, slender, very 
 graceful, with deep, dark, proud eyes, a chiseled 
 nose, and of a pale complexion. What more can 
 I tell you ? You already recognize the portrait 
 of his daughter in beauty. 
 
12 THE RETURN OP THE PRINCESS. 
 
 He bowed to Bell with the loveliest smile, 
 thanking her in some graceful sentences, and in 
 very easy French, for having been willing to ac- 
 company me to Egypt and continue her charge 
 of me ; after that he led me to my cabin, where 
 my women were awaiting me. I could not dis- 
 embark nor show myself clothed as a European. 
 My harem-life had begun. One could not oppose 
 my father. His air, his bearing, and his tone, a 
 nameless something about him, command at the 
 same time respect and submission. I obeyed with- 
 out uttering a word. At the door of my cabin, 
 negroes mounted guard. I entered, and found 
 myself in the presence of two phantoms hidden 
 under their habarahs a sort of black silk bag or 
 sack which conceals their heads, hands, and bod- 
 ies through two holes their eyes shine like glow- 
 ing charcoal. A little later I went out exactly 
 like these phantoms, except that I wore a white 
 Tiabarah and a heavy lace veil. 
 
 Bell was all black. I laughed as I went 
 stumbling in my drapery, and had to walk with 
 the greatest care to prevent my falling down. I 
 looked in vain for my father, the Koran forbid- 
 ding any Mussulman to go about with a woman. 
 I was alone with my attendants. We took our 
 places in a superb boat, hidden under awnings. 
 On landing, a carriage was awaiting us. I en- 
 tered it, followed by Bella, and my attendants in 
 front. Think how it all must have interested inc. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 13 
 
 The costume of the rais (runners) appeared charm- 
 ing to me. A vest embroidered in gold, with long 
 sleeves of gauze floating like wings. The black 
 men mounted horses richly caparisoned, and rode 
 one at each door, the blinds of which had been 
 carefully lowered by my women in waiting. Two 
 of the men rode in front of the carriage, and two 
 in the rear closed the procession a veritable cor- 
 tege. 
 
 Then, my dear, a strange thing occurred. You 
 know how I always have jested myself about my 
 title of princess. But this apparel, these atten- 
 dants, this respect, so confused me that, rather 
 serious under the gaze of my people, and as 
 though they could see my features under my veil, 
 it seemed to me as if I grew suddenly greater. 
 Laugh at me, my beauty. I was intimidated by 
 my own rank. I was silent, absorbed in this new 
 rdle, dazzled and charmed. The thought of my 
 father transported me, and I loved him already. 
 I also already love this country which is his. 
 
 The carriage stopped at the station, where all 
 were busy. They led us through a road forbid- 
 den to people generally, to a car which had been 
 secured for us. The negroes locked us in, and 
 staid outside themselves. Picture to yourself an 
 Arab saloon divans, carpets, little tables incrust- 
 ed with mother-of-pearl, and golden curtains be- 
 fore the windows of extraordinary tenuity, like 
 the gauzy film of a fly's wing. It was impossible 
 
14 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 for any one outside to see within, but from the 
 interior it was very easy to look through this 
 diaphanous curtain. I soon perceived my father 
 gazing on my padlocked prison. I attempted to 
 spring toward him, but the expression of my wo- 
 men proved that I should be guilty of great folly. 
 The princess would forget herself. The journey 
 seemed interminably long to me. At each station 
 our jailers showed themselves, bringing fruits, 
 flowers and fresh water, and keeping guard at the 
 door. At Cairo the same escort as at Alexandria, 
 horses and carriages so exactly resembling each 
 other that it seemed as if they had been brought 
 along with us. 
 
 You expect, doubtless, that I will describe 
 Cairo, but such a reader as you are has already 
 devoured, since my departure, all that has been 
 written on the subject. Cairo ! This country of 
 mine ! I gazed through a little opening of the 
 closed blinds. What a crowd, what reveling of 
 rich coloring, what rags, what shining array, what 
 a picturesque effect, what dust, and what filth ! 
 
 We left the town, and our carriage entered a 
 superb grove of sycamores. This place is called 
 Choubrah. Under this arch of foliage the sun 
 casts little spots of gold upon the dark road, while 
 in the distance the white line of palaces deepened 
 yet more the sapphire tint of the Nile, where 
 glided gently the dahabiehs those boats with 
 two sails extended like the wings of a bird. I 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 15 
 
 was beside myself with delight reassured, con- 
 fiding, and intoxicated. 
 
 Then we arrived at Chimilah, the place where 
 I was born. First, we entered an immense door, 
 and passed through a large court ; then a second 
 door was seen, on each side of which were two 
 black boys seated upon stone benches, who ran to 
 open it for us. The palace is vast, painted rose- 
 color, and without other architectural decoration 
 than the wonderfully worked gratings in nearly 
 all the windows. The building has a very lofty 
 rez-de-chaussee, surmounted by a single story. At 
 each side are two very elegant pavilions. The 
 carriage stopped at the foot of a flight of marble 
 steps, where my father was awaiting me, and who 
 carried me in. A dozen eunuchs were ranged 
 under the peristyle. I was too agitated to ob- 
 serve any of the rooms through which we passed. 
 Alone, we two entered a grand saloon, softly 
 shaded, and opening on a large veranda blooming 
 as a greenhouse. 
 
 He raised my veil and threw it back. 
 
 " Let me look at you," he said. 
 
 I stood timidly before him, but he made me 
 sit with him on the divan, holding my hand in 
 his. Then we spoke. He inquired with solicitude 
 of the fatigue of the voyage. I answered in 
 Arabic, and he was delighted to see that I had 
 not forgotten my mother tongue. He questioned 
 me with tender familiarity. I related my past 
 
16 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 life, introducing your mother and yourself. He 
 gazed on me with a sort of delighted surprise, 
 seeking to find my childish countenance in my 
 present expression, and interrupting me by pater- 
 nal admiration, at which I could not help blush- 
 ing. Then with a sweet smile he said : 
 
 "Listen to me, Miriam. Before presenting 
 you to your family, I wish to prepare you for. cer- 
 tain very natural surprises. You know nothing 
 of your country, nor of us, nor our customs : you 
 are a child of Europe. I dread this abrupt change 
 in your life, for I fear you will suffer from certain 
 customs totally opposed to your education and 
 ideas. But, while I do not wish to see you suffer, 
 you must promise, my daughter, to render me 
 implicit obedience, so that my happiness in re- 
 gaining you may not be disturbed by annoyance 
 or dissensions." 
 
 " Make your mind easy, father," I warmly 
 answered ; " I will obey you." 
 
 " I have lived in Europe," continued he, " and 
 do not hide from myself all the difficulty you will 
 have in keeping your promise. The harem has 
 customs which, at first, will seem tyrannical to 
 you ; afterward you will find the yoke easy and 
 gentle." 
 
 Touched by these words I assured him anew 
 of my submission. Timidly I ventured to ques- 
 tion him about my mother. She died young, at 
 twenty years of age. He also informed me that 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 17 
 
 I have a brother named All who was educated in 
 England. I discover that, in separating my bro- 
 ther and myself, my father yielded to the influ- 
 ence of his first wife, whose hatred of my mother 
 had extended to us. 
 
 " If I tell you these things, Miriam," he added 
 with a tinge of melancholy, " it is because there 
 are details that my affection would not, could not, 
 let others inform you of. They prate a good deal 
 in the harems, and the slaves would have repeated 
 them in their own fashion. This I wished to 
 avoid." 
 
 I thanked him warmly. Then, kissing me on 
 the forehead 
 
 " Come, now," said he, " they await us." 
 
 He rose and we passed along large galleries 
 deliciously fresh and cool. Suddenly an open door 
 discovered to me the most unexpected, the strang- 
 est, the most fairy-like tableau. Here, my dear, 
 begin " The Thousand and One Nights." 
 
 Imagine an immense hall dazzling in gilding 
 and silk, shaded into semi-darkness by shrubbery 
 and flowers, filled with about fifty women, wives, 
 servants, or slaves, all clothed in wonderful cos- 
 tumes. I advanced like one in a dream. All 
 were standing, according to the strict etiquette 
 of the harem, motionless and silent. In the si- 
 lence which welcomed the entrance of the mas- 
 ter, two of them approached to salute him in the 
 Arabic fashion, bowing very low, and carrying 
 2 
 
18 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 his hand to their hearts, their lips, and afterward 
 to their foreheads. They were my father's two 
 wives. One, yellow and withered, though she 
 was only thirty-six, apparently an invalid, who 
 walked dragging her sandals, wore a sort of lilac 
 silk pelisse trimmed with fur, falling over panta- 
 loons of green silk ; on her head and brow, hidden 
 in a little turban of silver gauze, a large band of 
 diamonds as large as peas formed a sort of dia- 
 dem which proclaimed her the matron. The 
 other, on the contrary, was very young, original, 
 and charming, her eyes greatly enlarged by a 
 black circle. She had a small, delicate head and 
 features of statuesque regularity not appearing 
 older than myself. A robe of rose-colored satin, 
 very open in the neck, which sparkled with dia- 
 monds, showed her graceful figure ; and the bag- 
 gy pantaloons of cherry silk appeared below the 
 short skirt. Her hair was divided into a multi- 
 tude of little plaits, and, intermingled with se- 
 quins, covered her back. 
 
 My father presented me to both, adding that 
 he depended on them to render the customs of 
 the harem pleasant to me. The first, Zeinab-Ha- 
 num, the old enemy of my mother, and cause of 
 my long exile, bent earnestly upon me a gaze of 
 which the hardness still remained, though the 
 brightness was extinguished. The second, Saida- 
 Hanum, kissed me very gently on each cheek. 
 Then came my sisters' and brothers' turn. First, 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 19 
 
 Hosna, aged twenty, eldest daughter of Zeinab, 
 dressed even more magnificently than Saida, with 
 the same lavish use of kohl, of henna, and of 
 precious stones. Her extraordinary embonpoint 
 amazed me. Notwithstanding the sweetest of 
 smiles, I suspect we shall never be friends. Then 
 Farideh, nineteen, with auburn-tinted hair, Paris- 
 ian costume, and eye-glasses. I was amazed at 
 her. Smilingly she said, " Good morning " in 
 French. She seems a very nice person. My fa- 
 ther then named my other brothers and sisters 
 Sulema, Aisse", Fatma, Cartoum, Said, Ahmed, 
 Ibrahim, and Fahahry according to their ages ; 
 the boys, not being yet seven years old, still min- 
 gled with the girls. This little crowd shyly re- 
 ceived me with gentle kisses. I exerted myself 
 to the utmost at this ceremonial, excusing myself 
 for my ignorance, through which I might per- 
 haps offend some of their most cherished ideas. 
 Farideh inquired how, having once dwelt in Paris, 
 I could bear to live so far away from it. 
 
 "The affection that I shall find here will con- 
 sole me for that which I lose," I replied. 
 
 This answer won for me the approval of Zei- 
 nab, and another kiss from Saida. We soon took 
 leave of my family, my father excusing me on the 
 score of a fatiguing journey, and conducting me 
 to my own apartment; for, with a kind fore- 
 thought for my Christian education, he has as- 
 signed me an apartment where I can be free to 
 
20 THE RETURN OP THE PRINCESS. 
 
 continue my home habits of civilization. I have 
 my own house, one of the wings of the palace, 
 with a door opening on the garden, and my own 
 attendants, so that I can be perfectly independent. 
 A sort of gallery inclosed in glass, with camelias 
 and other flowers from one end to the other, sepa- 
 rates my harem from that of Zeinab and Saida. 
 My rez-de-chaussee is the pretty hall in the form 
 of a rotunda of which I have already told you, 
 and a grand saloon where I shall receive my vis- 
 itors. I had scarcely entered when a woman 
 rushed forward and fell at my feet. 
 
 " This is Nazly, your nurse," said my father. 
 
 I raised her and took her in my arms. Twen- 
 ty slaves then came to kiss the hem of my robe, 
 and it appears I have others still. " But Egypt 
 is ruined." 
 
 A staircase, paved with little mosaics, in the 
 middle of which is placed a thick carpet, leads 
 to the first floor. There my nest is, a bijou of a 
 boudoir, where the most refined European is 
 mingled with the most fantastic Oriental luxury ; 
 then comes my chamber, and next it Bell's. Birds, 
 penetrating perfumes, the bright horizon, and 
 tropical plants, heightened still more the effect 
 of the brilliant stuffs and the harmonious combi- 
 nation of tone. I am forgetting to tell you that 
 my chamber possesses a bed ! a veritable bed in 
 gilded silver, which is, it appears, a recherche ex- 
 otic. Bell will be compelled to teach my women 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 21 
 
 how to arrange it. It is a new art for them ; as 
 here they all sleep on divans. 
 
 " Behold your home," said my father. 
 
 For a last time he took my hands, and kissing 
 me on the forehead 
 
 " Rest yourself ; and above all do not regret 
 too much " 
 
 "I have forgotten all in seeing you," I an- 
 swered. 
 
 And this was true. Are you not jealous ? 
 
 As soon as I was alone with Bell and Nazly, 
 I began to examine my domain in detail. A sort 
 of wardrobe was arranged as a dressing-room. 
 All the trunks were open and empty. Oh, dear- 
 est, the marvelous clothing ! We unfolded all : 
 feredg&s of moire, lace veils, Damascus silks, 
 Brussels mantillas, and all the exquisite phanta- 
 sies of the Oriental costume. Bell was in ecsta- 
 sies. I felt a certain malice in recalling our fa- 
 mous ruin to her memory. I ran from room to 
 room, dazzled, charmed, looking at everything, 
 touching everything, going from one object to 
 another, to retrace my steps, as I was drawn back 
 by some new thing T had passed over. My bou- 
 doir, particularly, enchants me. The walls of 
 white Chinese satin are wadded and caught with 
 pearls. From the cupola in the center of the 
 ceiling depends a filigree luster, the very work 
 of Arachne, with glass pendents of the softest 
 rose-color. My divan is of cloth of gold, my 
 
22 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 tables inlaid with turquoise, and for a carpet I 
 have ermine. Behold, what an Eastern dream ! 
 Weary of admiring, I returned to the hall. It 
 was the dinner-hour, and the thoughtfulness of 
 my father had been exercised even there, for they 
 served me in the French style ; but I did justice 
 also to some Arab sweets they sent me from the 
 great harem. I have passed this evening in writ- 
 ing you, though my letter, which I shall send by 
 the English courier to save time, can not leave 
 for three days. Yet I have not been slow to share 
 my enchantment with you. I hastened to tell you 
 immediately of this arrival I have so dreaded. 
 Momently I put down my pen to gaze around. 
 How strange everything seems ! Seated at my 
 feet, Nazly, with her eyes filled with tears, looks 
 at me with adoration. She was the one who took 
 me to France. Poor, dear creature ! She loved 
 my mother ; she was from the same country ; 
 both were Circassians. Bell comes to tell me it 
 is very late, and insists I must be tired. I believe 
 she is right. To-morrow, then, dearest, we will 
 continue our conversation. 
 
 III. 
 
 You will not be astonished that this morning, 
 on awakening, I found it necessary to recall my 
 recollections. I felt as if I was returning from a 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 23 
 
 flight into fairyland. My glance fell upon your 
 portrait, which Bell had had the delicate pr'eve- 
 nance of placing before my bed, and my memory 
 returned. Dear Martha, from the heart of this 
 sumptuous chamber, from my home of a princess, 
 I send a sigh of regret for my young girl's nest, 
 resounding with the noise of our outbursts of 
 morning laughter. What are you doing now ? 
 You are thinking perhaps of me, awaiting a letter 
 impatiently, asking yourself all that I am now 
 trying to bring before you. The excitement of 
 the voyage, this new family, this luxury, these 
 strange customs, have overwhelmed me at first 
 and stunned me. I had nearly forgotten you in 
 this tumult of surprises and emotions. Calm 
 now, rested from all my fatigues, in the quiet of 
 my curiosity, you were the first whom I sought. 
 My second thought was of my father. My fa- 
 ther ! I have a father ! How sweet this word is 
 for me to say ! How quickly I have become ac- 
 customed to the charm of an affection of which 
 until now I knew nothing ! Oh, yes, Martha, he 
 is good, and he loves me. What care for my 
 happiness ! What thoughtf ulness to accustom 
 me by degrees to a change of life so abrupt and 
 strange ! He will be everything to me. He will 
 take the place of all the dear affections of my 
 childhood, and, to resign myself to your loss, I 
 shall love him all the more. 
 
 I had slept badly, and rose very early. The ha- 
 
24 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 rem mistresses and slaves still slept. As a child 
 would run, rather anxious on awaking, about a 
 new toy which it fears to have lost while sleeping, 
 I slowly recommenced an inspection of my dwell- 
 ing, to convince myself that some malicious genie 
 had not destroyed it by enchantment. All remained 
 the same. My birds were flying among the flow- 
 ers of the veranda. The gardens under my windows 
 spread out immense and magnificent ; the light- 
 blue sky was lost in the dark-green shadow of the 
 trees. Peeping through the leaves could be seen 
 golden apples and the ripe fruits of the orange- 
 and citron-trees. They had not been gathered, 
 so that they could longer delight and perfume. I 
 called Bell and Nazly, and we all three went down 
 into the garden. 
 
 It is now the 1st of December, but it is sum- 
 mer here summer with the delightfulness of 
 spring, with richest coloring, luxuriant flowers, a 
 serenity that is bright and gay. I went under 
 domes of magnolias in bloom, stopping at parterres 
 of roses, and gathering them without stint. Bell 
 and Nazly bent under the load. We thus reached 
 one of the pavilions, which I entered. A portico, 
 divided into several compartments, surrounded a 
 marble basin, in the waters of which the blue sky 
 was reflected. This is our bath. I was astonished 
 to find there games, pieces of needle-work, some 
 chibouks, and an assortment of nargiles ; but 
 Nazly tells me that the women of the harem 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 25 
 
 spend many hours there, eating, smoking, and 
 often dancing. 
 
 When I returned, my attendants were await- 
 ing me. They relieved me of my prize, and orna- 
 mented some baskets under my direction. They 
 were all so young, graceful and pretty, with their 
 beautiful dresses, that I greatly admired them. 
 They look like daughters of sultans, and yet they 
 are only poor slaves, whose sole business is to 
 serve and please me. I had finished my breakfast, 
 when I saw my father enter, and I ran to him, 
 holding up my brow to be kissed. 
 
 " I come to inquire after your health," he said, 
 " and to have a long talk with you." 
 
 He drew me to the veranda, and made me sit 
 beside him. 
 
 " I strongly suspect," he cried, smiling, " that 
 you are a spoiled child." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "From the manner in which you described 
 the family who had charge of you, I am con- 
 vinced that they have greatly spoiled you." 
 
 " Will not you continue to do the same ? " 
 
 " Yes, I will do all I can to render your prison 
 more attractive for, after your European life, 
 the harem must seem nearly a prison to you 
 but I can not release you from the customs which 
 are established among us. You must submit to 
 them without rebellion or murmuring." 
 
 He then explained to me that, in allowing me 
 
26 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 my own home, and the privilege of living there 
 in my own fashion, taking my French repasts, 
 and preserving all my Parisian habits, he imposed 
 on me the duty of extreme deference to Zeinab- 
 Hanum and her daughter Hosnah, my eldest sister. 
 
 "I have no necessity to speak of Saida," he 
 said, " for I am sure you will be friends." 
 
 It was very requisite, then, that I should not 
 keep aloof from the grand harem. I must show 
 myself docile and observant of all their forms of 
 etiquette, which would very soon become familiar 
 to me. 
 
 " My visits to your apartments are very serious 
 departures from our usual habits," he continued. 
 " I must only see you in the midst of your family. 
 Yet I will try to steal in sometimes ; but this 
 must be a secret between us." 
 
 I promised what he required with a submis- 
 sion that delighted him. 
 
 " Do you know that I am utterly surprised to 
 find you so intelligent and reasonable ? " 
 
 " Father, you are a flatterer." 
 
 " No, I am proud of you." 
 
 He continued his directions, and my course of 
 life is arranged : rights and duties are clearly de- 
 fined ; the code can not be infringed. I can act 
 as I choose between the high walls of Chimilah, 
 but I can not go beyond them, except in a coach 
 accompanied by some women, and escorted after 
 our Eastern mode. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 27 
 
 My father instructed me then in the details of 
 governing my house. The management of things 
 outside devolves on the eunuchs ; their chief, who 
 represents me outside, is quite a personage. The 
 control of the slaves belongs to the chiaia that 
 is to say, to my dear Nazly. 
 
 " In short, you have only to float along," he 
 concluded ; " you will very soon have plenty of 
 company, and amusements will not be lacking." 
 
 In the course of our conversation I made in- 
 quiries about my brother Ali. He has a mission 
 in the provinces. I am anxious to know this son 
 of my mother, educated, like myself, far from his 
 own people. My father's manner of speaking 
 proves that he loves him, but he did not conceal 
 from me the grief that his marriage has caused 
 him. Ali has married an infidel an English- 
 woman who is not received at Chimilah. Though 
 I dared not venture a remark, this ostracism ap- 
 pears to me a little barbarous. 
 
 My father had just left me, when a knocking 
 was heard. It was Saida-Hanum, my young step- 
 mother. She hastened to embrace me. 
 
 " How old are you ? " she asked. 
 
 " Seventeen and a half." 
 
 " I am sixteen. Will you be my friend ? " 
 
 "Withal! my heart." 
 
 The compact sealed, we had a very pleasant 
 talk. It appears that my arrival has upset every- 
 thing. The manner in which my father had 
 
28 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 treated me was the most amazing of all. Heaven 
 only knows all the questions she had to ask me. 
 To her the word Europe seemed to have a won- 
 derful and alarming effect. With the attractive, 
 coquettish airs of a young savage, she eagerly 
 ferreted in my still full trunks, dying to try on 
 everything ; then she again turned to me, asking 
 a thousand explanations, listening amazed and 
 incredulous, frequently interrupting me in her 
 childish way to show the difference between Mo- 
 hammedan and other customs. Far from envying 
 the liberty of Christian women, she testified a 
 lively terror of them. What ! to go out alone, 
 without a veil ; to speak to men ; to have to think 
 for one's self ; to watch over one's self ; to direct 
 one's own life ! What work it must be ; what a 
 care ; what difficulty ! She was astonished that 
 the good God had created women for them to 
 suffer in such work. 
 
 Very soon again we were chattering nonsense, 
 and laughing like children. She spoke of Zeinab, 
 who was called the " Great Lady," as was the 
 custom, and in virtue of the precedence of her 
 age and rank, and she irreverently mimicked 
 her. 
 
 "And what do they call you?" I asked, 
 " The Durrah, which means paroquet ! " 
 When we had chatted a long time, she said : 
 " I came to carry you over to the harem ; 
 they are impatiently awaiting you ; but first I 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 29 
 
 must dress you. You are a Hanum-Effendim 
 now." 
 
 She called Nazly, and, with the abandon of a 
 child, she carried me into the dressing-room, 
 where my slaves were busy putting things in 
 order. It was difficult for her to decide, but 
 after many doubts my little step-mother was 
 satisfied. 
 
 Drawing me away from the mirror, assisted 
 by Nazly, she proceeded to transform me. The 
 work required time, for each detail entailed a 
 fresh consultation. Saida-Hanum wished me to 
 look beautiful. When they had adjusted the last 
 bracelet, they solemnly led me to a mirror, and I 
 will own that I 'was struck with surprise and won- 
 der. A robe of gold lama gauze, open in front, 
 was cut in three lappets of equal length, the one 
 in the middle of the back forming a train, the 
 two others crossing each other and caught up at 
 the waist. My sash alone defined my figure. 
 Under this robe very large pantalets of white 
 silk fell over my ankles, half covering my slippers, 
 which were embroidered with pearls. But, more 
 than all, my eyes amazed me, for a line of kohl 
 increased them to an immense size. These won- 
 derful eyes made the red of my lips intense. 
 Shall I own, Martha, that for a moment of un- 
 speakable pride I found myself nearly pretty ? 
 
 My entrance into the harem caused a lively 
 sensation. I remembered my father's instructions 
 
30 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 and went to pay my respects to the Great Lady, 
 who lisped a few words without rising from her 
 cushions. The others all crowded round me, for 
 you can readily imagine I was a curiosity. I think 
 their character is simply a blending of egotism 
 and childishness. After an hour or so they be- 
 came accustomed to my presence. Zeinab, lying 
 on her divan, smoked silently. Some sat in a cir- 
 cle listening to a story-teller, and others sang, 
 playing darbouJcas and beating tarabouks, the 
 noise of which did not seem to annoy the hanums 
 in the least. My youngest sisters chased each 
 other in pursuit of a gauze-fly an Eastern token 
 of cheerfulness. Through the open doors the 
 noise of the women and children Veached the gar- 
 dens, like a short recreation of prisoners. In the 
 midst of all this the eunuch remained grave and 
 solemn, occasionally vouchsafing a grim smile at 
 some pretty slave some Circassian who, freighted 
 with beauty, was decorating the house with mag- 
 nificent flowers. 
 
 My duty to my family accomplished, I returned 
 to my own apartments and found Bell. Need I 
 say of whom we spoke ? Ah ! dearest Martha, 
 if you were only here ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 THREE weeks have flown, my well-beloved, 
 and, recovered from my surprise and amazement, 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 31 
 
 I can now exactly relate to you this new life of 
 your poor Miriam. This singular return to my 
 family, to this unknown fireside where I came as 
 a stranger, in vain seeking some distant recollec- 
 tion, some link to attach me to it, often causes 
 me incredible amazement, and in the heart of this 
 palace, under these skies of unchanging blue, in the 
 midst of these flowery gardens, I frequently ask 
 myself if all is more than some curious dream. 
 All the customs and manners of the harem are so 
 strange to me that it is an effort to recognize my- 
 self in this rdle of an Arab princess surrounded 
 by slaves. The sweet and tender idea that I was 
 to meet a family has quickly vanished, as you can 
 conceive, disconcerted by the confused crowd, 
 who first made me realize my isolation. You 
 know I am brave ; the reaction has taken place, 
 and, with a heart full of love for my father, I have 
 come to hope only in him. In asking, dearest, an 
 exact account of the employment of the days of 
 your Scheherezade, as you style me, you greatly 
 embarrass me. It is not that the programme is 
 very complicated; but this strange course of life 
 resembles the ideal so litle that in truth I can not 
 compare it to anything that we have conceived, 
 so as to describe its mingled charm and emptiness. 
 It has a stream of ideas and impressions which 
 one must have experienced to understand. Is this 
 living ? Is it dreaming ? I do not know, for the 
 height of these enjoyments may be summed up in 
 
32 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 three words eating, drinking, sleeping but these 
 are done in a Eastern, that is to say, indolent and 
 magnificent manner. One rises late, takes a bath, 
 dresses, nibbles a little, lounges on the divan, lis- 
 tens to the chattering of the slaves, and awaits 
 the visit of the master. Add to this, some sailing 
 in dahabiehs on the Nile, or drives in a coach un- 
 der the shady groves of Choubrah, and you will 
 have an idea of this daily life, which, despite all 
 its sumptuous surroundings, is as monotonous as 
 the blue stream that flows under my windows up- 
 on its bed of golden sand. Yet there are hours 
 the indescribable charm of which I can not de- 
 fine. In the evening, by the light of the lusters, 
 the gavazies dancing to the music of their in- 
 struments, the young slaves shaking in the air 
 their hands moistened with rose-water, waiters 
 passed around laden with sherbet, the nargiles 
 and chibouks mixing their smoke in a light cloud 
 which escapes through the perfuming - pan in 
 which they burn lumps of amber, the light gleam- 
 ing upon the stones and rich dresses all these 
 make the time fly, by absorption of being in a 
 sentiment at once material and ecstatic. 
 
 My natural idleness fits me well for this course 
 of life, where one scarcely takes the trouble to 
 form a wish; though my Parisian tastes, you will 
 readily comprehend, demand some diversion from 
 this superb far niente. You have already di- 
 vined that I isolate myself from this pretty femi- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 33 
 
 nine flock, whose whole intelligence scarcely rises 
 beyond the admiration of a pearl or the choice 
 of a slipper. At my own home with Bell and 
 Nazly, I spend my time in this manner : I read, 
 I write, I dream. Then, as Saida says, I am a 
 Frenchwoman. 
 
 My pretty Durrah, now my friend, soon made 
 me aufait to all the can-cans of the harem ; and 
 I am now well informed on the usages. This 
 union of Zeinab and Saida, as incomprehensible 
 and puzzling as it appears to you, is here the sim- 
 plest thing in the world. The laws of the coun- 
 try allow each to have her own harem, but they 
 never have felt the need of invoking the law, 
 and together form an admirable household. The 
 Great Lady is nearly a mother to the Durrah. 
 Far from being jealous of her juvenile beauty, 
 she willingly decorates her with her own hands, 
 giving most judicious advice about placing the 
 henna, which, with Zeinab, they say has reached 
 the highest degree of art. Saida, on her side, 
 treats Zeinab with all the respect of a daughter : 
 she does not plume herself too much on her in- 
 fluence as favorite, but puts that influence very 
 amiably at the service of the Great Lady. In 
 short, they divide the sovereignty of the harem. 
 
 Zeinab has kept up a reverence for the tradi- 
 tions, wonderfully understanding all the forms of 
 etiquette and ceremonies of Mussulman home-life. 
 Saida only desires jewels and dresses. She frolics 
 3 
 
34 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 like a child with her slaves, surrounding herself 
 with the youngest, while the eldest naturally 
 group around the severe spouse. It is a very 
 strange spectacle to see the two enthrone them- 
 selves at each extremity of the immense hall, the 
 one gravely lying on her divan, smoking her nar- 
 gile, drowsy, exhausted, sometimes raising her- 
 self on her cushions to speak with the chiaia or 
 with some eunuch ; the other, dazzling as the sun, 
 laughing, eager for new games, mixing in the sing- 
 ing and dancing. Sa'ida pointed out to me Fari- 
 deh's mother, a Greek slave, whom the rules of 
 Oriental etiquette prevent from seating herself 
 in her daughter's presence. The name of Farideh 
 alone always brings a peal of laughter from the 
 lips of my step-mother. On the other hand, she 
 evades all questions about my sister Hosnah. Her 
 voice changes, even, in pronouncing her name. 
 She seems to be afraid of her. 
 
 I have not seen Hosnah again since she left 
 Cairo, on the morning of my arrival, for her home 
 at Mansourah ; but Farideh has been to Chimi- 
 lah. If I had allowed it, she would have upset 
 everything in my pretty boudoir, so as to crowd 
 it with trash from the French bazaar, the refuse 
 from the Marseilles shops. She spoke with much 
 animation of her Parisian dresses, and her hatred 
 of Hosnah, giving me the reason for the latter 
 feeling. It seems that the " Cai'rine gentry " are 
 divided into two female parties, which my two 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 35 
 
 sisters represent. Hosnah heads that of Old 
 Egypt, the ultras, the adherents of old forms, 
 while Farideh leads the schism the opposition 
 in favor of reform and a new future. 
 
 Now, dearest, you know my mode of life. I 
 see you smile. But, what can I do ? Yes ! some- 
 thing is wanting, and sometimes I am a prey to 
 the feelings of loneliness which so much oppressed 
 me at first. My father is not always here ; yet 
 what I scarcely dared to hope for has come to 
 pass. He often comes to surprise me in the 
 morning, and we converse as friends, sometimes 
 in Arabic, sometimes in French, mingling the 
 two at will. He is thoroughly unreserved, even 
 going so far as to confide to me secrets of state, 
 so you can think how proud I feel. You can not 
 tell what a charming bond of tenderness unites 
 us ; and the little air of mystery which surrounds 
 his visits decks them with a romantic charm. 
 As you can readily imagine, in our conversations 
 I have inquired into the great business the prin- 
 cipal motive of my recall ! It is the settlement 
 of the young princess. As yet, this is only 
 a threat ; no plans are formed, so I can still 
 laugh. 
 
 One of my pleasures, you may know, is to 
 speak with JSTazly about my mother. Zeinab, the 
 first wife the grande dame is the daughter of 
 a pasha. My mother was a poor slave, with 
 whom my father fell in love, and was a Durrah, 
 
36 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 like Saida a reason which makes me love my lit- 
 tle step-mother. 
 
 While I am writing, the hour of siesta has 
 sounded. Silence descends upon the palace. 
 Some slaves are lying at my feet asleep. What 
 a pretty tableau ! There is one of them, particu- 
 larly, a Smyrniote of about fourteen years of age, 
 with hair and lashes of jet. Poor little one ! 
 Where are her family ! In looking on her, I no 
 longer dare to complain. Well, dearest, I, too, 
 must go to sleep. Shall I tell you my foolish be- 
 lief ? I am sure I shall see you in my dreams. 
 
 Great news ! My brother Ali has arrived ! 
 
 V. 
 
 As you may conceive, our first interview was 
 a momentous affair. My father brought Ali to 
 my house. During the first few moments we 
 stood before each other silent and immovable, 
 both seized with the same agitation. Suddenly 
 my brother held out his hands, and I put mine 
 in them, and a little later we were seated together 
 on the divan. 
 
 " What a pretty surprise you are, sister ! " he 
 said, touched and charmed. 
 
 He looked at me, and I could not remove my 
 eyes from his face. My father left us alone. 
 
 Ali is twenty years of age. Of medium size, 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 37 
 
 there is an air of rare elegance about him. His 
 great velvet eyes alone betray his Eastern origin. 
 His smile is refined, but slightly malicious, veiled 
 by a long, black mustache. He is vivacious and 
 witty, with an indolent, attractive grace, the strik- 
 ing charm of which I can not describe. It was 
 a true happiness to find each other again, to make 
 each other's acquaintance, so to speak, after so 
 many years of separation and forgetfulness. Be- 
 ing older than myself, Ali had retained a recol- 
 lection of me. He recalled a thousand little in- 
 cidents of our childhood, which seemed to awake 
 in his mind as an image half effaced, in which 
 one feature often suffices to decide the contour. 
 He spoke of our mother, and it seemed to me 
 that, far off as that time was, I could go back 
 with him. I took up those visions of the past so 
 full of melancholy and of sweetness, and these 
 dear memories suddenly renewed the interrupted 
 link of our fraternal relations. The exile we both 
 had undergone was yet another bond of affection. 
 We thought aloud, exchanging our sentiments 
 and betraying in our hearts the affinity of feeling 
 deep in our souls. 
 
 We talked a long time, and he enlarged on a 
 subject of which they never speak in the family. 
 I have told you already that my brother married 
 an infidel. The history of their union is romantic 
 and touching. At eighteen years of age Ali re- 
 turned from England wild with love for a poor 
 
38 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 but noble young girl. After having refused his 
 consent for a long time, my father yielded to the 
 overwhelming despair of his son. They have 
 been married nearly two years now, and, though 
 she has yielded, with the best grace in the world, 
 to all the observances of a Mussulman life, the 
 poor Christian has not been able to disarm preju- 
 dice. My sisters do not visit her; even my father, 
 good and enlightened as he is, has never consent- 
 ed to see her. Their love suffices and consoles 
 them, and nothing is more charming than the 
 love of Ali for his dear little soul. 
 
 " I am very sure, Miriam, that you would 
 love my poor little Adilah," said my brother. 
 
 " I love her already, Ali, because she is your 
 wife ; and, besides, I feel a sympathy for her 
 loneliness, without family or friends." 
 
 " She knows that I am with you now. I can 
 not understand by what intuition she should have 
 divined you as you are. She has even drawn 
 your portrait nearly exactly. What a delight it 
 would be for her to see you ! " 
 
 "And for me also ! " I cried. 
 
 " Aias ! " he replied, " will our father ever 
 permit you to know her ? " 
 
 Though sharing this fear> I had at heart a 
 secret hope. I confided it to Ali, without inspir- 
 ing him with confidence. 
 
 "The severity of our father has its weak- 
 nesses," I said ; " he has already yielded so much 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 39 
 
 to me that I can not believe he will deprive us 
 both of this happiness." 
 
 "Adilah is a Christian," he answered, "and 
 here that is a heavy crime." 
 
 " Bah ! our father is too intelligent " 
 
 " Our father, alas ! yields to rigid laws strong- 
 er than his will, my dear Miriam." 
 
 A little discouraged, I had nothing to say. 
 We parted with regret, promising to see each 
 other very soon. 
 
 This visit from Ali had a very sweet effect on 
 me. I felt it would fill the void in which I had 
 lived since my return. This charming brother 
 would be a support and a friend. Educated in 
 Europe, and married to a European, he would 
 know how to understand me. With him I could 
 speak fearlessly of the past and of the future. 
 A feeling of pity, united to a lively curiosity, 
 seized me in recalling his confidences with regard 
 to his marriage. I already adored this lonely 
 girl, repulsed by a family she vainly sought to 
 conciliate. I could imagine her melancholy, her 
 discouragement, during the long absences of my 
 brother, who, in the discharge of his business, is 
 often obliged to be away from her. Full of these 
 thoughts, I impatiently awaited the next morning 
 to talk over Ali's visit with my father. He was 
 enchanted to hear me speak of the affection which 
 had already arisen between us. Then, with in- 
 numerable precautions, I managed to express my 
 
40 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 desire of knowing my sister-in-law ; but at the 
 first words I met with such lively opposition that 
 I realized I was attacking scruples hard to van- 
 quish. He appeared astonished that such an idea 
 had occurred to me. 
 
 " None of your sisters visit her," he said, as if 
 to settle the matter. 
 
 " They ! But I ? " 
 
 He could not repress a smile at my obsti- 
 nacy. 
 
 " Oh, you ! you are a little rebel," he replied. 
 " There is no doubt of that." 
 
 " Well, then, that will be the excuse. Ali 
 will be so happy ! Nothing but a little meeting 
 very mysterious hidden " 
 
 " Hidden ! You have it all well arranged ! 
 but I shall know it." 
 
 "No ! You shall shut your eyes just like 
 that," I said, making a bandage of my hands over 
 his eyes. 
 
 " You arrange your plan easily." 
 
 " What could be more simple ? I will go out 
 some day with Bell and Nazly, who will not be- 
 tray me." 
 
 " And your people ? " 
 
 "I will stop at the house of Nazly 's sister, 
 where I will leave them. From there, through 
 the little garden, we shall reach the bank of the 
 Nile. If by chance Ali's house should be there, 
 what is to be done ? " 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 41 
 
 " Do you not see this scheme, with its risk, 
 will revolutionize the family ? " 
 
 " You are so good and love your rebellious 
 daughter so much. Come ! is it agreed on ? " 
 
 " I say nothing ; but take care I do not catch 
 you there," he added, with one of those sweet 
 smiles which so charm me in him. 
 
 Tremble, Martha ; I had not deceived myself. 
 You have found a rival ! but I know that your 
 tenderness will not turn to jealousy, and that you 
 will never find I can be too much beloved, nor too 
 happy. 
 
 The same morning that I had wrested this 
 permission so hard to obtain from my father, I 
 went out in the carriage with Bell and Nazly. I 
 have not yet told you, I believe, that Nazly has a 
 sister the widow of an officer who frequently 
 comes to see her. Desirous of showing some 
 token of esteem to my good nurse, I have some- 
 times stopped at her house. 
 
 All was executed as I had planned. On reach- 
 ing Zourah's house (her discretion is beyond 
 doubt), we descended, and while my people 
 awaited me at the gate we went out through the 
 garden. It was the first time since my residence 
 in Egypt that I had walked abroad. Nazly guided 
 us. The path, bordered with India cane, with 
 spreading red flowers, had a sort of dazzling ef- 
 fect which added to the pleasure of our flight. 
 The absence of my keepers, the blue heavens, 
 
42 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 and the calm of the fields seemed to take my 
 breath away. In ten minutes, by following the 
 bank of the river, we reached a palace, with roofs 
 in the form of domes, of the purest Byzantine 
 style. As we attempted to enter the door, the 
 porters hastened to bar our passage. It is not 
 easy to get into an Arab house. By much persist- 
 ence, governed perhaps by a certain command, 
 under which they recognized some powerful ha- 
 num, they allowed us to enter the court ; but 
 there we encountered a still more serious obstacle. 
 Luckily, through the thoughtfulness of Bell, who 
 had remembered to carry her bank-book, I got 
 round it. I tore a leaf from it, and, writing my 
 name with a pencil, waited while a eunuch carried 
 it to his master. My brother instantly ran wild 
 with joy and drew me toward a flight of steps 
 on the terrace, leading to a shaded veranda car- 
 peted with flowers. 
 
 Scarcely had we entered, then he darted to 
 me, and kissed me on my forehead above my veil. 
 
 " This is against the rules ! " I cried. 
 
 " Here we infringe the rules," he replied. 
 
 The rooms that we passed through all exhib- 
 ited the taste and comfort of an almost European 
 household. We went alone without any cortege 
 of eunuchs and slaves. Soon we reached the sa- 
 loon, where the first object that attracted my no- 
 tice was an open magnificent Erard piano ; a li- 
 brary, pictures but I could observe no more, for 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 43 
 
 an airy, floating form, rising from a divan, ran to 
 me, and taking me in her arms kissed me on each 
 cheek. I can never make you understand the im- 
 pression Adilah produced on me, nor the ravish- 
 ing type of beauty, which took me by storm. It 
 is dazzling, like something one dreams of angel, 
 woman, nymph, houri combined. Imagine a 
 coronal of crimped golden hair, an eye black as 
 mine, fringed with long lashes, which contrast ad- 
 mirably with her English complexion, at the same 
 time rosy and of milky whiteness. The contrast is 
 so wonderful that one does not think of observing 
 the other features, which are of rare perfection. 
 Her expansive nature conveys the impression of 
 ardent and vivacious youth, combined with ani- 
 mated grace, which once seen is never forgot- 
 ten. 
 
 " You have much taste, brother," I said to Ali, 
 holding Adilah by the hand. 
 
 " Say much happiness, Miriam." 
 
 They could not get over the surprise my ap- 
 pearance caused them. I had to give an account 
 of how I gained the victory; how I had inter- 
 ceded with my father, and by what miracle I had 
 gained his tacit consent. Though an English- 
 woman, Adilah speaks French admirably. Ali 
 has not been able to dispense with the exterior 
 observances of Mussulman life, to which she has 
 submitted without trouble or regret, but the in- 
 terior of their home had nothing of the harem 
 
44 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 about it. The eunuchs are there only for form's 
 sake, and the slaves are servants. 
 
 All takes his meals with his wife. This inci- 
 dent, which seems so natural to you, is an extraor- 
 dinary exception here. When the dinner-hour 
 came, we went into a dining-room inclosed with 
 glass, looking on the Nile. You can never begin 
 to imagine my brother's manner to Adilah his 
 loving attention, his tender glances and smiles ! 
 I was absorbed in the contemplation of this happi- 
 ness. They feel that they are all in all to each 
 other, and that nothing exists or touches them 
 apart from each other. He observed my absence 
 of mind. 
 
 " Why do you not speak more, Miriam ? " he 
 inquired. 
 
 " I am looking at you ! " 
 
 Adilah divined my thought. 
 
 " This life will soon be yours," she said, " when 
 you are married." 
 
 I own these words made a very singular im- 
 pression on me. Marriage is, in fact, the end of 
 woman's life. I also shall marry as others do. 
 Do you recollect our jesting on this subject and 
 how our husbands should be with what gifts we 
 endowed them and what miraculous qualities? 
 You even made again and again numerous pict- 
 ures of mine ; I must say, with shame at my re- 
 quirements, you never succeeded in satisfying me. 
 I can not tell why, on seeing my brother and his 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 45 
 
 wife, these idle memories recurred to me. A live- 
 ly curiosity as to the future took possession of me. 
 What was to be my destiny? At this idea I 
 could not prevent a feeling almost of terror. 
 
 My too short visit passed in calm and friendly 
 manner. I felt that they had given me a place 
 in their hearts. Adilah took me to the piano, 
 and I played one of those nocturnes of Chopin's 
 that you always say make you weep. All three 
 of us felt sad and disquieted. When Ali's glance 
 met mine I read the same thought in his eyes. 
 " What if we should not see each other again ? " 
 But we did not part without hope of future 
 meetings. 
 
 I returned home gently agitated. I will be- 
 lieve I will hope. The void in my heart will be 
 filled. I have a family who may yet replace the 
 one I have lost. How changed now appears my 
 life in Egypt ! 
 
 VI. 
 
 WHEN my father appeared the next morning, 
 I cried out : " She is an angel ! and if you knew 
 her you would adore her." 
 
 "Who? What?" he asked, amazed at such 
 an explosion. 
 
 I had burned my ships, and before so much 
 goodness I should have thought it disloyal not to 
 make him a frank avowal. 
 
46 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 " How are your eyes this morning ? " I asked 
 with effrontery. 
 
 " My eyes ! What do you mean ? " 
 
 "Did you not suffer yesterday ?" 
 
 He looked into my face and shook his finger 
 at me. 
 
 "You have made some guilty escapade." 
 
 I hung my head like a true hypocrite. 
 
 " Pardon ! I have deceived the best of fa- 
 thers, to go and see a certain brother whom I 
 love." 
 
 "Already?" 
 
 Without noticing his interruption I related to 
 him all the incidents of the previous day, and 
 made him listen to my admiration of Adilah. It 
 was the first time he had heard her truly spoken 
 of, or even a word in her favor. Ali never al- 
 ludes to his wife. I did not conceal the length of 
 my visit. 
 
 " I am so happy," I said, " that you must not 
 scold me. And, besides, I have not disobeyed 
 you. You are so good that you did riot dictate 
 the time" 
 
 I was not long in securing pardon. 
 
 " Your visit can scarcely be repeated, though," 
 he added. 
 
 This answer was rather categorical, but en- 
 courged by the result I will be sure to conquer. 
 I am not the daughter of my father for nothing. 
 In spite of his decided tone and positive manner, 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 47 
 
 I know the weakness which renders him so ten- 
 der and indulgent to me. At first he will argue 
 then I shall reason ; perhaps even he will con- 
 sent to become totally blind. 
 
 There exists between myself and my little 
 step-mother a very pleasant friendship. I defend 
 myself a little from those childish outbursts which 
 would engross all my time. Though she is very 
 much attached to me, the poor little thing can 
 not change or be other than a charming bird. 
 We often go out together. Nearly every day she 
 entices me to Choubrah, the tour du lac of Cairo. 
 There is the gorgeous display of equipages and 
 toilets, the European colony in great numbers, 
 tourists, and harem-carriages parade there in rich 
 array. Sai'da has a wonderful tact in recognizing 
 her friends through their veils. Choubrah is the 
 field where the rival parties of Old and Young 
 Egypt wage their warfare. The contrast is so 
 striking that I had remarked it even before Sa'ida 
 mentioned it : The ultras, retrograde, shrouded in 
 the habarah of black silk, even their hands hid- 
 den, and the curtains of their carriages carefully 
 drawn down. The new school, on the contrary, 
 wear the Turkish feredje carelessly over the shoul- 
 ders, so as to let the Parisian dress be seen. Up- 
 on their heads they wear an illusion bonnet with 
 a wreath of flowers, and a veil so thin as scarcely 
 to conceal the countenance, and gloved hands. 
 They affectedly coquette with passers-by from the 
 
48 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS 
 
 depths of their coupes, and with their English 
 coachmen and liveries do not seem separated 
 from European manners except by the fragile 
 barrier of the yachmak, which scarcely conceals 
 the features more than your veils. Their eunuchs 
 even keep at a discreet distance, as if their func- 
 tions were at an end. These Parisianized Arabs 
 fraternize with the foreigners, whom they strive 
 to imitate in everything (though they despise 
 them as infidels) apart from that, intimacy, quar- 
 rels, intrigues, all the outside show of an amiable 
 society where each respects the other. 
 
 The gentle Durrah took me to visit my sister 
 Farideh, who is the head of the new party, and 
 I was very agreeably pleased with her, though 
 strange and eccentric. Married to a Turk, very 
 heavy in body and brain, she lives in the midst 
 of the Esbekieh, in a flashy new palace, only 
 distinguishable from the French houses by a light 
 grating on the windows. An Italian architect 
 built this marvel of bad taste, which she has dec- 
 orated in French style, the furniture coming di- 
 rect from the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, even to 
 the carpets. All around are musical boxes, me- 
 chanical pianos, etc. Farideh adores noise. With 
 these curious tastes, she is a Cafrene chronicle, 
 and one of the celebrities of the country. Visit- 
 ors flock to her house at all hours. They do not 
 discuss the singing girls or the gavazies, but are 
 interested in conversing about the actresses of 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 49 
 
 Cairo, the Viceroy's balls, and the Paris fashions. 
 Her receptions are all the rage. Last year she 
 gave a sort of French rout. Men being naturally 
 excluded from the harem, she had to fill their 
 places. The largest of her slaves, dressed like 
 men in white cravats and black suits, offered their 
 arms to the hanums. A dancing-mistress taught 
 them the quadrille. They acted their part as 
 gentlemen very awkwardly, but the idea, as you 
 see, was not wanting in originality : the effect 
 was very fine. Every one spoke of it for a month. 
 To finish the picture, an English governess edu- 
 cates her children ; her femme de chambre is a 
 Marseillaise, which is the reason that Farideh 
 speaks French with the accent of Canebiere. 
 
 Encouraged by the indulgence of my father, 
 you may be sure I renewed my visits to Adilah. 
 My brother having duties at court, often left us 
 alone, and confidences naturally followed. Of 
 course, we speak of you. She knows you and 
 loves you ; so we are three friends. I can not 
 describe the happiness that I feel in this pretty 
 nest of love. When Ali returns one would think 
 the heavens had opened. Jesting charmingly, he 
 relates to us all the court gossip, which we receive 
 with bursts of laughter. While he adores his wife, 
 he is still a perfect boy. Adilah jested him on 
 some little social success at which she pretended 
 to be jealous. Elegant, intellectual, and gallant, 
 he plays, it seems, a conspicuous part in the Eu- 
 4 
 
50 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 ropean colony. Even his manner of wearing the 
 tarbouch is imitated. 
 
 The style of living is much like that at Chimi- 
 lah. There are fewer slaves perhaps, but this is 
 a country unsurpassed for caprice and phantasy. 
 The other day that remark of my father's in his 
 letter to M. Gtitler, and which I had nearly for- 
 gotten, recurred to me, and I asked an explana- 
 tion of it. 
 
 " Nothing is more true," answered AH, " Egypt 
 is ruined ! " 
 
 " Decidedly that is nonsense," cried I laughing. 
 
 " But my dear Miriam, we owe enormous sums 
 that we probably never can pay." 
 
 " What will you do about it ? " 
 
 With his thoughtless shifting of responsibility, 
 he answered : 
 
 " That is the business of our wekil" 
 
 This wekil, the superintendent of all respect- 
 able Arab houses, is often very rich, at his mas- 
 ter's cost. The great lords here do not know any 
 material trouble ; they are born only to enjoy 
 themselves. My father is ruined ! AH is ruined, 
 or, as he jestingly says, he has always been poor. 
 Hosnah alone, in our family, is rich. 
 
 This name of Hosnah, drawn into our con- 
 versation, led to a remark of my brother's which 
 struck me. 
 
 " Listen to me," he said, " and be very little 
 with her." 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 51 
 
 I have already spoken of the dahabiehs. All 
 owns a charming, roomy one. After dinner the 
 other evening, he proposed a sail on the Nile. 
 Lying under the canopy of crimson silk, I tried 
 to forget everything. The stream, flecked by the 
 moon, extended its limpid sheet between the som- 
 ber banks of the river, pierced at intervals by 
 spots of white the huts of the Fellahs. Under 
 this pale light of the transparent skies, where the 
 shade seemed a twilight, a guttural chant reached 
 us borne on the limpid air. The flowing of the 
 water mingled with this savage melody. There 
 were in all a quietude, calm, and poesy, that I can 
 not define. I listened, I looked, I dreamed. Sud- 
 denly Adilah bent over me. 
 
 " Of what are you thinking ? " she asked. 
 
 The truth was, I was thinking of the happi- 
 ness before my eyes. Alas ! I sometimes feel 
 lonely oh, so lonely in this life of fairy tales to 
 which I have been transplanted. 
 
 VII. 
 
 MAETHA ! an adventure, a true romance in the 
 uniform course of my harem-life. 
 
 It was one of those days when one awakens 
 glad at heart, when one feels happy without cause 
 or reason, when I went the other morning to 
 Adilah' s, knowing her to be alone. A delightful 
 
52 THE RETURN OP THE PRINCESS. 
 
 cry of surprise greeted me, for I had come to 
 spend the day. You can tell it was to be a fete- 
 day. The weather was superb. Not a breath of 
 air, but the balminess of January, which is our 
 spring ; the trees with their emerald leaves and 
 the skies with their purest azure. Adilah led me 
 into the garden. The gardens in Egypt have a 
 splendor unknown to those in Europe. A garden 
 is the only place where a hanum has a right to go 
 on foot the boundary of her prison. Ali has 
 done wonders with his. 
 
 Aviaries filled with rare birds, jets of water 
 falling in diamond-dust upon hedges of oranges 
 and mimosa, walks bordered by banana-trees, 
 dates, and bamboo, parterres of lilies, and, like an 
 impenetrable dome, great sycamores mingle with 
 the palm-trees, forming a thick shade which keeps 
 cool in the greatest heat of summer. 
 
 We reached a kiosk built upon the Nile. Adi- 
 lah passes there the hot hours of the afternoon, 
 those hours of siesta when the entire town rests 
 and sleeps. The interior of this buen retiro is en- 
 chanting. The walls are of rose-colored marble, 
 with long Indian blinds ; favorite books and re- 
 freshing drinks are scattered around. 
 
 After chattering awhile, I observed that the 
 softness of fe/*made my pretty sultana languid, 
 and she listened to me smiling in her lazy idle- 
 ness. A sort of dullness weighed upon and op- 
 pressed us. By degrees our conversation ceased ; 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 53 
 
 her eyes closed, and she slept. Surprised by one 
 of those vague, intangible reveries, where images 
 meet and blend with each other, I tasted in this 
 silence, this repose, a happiness purely physical, 
 an exquisite sensation of quietude and peace. At 
 the extremity of the room a window of very deli- 
 cate work forms a charming angle. Some sprays 
 of Virginia jasmine have penetrated through the 
 interstices, and are so intermingled with the fine 
 carving that the window is only a screen of gild- 
 ed wood and flowers. While I was mechanically 
 looking, some of these sprigs loosened, and sowed 
 with white stars the wooden steps that led to the 
 window. Leaning my elbows on the velvet sill, 
 I inhaled the delicious and enervating odors. 
 When my hand had made an opening in the 
 leaves, I discovered that the window looked out 
 on another garden which was deserted. Weeds, 
 a crowd of trees, and a carpet of high dry grass 
 were in view everywhere. Believing the place 
 uninhabited, my eyes explored without ceremony 
 this corner of a wild paradise, when suddenly I 
 perceived, just below me, a young man seated at 
 a bamboo table upon which were spread letters 
 and papers ; his head resting on the back of his 
 cane chair, his eyes fixed on vacancy, he ap- 
 peared absorbed in deep reverie. At first sight 
 I thought him ugly. His forehead was high, his 
 eyes dark, and at the same time melancholy and 
 haughty ; his profile irregular, but vigorous and 
 
54 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 severe. Everything about him betokened a mind 
 and a will a something which surprised the gaze 
 and enchained it. Suddenly a slight frown wrin- 
 kled his brow, and his head fell on his hand. 
 Hidden behind my grating, I thought I had dis- 
 covered the secret of grief and despair. Then 
 he rose and opened a bundle of letters, reading 
 rapidly and with feverish eagerness. He stopped 
 at one page to read it again, and a bitter smile 
 parted his lips, as he crushed the letter in his 
 hand. I do not know why, but the thought oc- 
 curred to me that the letter was from a woman. 
 Poor lover ! he suffered perhaps from some de- 
 ception. I was still there thinking, when a slave 
 came up and spoke to him. The unknown rose, 
 and followed him. When he had disappeared I 
 could not prevent myself from speculating upon 
 the vision which had, in spite of myself, captivated 
 my curiosity, like an enigma of which I wished 
 to decipher the answer. 
 
 The voice of Adilah roused me from this idle 
 investigation. Martha ! There is a mystery un- 
 der this. Who can this young solitary, confined 
 like a bear in this sad garden, be ? One thing 
 at least I can certainly tell you he is not Prince 
 Charming. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 55 
 
 VIII. 
 
 IT is very evident that you have already built 
 up a romance in your pretty head. My dear, 
 your imagination is too active on the subject of 
 my famous hero discovered from the window. 
 There is a romance truly, but it is this : 
 
 This morning I expected my father to break- 
 fast. Do you read that ? To breakfast ! This 
 innovation on established usage was an exception- 
 al favor. We have reached that point. 
 
 I had the table placed in the veranda, in the 
 midst of the flowers. My father came in with 
 his pleasant smile. When he was seated, he 
 asked, " Is it well with you ? " 
 
 I wished to wait on him, to have him all to 
 myself, and delightedly offered him a thousand 
 little attentions that I was jealous of the slaves for 
 rendering ; and, truly, I was not so very awkward. 
 
 The coffee was brought while I was chattering 
 on, gay and smiling. 
 
 " Do you know, Miriam," said he, suddenly, 
 " that, with your eighteen years, you are a very 
 old girl here ? " 
 
 " I know it." 
 
 " I must think of having you married, my 
 dear." 
 
 " You have a scheme, father ? " I cried, a little 
 troubled. 
 
56 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 He looked at me, smiling, then putting his fin- 
 ger on his lips 
 
 " Chut ! It is a secret," he said. 
 
 I went nearer, trying to read it in his eyes. 
 
 " A secret ? One you can not tell ? " 
 
 " My dear child, at present it is only a vague 
 project. I have often reflected on the future 
 which awaits you. "With your education and 
 ideas," he continued, "I can not disguise from 
 myself how you would suffer in this harem-life, 
 where you would only be a first slave. I wish to 
 consult you." 
 
 This confidence caused me a certain agitation, 
 for I was touched at being thus understood by 
 my father. 
 
 " How good you are, father ! " I murmured. 
 
 " I love a rebellious daughter, that is all ; and 
 I am very ambitious for her." 
 
 I do not know why the recollection of Adilah's 
 mysterious neighbor rose to my mind. Fate has 
 such strange caprices ! I burned to question, but 
 an insurmountable embarrassment arrested the 
 words on my lips. 
 
 " Then, father," I timidly ventured, " who is 
 he?" 
 
 "He is very rich, and occupies the highest 
 position. I do not know a more desirable parti 
 in Egypt." 
 
 Though I am very sure of the power of my 
 father, and have the blindest confidence in his 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 57 
 
 judgment, I can not be silent as to the fear 
 and repulsion I feel for the manner in which 
 they arrange Mussulman marriages. To marry a 
 stranger, who is met for the first time on the 
 wedding-day, knowing nothing of him not even 
 the sound of his voice is it not terrible ? 
 
 " I can believe in all your solicitude, father," I 
 added, " but to me this man will be an indifferent 
 stranger and, then, if I could not love him ? " 
 
 My father smiled, and was thoughtful for a 
 few moments ; then, as if yielding to a sudden 
 inspiration 
 
 " Decidedly, I am on a dangerous precipice," 
 he said. " You have made me commit so many 
 infractions that I do not know where to stop." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " A foolish idea has occurred to me, that I can 
 show you your husband ; then on the promenade 
 you will know his voice. You shall also speak to 
 him." 
 
 " How can that be ? " 
 
 "We shall see ! we shall see ! " he replied, as 
 if he feared having gone too far. " This time, at 
 least, I promise nothing." 
 
 You can imagine how my curiosity was aroused 
 after this conversation. My brain reeled. Who 
 could this fianc'e be, whose name, even, my fa- 
 ther dared not reveal ? In vain I pondered. The 
 Selamlik is closed to us, it is true, but in my drives 
 I have often met my father in company with the 
 
58 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 sons of princes and pashas, and I tried now to re- 
 call some of the faces. To which one of them 
 must I look for all the qualities I have dreamed 
 of ? Martha ! if he should be the one ? You 
 will, no doubt, deceive yourself, for have I not 
 told you he is ugly ? 
 
 A week has flown, and in none of my inter- 
 views with Adilah have I again seen the myste- 
 rious neighbor. He never appears at Choubrah 
 at the hour when one meets all Cairo there. Was 
 he a phantom ? and has he flown ? Twice I have 
 gone to my sister-in-law's house without any suc- 
 cess. Happily, it does not make me thin. 
 
 IX. 
 
 NURSING the strange illusion which unites my 
 reader in the garden with the great project that 
 my father had unfolded, I passed several days in 
 weaving my romance. You know my busy im- 
 agination, which carries me so easily to what you 
 call the land of fiction. My Prince Charming, 
 you must own, does not this time exceed the ideal 
 of a modest ambition. Why should I think of 
 him? I do not know. The truth is, perhaps, 
 that in this harem-life behind my grating I have 
 no one else to think of. A true daughter of Eve, 
 I am enchanted at having a secret adventure. I 
 arrange in my head a charming concourse of cir- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 59 
 
 cumstances, with the most adorable effect. One 
 day my father brings him to me, and presents him 
 as a skirmisher ; I have an unconscious air of not 
 knowing him ; then, unlooked-for surprise, I acci- 
 dentally appear the next morning from the height 
 of my window among the bushes of his Eden. 
 Then secret encounters, and all the course of 
 graceful gallantries of Eastern poesy ! 
 
 Is not all that beautifully worked out ? Well ! 
 my poor Martha, my dream has vanished in the 
 clouds, with my hero, and, as the height of hu- 
 miliation, there only remains of it an unheard-of 
 imprudence, which I must here confide to you. 
 
 Always compelled by order of my father to 
 observe great prudence, for three days I had not 
 been able to escape to see Adilah. At that hour 
 I knew I should find her in that well-beloved 
 kiosk, from which my curious gaze could search 
 the forbidden garden. Would he appear there 
 this day? Though I despised his stupidity at 
 not having suspected his happiness in being gazed 
 at by two such beautiful eyes as mine piercing 
 through the leaves, I had a great desire to pay 
 him off in my turn with utter indifference. Fancy 
 that I have arrived. Adilah was writing. 
 
 " What happiness ! " she cried on seeing me. 
 " Wait until I finish this letter, and then I will be 
 yours entirely." 
 
 " Good ! Do not disturb yourself, I will take 
 a book." 
 
60 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 And, in fact, I stationed myself on a divan 
 with a collection of Arab poems by a poet called 
 Hassan, which Ali had left there. Need I add 
 that in ten minutes I was disturbed by the songs 
 of the birds at the neighbor's garden ? An im- 
 pertinent bullfinch perched upon our grating 
 thrust in his head inquisitively. I rose to drive 
 him off. 
 
 " How delicious these jasmines are ! " I say to 
 Adilah. 
 
 You will know that already I was at my tower 
 of observation, arranging the 'sprays with an in- 
 different air. 
 
 Nothing was visible on the other side in the 
 deserted walks. The bullfinch, which had flown 
 to a palm, from his lofty perch seemed to mock 
 me, as if he suspected my anger. I swallowed 
 my confusion, and, in truth, your little princess 
 well merited the disappointment. Adilah still 
 wrote. Disgusted at staying planted there like a 
 fool, I was about to leave the place, when I sud- 
 denly heard a rustling among the leaves. Mar- 
 tha, it was he ! I soon saw him appear at the 
 turn of the path. He came toward me. Was it 
 chance, or sympathy ? Twice he raised his eyes 
 to my window. It seemed to me that his gaze, 
 deep and burning, encountered mine. My dear, 
 I turned crimson, though I knew he could not 
 see me, and remained hidden behind my flowery 
 curtain. He approached nearer, and was disap- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 61 
 
 pearing behind the kiosk, when a mad idea flashed 
 across my brain. I once read a pretty Persian 
 legend which seems invented for my case : " At 
 the foot of a tower on a bank of turf the poet 
 Hafiz slept. . . . Above him at a window the 
 Princess Gulnare leaned out inquisitively, and 
 played with a rose. Suddenly the rose slipped 
 from her fingers, and, falling on the sleeper, 
 awakened him." In default of the rose, I have 
 but to stretch out my hand to gather one of these 
 branches. My dear, the act followed the thought ; 
 my flowers fell at Jiis feet as he passed below me. 
 Surprised, he stopped and looked up. I with- 
 drew so rapidly that Adilah rose. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " she asked. 
 
 " Heavens ! Only think of it ! I have thrown 
 a flower to your neighbor." 
 
 " Are you crazy ? " 
 
 " I think I have been dreaming for about five 
 minutes." 
 
 " But, to begin with, I have no neighbor." 
 
 I drew her to the window. He was still there, 
 half smiling, and smelling my flowers. 
 
 Amazed, Adilah uttered a little cry ; but we 
 were too secure in our shelter to fear anything 
 from his curiosity. 
 
 " What do you think of him ? " I whispered. 
 
 " Ugly." 
 
 " Look well at him." 
 
 She looked at him intently. 
 
62 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 "And now?" I added. 
 
 " He does not improve." 
 
 This answer delighted me. I have always 
 been jealous, you know, of my impressions ; it 
 seems to me that any one who shares them steals 
 them. 
 
 But the amazement of Adilah was bound- 
 less. Now that she was convinced of the exis- 
 tence of a neighbor, I related my adventure. 
 Heaven only knows how much delicate irony 
 this prank cost me. Happily, there is nothing 
 to betray me. The Lord Hafiz, who was there, 
 as disconcerted as myself, can not suppose 
 it anything but perhaps the malice of some 
 slave. 
 
 I entreated Adilah to keep my folly secret, 
 when, to finish my disgrace, Ali entered at the 
 moment. Our discovery was a great surprise to 
 him, for he, like his wife, had believed the garden 
 uninhabited. 
 
 While we stood still he went to the win- 
 dow. An exclamation of amazement escaped 
 his lips. 
 
 " What is it ? " inquired Adilah. 
 
 " It is Hassan, " he answered. 
 
 " Do you know him ? " I asked, with my heart 
 beating violently. 
 
 " Yes ! He is the very poet who wrote the 
 book now in your hand. But how does the im- 
 prudent man dare to come to Cairo ? " 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 63 
 
 " Has he not the right to come ? " 
 
 " No I He is proscribed." 
 
 You can not tell what an effect that word pro- 
 duced on me. 
 
 " Proscribed ! " I said after a brief silence. 
 " Has he, then, committed some crime ? " 
 
 " Oh ! worse than that ! He has compro- 
 mised himself in the gravest political intrigues. 
 He is mad, dreaming of senseless reforms and 
 even of the Fellahs." 
 
 I questioned him further, and he informed us 
 then that my Prince Charming was of high rank, 
 and had a most romantic history, and was the 
 son of a minister of Mehemet Ali, who fell into 
 disgrace under Abbas. Abbas had all his rela- 
 tions massacred, and confiscated their immense 
 fortune. Hassan's rare endowments made that 
 suspicious prince so uneasy that he exiled him. 
 Hassan has acquired renown as a poet and as a 
 soldier. In the last war he was at Plevna, where, 
 it seems, he fought like a hero at the head of one 
 of the regiments of Osman Pasha. 
 
 "Then he runs great risk?" I said, with a 
 stricture at my heart as I realized that my incon- 
 ceivable giddiness had betrayed him. 
 
 " Certainly ! But I shall not be the one to 
 denounce him. The police is so poor that he 
 is safe in this deserted quarter, buried in this 
 abandoned house ; but I know his audacity. 
 If he is here, it is because he has some pro- 
 
64 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 ject, some end in view there lies the dan- 
 ger!" 
 
 I returned home very thoughtful. The ro- 
 mance that my extravagant imagination had con- 
 ceived was shattered at a single blow. What 
 probability was there that my father would even 
 look at this proscribed man? But a frightful 
 anxiety soon took the place of my silly dream- 
 ing. My fatal imprudence had betrayed his re- 
 treat. Good Heavens ! If they should discover 
 him ! I was certain of Ali's silence, but any in- 
 discretion would be fatal to him ! At this 
 thought I trembled, as though he were already 
 denounced. 
 
 The next morning I could not rest, and 
 escaped to go and get tidings. What might 
 not have happened since the previous even- 
 ing ? I found Ali and Adilah very tranquil, 
 and not in the least uneasy about their poor 
 neighbor. Not daring to question them, under 
 the pretext of going to find a book, I ran to the 
 kiosk. 
 
 I had counted without thinking of our terrible 
 Mohammedan customs the window was walled 
 up ! 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 65 
 
 X. 
 
 WELL ! yes ! My romance was folly. You 
 do not imagine, I suppose, my terrible preacher, 
 that I am not ready to own it, and that the 
 wicked turn of my volatile nature does not 
 appear to me now as a very imprudent trick. 
 I am still alarmed ; but, luckily, Prince Charm- 
 ing is in ignorance. I was so well concealed 
 that a perfect incognito protects me. What 
 suspicion could a solitary promenader have 
 but that it was one of those accidents the 
 cause of which could not be fathomed? As 
 he passed, a sprig of jasmine fell at his feet 
 that was all. The walled window, a whisper 
 of the wind among the palm-trees, will waft 
 him an adieu. As for me, I have enough on 
 hand, I assure you, with this great marriage 
 question, to occupy all my thoughts. A Turk- 
 ish wedding, my dear ; only think of it ! Be- 
 fore it, in view of my bad education, my father, 
 contrary to all precedent, will grant me the 
 inestimable satisfaction of a previous inter- 
 view, when I shall hear extreme happiness ! 
 the voice of my intended husband before the 
 wedding day. After that all will be concluded. 
 You can conceive that this alluring perspective 
 makes me ponder, and I will venture a word 
 with my father to hasten his great scheme. 
 5 
 
66 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 Here "what is written is written" I await 
 yielding, in spite of myself, to the idea of 
 fatality, which seems to impregnate the air of 
 the harem like some subtile perfume the slav- 
 ery to which we are compelled to submit. 
 This bondage takes you, annihilates you I 
 know not by what strange power, swallows up 
 your volition, and makes you live indifferent 
 to the present hour, which is precisely like that 
 of yesterday, and will be the same to-morrow. 
 I am still troubled by a thought which savors 
 of remorse, at the foolish act of which the 
 memory remains. If I should be the cause 
 of having this unhappy man, who doubtless 
 believes himself in safety, denounced ! Dis- 
 creet as Ali is, to wall up the window he had 
 to send people ; perhaps they have seen him ! 
 It is so easy to lodge information ! If my fa- 
 tal imprudence has betrayed him ! For three 
 days I have not been to Adilah's, and horrible 
 apprehensions besiege me momently. I tremble, 
 as at the approach of a crisis. I could never 
 be consoled if I should be the cause of misfor- 
 tune to him. 
 
 What I dreaded has happened. Yesterday 
 my brother came to see me, and you may sup- 
 pose that, though I was quaking, I concealed 
 my alarm, and tried to question him with as 
 much indifference as I could command. The 
 return of Hassan is no longer a secret : they 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 67 
 
 know he is in concealment in Cairo. I was 
 distracted. My brother has a heart, but he 
 belongs to this Arab court, where a man dreads 
 compromising himself. I can not, then, depend 
 upon him to warn the unhappy exile. Besides, 
 will Hassan, if he is the rash, proud man AH 
 considers him, ever consent to obey an order or 
 yield to fear? 
 
 A wild idea flashed into my brain ; I would 
 write, and send it to him immediately. Write 
 to a man a stranger one unknown ! Yet 
 should I not pay for my heedless mistake by 
 performing one of those duties which, though 
 the laws do not make binding, are none the less 
 sacred to an upright, honest conscience ? Alas ! 
 what could I do? Powerless as I am, was I 
 not compelled to let things work their own ac- 
 complishment ? Yet, when discouraged I tried 
 to be resigned, a rebellious feeling prevent- 
 ed me. It seemed to me that I was guilty 
 guilty of not doing anything ; guilty in being 
 silent ! The struggle was a long one. At one 
 moment my pity conquered my scruples ; at 
 another, my scruples deadened my pity. To 
 write ! I decided to do that, for seek as I 
 might it was the only method. At one time I 
 thought of sending a message to him ; but what 
 slave could I send on such an unusual errand ? I 
 can not tell what inner consciousness convinced 
 me that I alone would be listened to, and obeyed. 
 
68 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 Ten times did I take up my pen, and ten times 
 did I throw it down. After much indecision, and 
 with terror, I resolved. Only an anonymous 
 warning was necessary, so I wrote these simple 
 lines : 
 
 "A friend knows that you are in peril: 
 your presence in Cairo is known. Fly imme- 
 diately ! " 
 
 Then I called Nazly, and, trusting to her fidel- 
 ity, obtained a promise that she would get her 
 sister to take it to Hassan's house. For the sake 
 of safety, and to keep my secret better, we agreed 
 that Zourah should not know who sent the mes- 
 sage, and thus she could not question or answer. 
 I felt relieved from a heavy responsibility. Bur- 
 ied in his imprudent seclusion, Hassan would at 
 least learn that he must be on the alert. I impa- 
 tiently awaited Nazly's return. She soon came 
 back with the tidings that Zourah had accom- 
 plished her mission. 
 
 XI. 
 
 HE has gone ; God be praised ! . . . This has 
 a little lightened this importunate care which I so 
 idly caused myself. The day after the delivery 
 of my mysterious advice the house was fastened, 
 and Nazly's sister is convinced that the exile had 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 69 
 
 flown. I have saved this unhappy man ; and now 
 I owe him nothing. I will now relate an incident 
 to you which presages storms and tempests. 
 
 My sister Hosnah has returned, and I went to 
 make my first visit to her, which I must describe 
 in all its details, because it will prove all the life 
 and happiness which are in store for me through 
 this superb marriage of which the secret has never 
 been divulged to me up to this hour. 
 
 It is now three days since, in my elegant cos- 
 tume of a sultana, and in a beautiful carriage, I 
 left Chimilah, accompanied by Saida, as richly 
 appareled as myself. During the drive she again 
 instructed me upon the ordained etiquette at such 
 an important interview ; and gave me a final les- 
 son on ceremonial and bearing which was to be 
 very complicated, for this time I was going to en- 
 counter the severest traditions of Islam. My lit- 
 tle step-mother gave me information about the 
 members of the family, whom I have never seen, 
 and of the various wives of my brother-in-law 
 Mustapha, whom I was to meet. Four of these 
 wives are as legitimate as my sister Hosnah, in 
 consequence of which I owe them a certain re- 
 spect. 
 
 We had soon crossed the town. 
 
 Situated in a street so narrow that the carriage 
 appeared to enter it with difficulty, the palace of 
 my sister Hosnah is a marvel of antiquity. The 
 family of her husband, a descendant of green 
 
70 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 turbans, inhabited it for eight centuries, during 
 which time nothing has been done to alter the 
 primitive architecture, nor has more been done 
 in the interior than to make requisite repairs. It 
 is the only monument of its sort in this country 
 where palaces, houses, and gourbis, all date from 
 yesterday. When the carriage stopped, my little 
 step-mother ceased her prattling, and became 
 very serious under her bourJco. The very door 
 even of this secular palace has a formidable and 
 imposing appearance. . The first court was empty 
 a double barrier for all Mussulman houses ; 
 then a second court, immense, without trees, and 
 with a very high wall, with a well, the marble 
 basin of which is -green and worn by time. I was 
 delighted by the elegant originality, the exquisite 
 variety, the fantastic and delicate art of the win- 
 dows, those jewels of Arab chiseling, those laces 
 in wood, fine as a woman's veil, where the imagi- 
 nation and patience of the artist display according 
 to caprice the most extravagant and the most won- 
 derful execution. The immense wall at the rear 
 is bare and flat, without windows or the least or- 
 namentation. A single door is cut there, closed 
 by a heavy curtain of white cloth covered with in- 
 scriptions, cut out of scraps of various colored 
 silks. It is impossible to picture the effect of this 
 brilliant drapery upon the discolored gray-stone. 
 This was the entrance to the harem. Saida pointed 
 out to the left the Selamlik, a separate building 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 71 
 
 where my brother-in-law Mustapha lives. On ac- 
 count of this vicinity, the windows of the harem 
 open on the gardens on the other side. The curtain 
 is lowered when the hanums are at home, and raised 
 when they are out ; it is also the custom not only 
 for strangers, but even for the domestics, to make 
 a long detour when they have occasion to pass 
 this mysterious altar. On our arrival, about twelve 
 young girls, who were drawing water, took flight 
 as swiftly as a flock of pigeons. The boabs, who 
 had hastened to the carriage, flew as soon as the 
 steps were let down ; it seemed a general sauve 
 quipeut, and one would have supposed we brought 
 the plague in our garments. In a few minutes the 
 court was empty. Four eunuchs then came to meet 
 us, and raised the terrible curtain for us. A large 
 granite staircase, lighted by colored lanterns, un- 
 til it was as bright as the daylight outside, led to 
 the apartments. At the door I stopped amazed. 
 It seemed as if one only could know my sister 
 Hosnah when she was seen at home. I do not 
 know if her apparel was the result of her instinct 
 or her skill. In the midst of her slaves, standing 
 in a circle around her, lying on a divan, the mouth- 
 piece of a nargile between her lips, dressed in a 
 robe of cherry satin covered with gems, she ap- 
 peared to me still more imposing than at our first 
 interview. The resolution of a fanatic betrayed 
 itself, mingled with the gaze of a sphinx. Yet 
 her eyes are very beautiful, bordered by a deep 
 
72 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 circle of kohl under their heavy brows, which 
 meet in a black line. They fascinate by their 
 magnetic power. She took her time to rise, her 
 favorites dashing forward to support her. Slowly, 
 with her exceptional majesty, she came toward me. 
 On the part of an eldest sister this reception 
 was a distinguished proof of consideration and 
 kindly feeling. I answered in my best style, 
 bending to kiss the hem of her robe. While the 
 slaves took off my fkretffa she said, examining 
 my costume : 
 
 " This is well ; you are a thorough Arab." 
 I took a place on the divan beside her. The 
 windows of the harem, as I said, overlook the 
 gardens on three sides ; they are at an ordinary 
 height, but seem very low, the ceiling being very 
 lofty, formed like a dome, and decorated in 
 squares of porcelain in the most ingenious method 
 that Arab art has invented. It is cool to the eye, 
 of a refined tone, and deliciously harmonious. A 
 gallery in filigree silver runs around the sides of 
 the room, with its sides of cedar-wood inlaid in 
 pearl and ivory. Here and there on the walls 
 were old appliques, where turquoise was sown ; 
 in little niches were btagkres holding priceless pot- 
 tery. All around the room was a divan of Per- 
 sian silk, with piles of cushions scattered over the 
 carpets. Nothing modern here. The single word 
 Europe causes the eyes of my sister to flash. 
 Never had a Christian sullied her door-sill ; never 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 73 
 
 had an infidel seen her face. Though I have 
 profited by the instructions of Sai'da so much, in 
 the midst of a scene so different from Chimilah, I 
 felt a little disconcerted. Sitting apart, each sur- 
 rounded by her own group, in the midst of a little 
 court, I soon recognized the hanums. They came 
 up to me. My little step-mother named to me 
 Fatma-Hanum, Khadouja-Hanum, Aiss&-Hanum ; 
 this last of very noble birth, and scarcely twelve 
 years of age. At a glance I decided on the supe- 
 riority of our recluses at Chimilah to these. Ours 
 are great children these have not even gayety. 
 The atmosphere of the harem enwraps them in a 
 smiling sort of idiocy. Have they souls thoughts? 
 With their large eyes blackened by kohl, they 
 looked at me until their curiosity was gratified, 
 then they returned to their divans, where, without 
 troubling themselves more about me, they returned 
 to their far niente. A superb creature, covered 
 with diamonds, suddenly entered, followed by a 
 group of slaves. Saida whispered in my ear that 
 she was the present favorite, and I should have 
 suspected it from the airs of indolent superiority 
 with which she received the adulation paid her. 
 She came up and examined me as a rare object, 
 asked me some amiable questions, then, carrying 
 her finger to her lips, went and seated herself 
 with crossed legs upon the cushions carefully ar- 
 ranged for her by the attendant eunuchs. Arous- 
 ing me from my astonishment, Hosnah presented 
 
74 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 me to some distinguished visitors, who appeared 
 to have been invited in honor of me. While they 
 were overwhelming me with compliments and at- 
 tentions, my mind was absorbed in a study of 
 this extraordinary household. These rival ha- 
 nums, possessing the same rights and titles, con- 
 cealing without doubt atrocious jealousies, and 
 forced to yield to this favorite slave whom the 
 caprice of their master had placed above them, 
 filled me at the same time with shame and pity. 
 My sister Hosnah thrones herself in the midst of 
 this, and reconciles herself to it, as the most nat- 
 ural thing in the world. 
 
 Fashion required that pipes and coffee should 
 be brought. I do not know if Hosnah had de- 
 sired to dazzle me, or whether this was the usual 
 ceremony of the house, but I never saw any such 
 pomp or such solemnity. Thirty slaves marched 
 in two lines, clothed like houris, the negresses 
 contrasting with the blondes, and bringing out 
 their pure pallor ; all were young, and of a beauty 
 remarkable in its type. At their head, the small- 
 est bearing the arphs (the cups), the largest fol- 
 lowing with the waiters, the nargiles, and pipes, 
 then closing the procession two Smyrniotes with 
 their long blonde plaits trailing on the floor, bear- 
 ing the cafetibre in the form of a censer. Dia- 
 monds glistened wherever they moved. Instruct- 
 ed by Saida, I made a very good appearance. I 
 accepted the arph and the pipe, saluting my sis- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 75 
 
 ter in Arab fashion, and, drinking my coffee, bur- 
 ied in the cushions of the divan, I puffed some 
 clouds from my chibouk. An hour passed thus. 
 Some of the visitors having taken leave, my sister 
 and myself remained together alone. 
 
 " Miriam," she said abruptly, " has not our fa- 
 ther spoken to you of his great scheme ? " 
 
 " What scheme ? " I inquired, wishing to show 
 discretion. 
 
 " A marriage." 
 
 " He has alluded to it," I replied ; " but it is 
 still a secret, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Not to me," she replied, " for I was the one 
 who conceived the idea of this great happiness for 
 us all." 
 
 I could not tell why, but as my sister uttered 
 these words I was struck with terror. 
 
 " Do you know the man whom my father des- 
 tined for me?" asked I, more agitated than I 
 wished to appear. 
 
 " How should I not know Mohammed ? He 
 is my husband's brother." 
 
 This unexpected revelation had the effect of 
 a thunder-clap. Her husband's brother ! I fore- 
 saw for myself, as in a bad dream, this frightful 
 life now before my eyes, with its humiliation, its 
 immodesty, and revolts ; this strange mingling of 
 wives and slaves ; this degrading servility from 
 which even the title of princess would not be able 
 to save me. Was this in reserve for me ? 
 
76 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 I returned to Chimilah a prey to the wildest 
 terror. My father had scarcely entered the next 
 morning when I cried out : 
 
 " It is not true ! It is impossible ! Hosnah 
 has deceived me ! Tell me quickly that it is not 
 true ! " 
 
 " First tell me what is not true ? " 
 
 " That you wish to marry me to her brother- 
 in-law Mohammed." 
 
 " Hosnah is a tattler," he answered, smiling ; 
 " but, since she has told it, there is nothing more 
 to hide. But why this look of consternation ? 
 You have never seen him. You do not know 
 him." 
 
 " But what necessity is there for me to have 
 known him ? It was sufficient for me to have 
 been in the household of his brother yesterday 
 to terrify me at the idea of a harem like his." 
 
 "Allah! What know you of it?" calmly 
 answered my father. " Mohammed has no ha- 
 rem, and if he marries you he will never have 
 another wife." 
 
 Though there was much in these assurances 
 to calm my liveliest alarm, I did not yield. 
 
 "But if I do not love him, father ? " 
 
 " Be at ease," he answered with a smile. 
 " Have I not promised that you shall know your 
 husband before marriage ? Yet more, I do not 
 wish to compel you, my dear child. If Moham- 
 med is disagreeable to you absolutely well, you 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 77 
 
 shall not marry Mohammed. Are you reas- 
 sured?" 
 
 What could I answer to words so tender and 
 reasonable ? He spoke then of the hopes he had 
 built on this superb match one of the finest in 
 Egypt and of the happiness that would be mine. 
 Mohammed is thirty. Educated in Europe, he is 
 civilized, which accounts for his not resembling 
 his brother in anything. A friend of the Khe- 
 dive, and with great influence over him, he occu- 
 pies one of the highest positions at court, where 
 his great political ability makes him a sort of 
 vizier. My father did not conceal the fact that 
 this marriage would be the height of the ambi- 
 tion of my family, and he dwelt at length on the 
 wondrously influential position I should occupy, 
 and the great wealth it would bring me. 
 
 XII. 
 
 I SOON perceived that this great secret of my 
 marriage was no longer a secret from any of the 
 family ; from my step-mother, Zeinab, down to 
 Saida, they never stopped gossiping about the 
 happiness in store for me. I discovered it was 
 a concerted understanding to assure victory to 
 Seigneur Mohammed. Bell even joined the par- 
 ty, and, from what Farideh told her, was ever- 
 
78 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 lastingly pointing out to me the magnificent life 
 I should have with such a husband. Then, some 
 days later, my father came one morning to inform 
 me that at noon he would be awaiting me in a 
 pavilion which almost joins the Selamlik. At 
 this extraordinary departure from precedent, I 
 realized that the first blow was struck. 
 
 " I shall have some one to present to you," he 
 added, with a smile. 
 
 This news threw my entire house into confu- 
 sion. 
 
 Though, in accordance with the inflexible rules, 
 I could only appear at this presentation closely 
 veiled, Nazly, naturally in their confidence, would 
 deck me in my most beautiful toilet. Saida 
 would arrange my head with her own hands, 
 placing first the bourko you know the piece of 
 stuff which is fastened below the eyes and over 
 all the habarah, hiding the head and forehead. 
 In spite of their jests and laughter, I was some- 
 what agitated. I felt an unconquerable emotion, 
 which all these preparations increased. A thou- 
 sand thoughts struggled in my brain, now one, 
 now another, gaining the mastery. At one time 
 .the picture of Hosnah's harem would make me 
 shudder ; at another the promise of my father 
 would give me confidence. 
 
 I was ready. Saida saw me go, nearly as 
 agitated as if she were herself the victim. Naz- 
 ly embraced me, so as to encourage me. Bell 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 79 
 
 alone, very self-possessed under her veil, was to 
 accompany me. 
 
 You know I am not brave, but I only tremble 
 when the danger is in the distance. In an event 
 like this, I arm myself with all my sang-froid. I 
 would not allow myself to be swayed either by 
 my anticipations or by surrounding influences. 
 I would refuse to take any part. Two eunuchs 
 formed our escort ; they ascended the steps be- 
 fore us, and introduced us. As I entered, my 
 eyes rested on a person very elegantly dressed in 
 European style, with a tarbouch on his head, who 
 was sitting near my father. At my entrance he 
 immediately rose. 
 
 Large, erect, with the profile of an antique 
 medal, his long lashes soften the flash of a gaze 
 very proud and at the same time a little hard ; a 
 brown beard conceals all the lower part of the 
 face. 
 
 "My daughter, his Excellency Mohammed 
 Pasha, who has solicited the honor of being pre- 
 sented to you." 
 
 I bowed slightly. 
 
 My father spoke in Arabic. As if through 
 gallant deference, the young Pasha uttered in 
 French some phrases of delicate courtesy, in 
 which he expressed his gratitude for a favor 
 which he so highly estimated. 
 
 Bell, book in hand, had discreetly retired to 
 a little distance. I took a place on the divan be- 
 
80 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 side my father. Seigneur Mohammed sat in front 
 of us in a f auteuil. 
 
 This visit d la Fran$aise was the most extra- 
 ordinary and original proceeding ever heard of. 
 It had all the form of a meeting in the Faubourg 
 St.-Germain ; but here the veil added a new fea- 
 ture something like an intrigue with a mask on, 
 covering an interview of lovers. The conversa- 
 tion that ensued was somewhat ceremonious, and 
 on general topics. Apart from the gravity, at 
 the same time easy and dignified, of the man of 
 state, Mohammed does not lack intellect. Yet, 
 to be frank, his haughty coldness was not unbe- 
 coming. But his smile has an ironical finesse 
 which betrays the consciousness of slightly 
 haughty superiority. My father made a remark 
 on some point of foreign policy, and, without 
 knowing much about it, I ventured a timid ob- 
 servation. Mohammed's countenance expressed 
 surprise ; I had, it appeared, uttered a very sub- 
 tile remark, which covered the point at issue be- 
 tween them. 
 
 "Eh ! mon Dieu, mademoiselle," he said, "be- 
 hold ! we have you already a great politician." 
 
 My father laughed aloud. I lowered my eyes, 
 blushing under my veil. 
 
 Mohammed did not pursue the subject, but 
 gave the conversation a turn which restored it to 
 its careless and indifferent tone. Emboldened 
 by this strange situation, through his grave self- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 81 
 
 control, a certain tone of gallantry was percepti- 
 ble. I can not explain how, in the most apropos 
 manner, he found a way of slipping in some very 
 graceful compliments. Once I considered his 
 praises fulsome. 
 
 "Take care," I said with a slight dash of 
 irony ; " I may be very ugly." 
 
 "No, you are not," he replied in a tone of 
 confidence, very flattering to my vanity. 
 
 My father gave one of his little malicious 
 laughs. 
 
 " How do you know ? " I asked. 
 
 " Mademoiselle, I have my secrets." 
 
 " Doubtless the gift of second-sight." 
 
 "I do not think so." 
 
 "Then" 
 
 "Then I assure you that you are charm- 
 ing." 
 
 Notwithstanding his boldness, this point-blank 
 flattery did not cause me a blush. Convinced 
 that he knew nothing, I pressed him to enlighten 
 me as to his information. " Were it only by your 
 eyes and your voice," he replied, " I would already 
 have had sufficient reason to judge." I jestingly 
 continued this skirmish, insisting that he should 
 show me my portrait, and, after making me en- 
 treat him awhile " 
 
 "Notwithstanding your great, severe eyes," 
 he continued, "you have a smiling mouth with 
 dazzling little teeth ; your nose is straight and deli- 
 6 
 
82 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 cate, and low down on your left cheek is a slight 
 little mole." 
 
 I fell from the clouds. 
 
 " What treachery ! You have seen me in 
 Paris." 
 
 He denied this. 
 
 " It is magic, then ! " 
 
 He enjoyed my astonishment for a moment, 
 then he took from his pocket-book a photograph 
 which he showed me. I uttered a cry of amaze- 
 ment on recognizing myself. I gave my father a 
 reproachful look, to which he seemed insensible, 
 appearing to enjoy my defeat. 
 
 I had lost much of my assurance ; for this 
 veil, behind which I took refuge, no longer con- 
 cealed me. The visit was soon ended, for, with 
 a good taste for which I had not given him credit, 
 as if he understood my embarrassment, Moham- 
 med did not abuse his advantage over me. He 
 rose, and, bowing very low, took his leave with a 
 few graceful and respectful words. When he 
 had left, I reproached my father with having so 
 prefidiously betrayed me. 
 
 " You are an ingrate, Miriam," he answered. 
 " To please you we set aside all established rules, 
 and behold, you scold me for obeying you too 
 well ! Do you not see that Mohammed can not 
 love you unless he knows you ? " That was very 
 true, and I was appeased. He inquired my im- 
 pressions, and in daughterly confidence I owned 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 83 
 
 that his protege had made a very favorable impres- 
 sion on me. I criticised, though, something too 
 searching in his gaze, an imperceptible shade of 
 irony in his smile, a cold nature under the grave 
 hauteur of his manner even in his gallant atten- 
 tions ; but, after all, these are the trifling defects 
 suitable to a politician. My father then informed 
 me, in addition to what he had told me before 
 this meeting, and which with very natural discre- 
 tion Mohammed had not touched on, how affairs 
 now stood. Everything had been understood in 
 advance. Mohammed, like many other young 
 Mussulmans of rank, had pledged himself to have 
 but one wife. The arrangement of our menage 
 would be the same as Ali's and Adilah's, and he 
 only would require the ceremonial etiquette out 
 of the house. 
 
 At all events, I am permitted to reflect on it 
 before I decide : there is nothing to hurry me. 
 We have just commenced our Ramadan a fast 
 of forty days. We must wait until that is ended 
 before we can dream of the celebration of a mar- 
 riage. It is a month's respite. What do you say 
 to my romance ? As you see, it is a very impor- 
 tant affair, dearest, and I can not decide without 
 deepest reflection. Marriage in itself is some- 
 thing terrifying in its incomprehensibility. Sei- 
 gneur Mohammed impresses me favorably, I own, 
 though I do not feel for him that sympathy which 
 reassures and encourages. A single interview, it 
 
84 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 is true, is not sufficient to form an opinion ; still, 
 I recognize in him the apparent possession of ster- 
 ling qualities an attraction, a bearing, an educa- 
 tion, sentiments which distinguish him from all 
 others. In short, I could not be ambitious of a 
 husband more desirable in this Mussulman world 
 to which I belong. Love is sometimes more last- 
 ing for not being too sudden. Mohammed pos- 
 sesses gifts which must flatter the pride of any 
 woman. The favorable impression he made on 
 me has relieved me from my terrors, and that is 
 much to begin with. Why should not affection 
 be born later, when I have awakened a heart 
 stifled perhaps by the cares of business ? Time is 
 the best of counselors. We shall see. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 MY life has suddenly gained an extraordinary 
 excitement. The news of the marriage has been 
 spread abroad before it is even fully decided on. 
 At Chimilah they all consider it a fixed fact. 
 Since the visit of Mohammed, Hosnah has been 
 seized with such a friendship for me that she gives 
 me no respite. Scarcely a day passes that she 
 does not come to see me, carrying me off in her 
 coach to introduce me to her friends, inventing a 
 thousand pretexts for driving and fetes. I no 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 85 
 
 longer belong to myself, but seem won over by 
 her flatteries. 
 
 In the midst of this strife, I have not been able 
 to find a moment to go and see my dear Adilah ; 
 Hosnah accompanies me whenever I go out. We 
 go together to Choubrah, where we meet Moham- 
 med. Behind the lowered shades the sphinx-eye 
 of my sister perceives him with such unerring 
 certainty that one must believe she was prepared 
 for the encounter. From the looks he gives at 
 our coach, of which I suppose he recognizes the 
 livery, I am confident he knows I am there. Eti- 
 quette forbids him to bow to me ; yet a few days 
 since, when our coupk collided with his in a nar- 
 row passage, I perceived an imperceptible sign, a 
 movement of his eyes and lowering of the lashes. 
 
 " Did you see that ? " exclaimed Hosnah. " He 
 almost committed an indiscretion. You certainly 
 make him lose his head," she added ; and she con- 
 tinued her jests about the mad passion I have in- 
 spired. 
 
 She knows about the interview and the por- 
 trait, and approves of everything. Great Heav- 
 ens ! What has become of her " old principles " ? 
 I can not disguise the fact that there is, in these 
 meetings and this mystery, a sort of romantic 
 perfume, which almost reconciles me to the bar- 
 barous rigor which hides us from all eyes. A 
 lover alone, my dear, invented this code of ado- 
 ration and respect. What woman could dare to 
 
86 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 complain of this jealous precaution, or this vigi- 
 lant care to secure her from all eyes ? There cer- 
 tainly are no such scruples in the pale loves of 
 Europe. A nature at the same time fervent and 
 idolatrous is the only one which can feel ardent 
 passion. Veiled to all, the Mussulwoman belongs 
 but to one. Does not the woman who exposes 
 herself to admiration and envy give away some- 
 thing of herself ? 
 
 Circumstances are more defined, and your little 
 princess seems rushing on to the fatal denottment. 
 Two days ago a bitter grief fell to my poor Naz- 
 ly's share. Her sister's son, enlisted a little while 
 since, had deserted. His mother rushed to us in 
 her despair. He was to be shot. I immediately 
 went to Hosnah's house, and she agreed to help 
 us. A hanum has the right of calling at the 
 house of a public official ; and this had not been 
 the first time that Hosnah sought the aid of her 
 brother-in-law. She started immediately to seek 
 him, promising to obtain pardon for the con- 
 demned, and I returned to Chimilah very hope- 
 ful. An hour later she came to my house. A 
 free pardon was granted, and Mohammed would 
 bring it to me. 
 
 "How ! " cried I ; "that is impossible." 
 
 "Why?" she tranquilly inquired. "Has he 
 not been here before ? " 
 
 " That was very different ; an interview au- 
 thorized by my father." 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 87 
 
 " Well ! This time it will be an interview 
 authorized by me that is all the difference." 
 
 " Where shall I receive him ? " 
 
 "I will accompany you to the pavilion." 
 
 I looked at her in amazement, not being able 
 to believe such a departure on the part of my sis- 
 ter. In truth, I had to let her do it. Mohammed 
 was her near relation, and the authority she exer- 
 cised over the family would excuse such hardi- 
 hood. I did not think of dressing, for I was too 
 much agitated in view of this new meeting, so 
 unexpectedly improvised. I need not tell you 
 she had not much trouble in convincing me. Half 
 an hour later one of Hosnah's eunuchs came to 
 inform her that Seigneur Mohammed had arrived, 
 and we started for the famous pavilion. 
 
 Mohammed awaited us. We were both tight- 
 ly veiled, of course. The magnificent embon- 
 point of my sister filled the foreground. He ad- 
 vanced beaming, and held out a paper to me : it 
 was the pardon. I expressed my gratitude. 
 
 " You have but to give me an order," he re- 
 plied, " and it shall be immediately executed. I 
 hope, in future, that you will exert your power 
 without hesitation." 
 
 He then thanked me for this new and un- 
 hoped-for favor I had granted him. Hosnah re- 
 plied for me. Seated near her on the divan, I 
 thought that, though veiled, I was no longer the 
 unknown of our first interview ; I felt troubled. 
 
88 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 The familiar ease of the relationship of my sister 
 to the young Pasha gave the conversation a tone 
 nearly of intimacy. Obliged before her to speak 
 in Arabic, we could not avoid tutoyering each 
 other. Though we strove to use an impersonal 
 formula, the moment came when we were com- 
 pelled to pronounce the first " tu" Hosnah seemed 
 enchanted, and played with her amber beads. 
 His reserve thrown aside, his amiable abandon 
 and playful enjoyment showed me my suitor in a 
 new light. In the course of our conversation, I 
 was surprised to discover tokens of a very keen 
 taste for beautiful works of art, and had the want 
 of tact to express my astonishment. 
 
 " Own that you think me a barbarian," he said 
 playfully. 
 
 " I will only own," I replied smilingly, " that 
 I had never dreamed that politics would leave 
 you leisure to become well informed and an art- 
 ist." 
 
 I am not very sure that Hosnah did not take 
 this remark for an impertinence, for she made a 
 terrified sign. But this argument was so far 
 above her ideas that, on seeing Seigneur Moham- 
 med laugh, she was reassured, doubtless convinced 
 that it was his indulgence on account of my bad 
 education. I must tell you that, in spite of his 
 great air of discreet reserve, with admirable quick- 
 ness, without seeming to touch on it, the adroit 
 diplomate found means of conveying to me the 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 89 
 
 intelligence that it was his intention after a little 
 time to make a sojourn in Paris. You may rest 
 assured I shall not dissuade him. To be brief, 
 after the interview had lasted an hour, Hosnah 
 rose, and, while pretending to continue the con- 
 versation, led the way to the garden. I was 
 forced to follow. At a turn of the path she 
 stopped to gather a rose, and I was alone with 
 the enemy. 
 
 "I recognized you at Choubrah," he said to 
 me in French. 
 
 I attempted to jest, to conceal my embarrass- 
 ment. 
 
 " And you failed to bow to me." 
 " Pardon me ; I forgot everything." 
 Hosnah, with her rose in her belt, rejoined us 
 with the most innocent air. TVe had reached the 
 little door which communicates with the harem. 
 She took leave of Mohammed. This time he 
 held out his hand to me ; I hesitated a moment, 
 and then placed mine in it. It had the effect on 
 me of an engagement that we thus sealed. 
 
 You may know that during the days which 
 followed there was much talk of our betrothal. 
 My father and Hosnah ridicule my doubts, which 
 they believe to be insincere. Even Ali is in the 
 plot. In truth, have not these doubts vanished ? 
 To what do I object ? Urged by all, I have 
 much fear I shall yield. Saida is already busy 
 over my toilets. The only question that seems 
 
90 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 to be considered is, what a splendid wedding there 
 shall be. 
 
 Tremble ; behold me married ! 
 
 XIV. 
 
 A CLOUD upon the azure of my skies. Has- 
 san, that unhappy exile whom I wished to save, 
 has not left Cairo. Discovered and menaced, the 
 rash man has not believed my letter, so I am 
 again tormented by the recollection of my foolish 
 act. It is a long story, which I will tell you. 
 
 For more than a week I could not tear myself 
 from the hands and the devotion of Hosnah, until 
 yesterday, under a pretext of having something 
 to do in town, I escaped. I found Adilah ready 
 to go out for one of her solitary rides on the bank 
 of the Nile. 
 
 "I will go with you," I cried, taking a seat 
 "beside her. 
 
 This excursion was a lively pleasure to both of 
 us. What things to tell each other ! How many 
 questions about my marriage ! We soon were 
 on the road beyond the town, and rode along the 
 side of the river, having at our left an undulating 
 plain which lost itself in a golden line on the des- 
 ert, and seemed to die at the foot of the Pyra- 
 mids, as if stifled by those giant piles. No one 
 was driving. From time to time some fellah, or 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 91 
 
 fellahine with jar upon her head, or an ass trot- 
 ting along with its load, was the only visible sign 
 of life. 
 
 The sun, bathed in a crimson horizon, cast its 
 shining rays on the tops of the palms ; some da- 
 habiehs dotted the river. White ibis with their 
 long feet were in the stream, and flaming red ones 
 flying among the weeds. It was near twilight, 
 which dies so rapidly in this country, but the 
 daylight still shone in softening hues, imprinting 
 a melancholy grace upon the mysterious poesy of 
 night. A light fog like gauze enveloped the dis- 
 tance ; the first plains were visible, and the blue 
 of the heavens became yet darker, as if to lend to 
 the stars their bed of velvet. 
 
 In our intimate sympathy we yielded to the 
 charm of this tranquillity, chattering incessantly 
 so as to make up for the time we had lost. Safe 
 from meeting any one, or being seen on this iso- 
 lated road, we had raised our veils. We had now 
 reached a sort of creek, which was used as a lit- 
 tle port. Upon some barks, moored in the river, 
 some children, half naked in their blue rags, di- 
 verted themselves. Suddenly Adilah uttered a 
 cry. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " asked I. 
 
 " Down there, on one of the boats, a child has 
 fallen into the Nile." 
 
 The terrified little monkeys ran upon the bank 
 screaming. We got out, and Adilah distractedly 
 
92 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 implored her people for aid, but they only looked 
 at us amazed. I repeated to them in Arabic that 
 a child was drowning. Neither eunuchs nor sals 
 would stir. The screams increased ; the poor 
 little one instinctively struggled, but it was easy 
 to foresee the frightful end, and no succor to look 
 for, when happily at a turn of the road a horse- 
 man appeared. Attracted by our cries and ges- 
 tures of despairing appeal, he pressed toward us. 
 
 "A child is drowning," said Adilah, pointing 
 with her hand to the little fellah who was trying 
 to keep himself above water. 
 
 Without taking time to answer, the rider 
 dashed off and forced his horse into the river. 
 We saw him seize the child, who clung to him 
 with a convulsive clasp ; but the current is so 
 rapid at this point that the horse, drawn along by 
 it, could not regain the bank. We had some 
 minutes of agony, and then the unknown con- 
 quered the danger and placed the child at our feet. 
 
 The rider was Hassan ! 
 
 Struck dumb by the sight, I let Adilah ex- 
 press her gratitude. With a voice shaken, no 
 doubt, by the danger, he replied in French, his 
 eyes fixed on us, and bowing very low. 
 
 His embarrassed manner increased my un- 
 easiness. Suddenly, in the confusion caused by 
 this accident, a word from one of the terrified 
 eunuchs, who lifted his arms to heaven, reminded 
 us that our veils were raised. I quickly lowered 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 93 
 
 mine. After a deep reverence Hassan left us, 
 and I remained in consternation at such a rash 
 disregard of the warning I had sent him. 
 
 Still pale and trembling, astonished at our 
 care of him, the child kept looking at us. At 
 the noise, the mother came out of her hut a 
 large woman with a dark, energetic countenance, 
 draped in the blue sarrau of the fellahine. She 
 approached calm and indifferent, without any 
 alarm or joy. ("What is written is written.") I 
 was seized with regret at the idea of throwing 
 back into his misery this poor little being who 
 owed his life to us. I offered the fellahine money 
 if she would give up her boy to me, and the bar- 
 gain was concluded. "We took him with us in the 
 carriage. 
 
 Very much agitated by these events we re- 
 gained the town, when, in driving close to the 
 side- wall of the garden which joins my brother's 
 palace, a branch of jasmine, thrown through the 
 door, fell on my lap. Surprised, we looked at 
 each other. 
 
 " It is our neighbor," said Adilah. 
 
 I was so irritated that my first impulse was 
 to throw the flower through the window, but 
 Adilah picked up the flower and handed it to 
 me. 
 
 " It is justice, after all," she said. " He is re- 
 paying you." 
 
 This Oriental homage, crowning our adven- 
 
94 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 ture, seemed to be an acknowledgment, and I 
 had not the cruelty to repulse it. I accepted the 
 flower. 
 
 On my return to Chimilah I had to explain to 
 my father the introduction of my adopted fellah 
 into the palace. I owned my flight with Adilah, 
 and related how he had been saved. He did not 
 scold much. Be it understood that I passed over 
 the incident of the veil, and the name of the 
 cavalier. 
 
 The remembrance of this strange encounter 
 haunted me. With the branch of jasmine before 
 my eyes I was confounded. 
 
 " He repays himself," Adilah had said. I 
 could no longer deceive myself : he knew the 
 heroine of the beautiful prank at the window. 
 But, how had he seen me ? Through some open- 
 ing, perhaps, that was hidden from me by the 
 leaves. The inexplicable mystery haunts me con- 
 tinually. 
 
 To divert my mind from these awkward re- 
 flections, I made them bring the child, whom 
 Nazly had already cleaned and dressed. He is 
 a little fellow of about five years old, with bold 
 wild eyes, quite beautiful in spite of his air like 
 a little savage, and his shaved head. He is called 
 Mansour, and I had some trouble in taming him. 
 But he let himself be seduced by the gold in my 
 costume, and I won a smile from him by the 
 promise of the dress of an effendi. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 95 
 
 Now, when I have exhausted all conjectures 
 on this event so unlocked for, I can not avoid 
 trembling. Has this unhappy, proscribed one 
 ever received the note I sent ? I am sure Zourah 
 gave it to one of his people. A terrible anxiety 
 assails me. Who knows ? perhaps one of his own 
 people betrayed him ! Why, then, does he ap- 
 pear not to have been given up ? I reflected on 
 the puerile means I had employed. Men have 
 the audacity which leads them to play with their 
 lives in such a way that the peril increases the 
 interest ; why, then, should he have given cre- 
 dence to an anonymous message ? Would a hid- 
 den friend be likely to' avert a real danger from 
 him? 
 
 Tormented by this idea, of which I could not 
 get rid, that I perhaps still assisted in his danger, 
 and feeling myself a coward to hesitate after his 
 noble act, so simply performed, I resolved to at- 
 tempt a last effort to save him, no longer recoil- 
 ing before the miserable fear of letting him sus- 
 pect whence came his safety. Was not this poor 
 child, who owed his life to him, already a link 
 between us ? Could he scorn this debt of grati- 
 tude I had contracted ? I immediately wrote a 
 letter in an explicit manner, telling him that he 
 had been seen and recognized, revealing to him 
 m full all the danger I knew hanging over his 
 head. For a signature I slipped in my letter 
 some jasmine flowers. 
 
96 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 Sure of Zourah, I ordered that this time she 
 should put the letter in his own hands only. Un- 
 der her habarah and veil, it was very easy for her 
 to accomplish her mission without his people sus- 
 pecting she was other than a slave. When the 
 letter had gone I breathed freely, feeling confi- 
 dent of the success of my attempt, for the advice 
 of a woman neither startles nor wounds ; seeing 
 me adopt such means, he could not doubt how 
 imminent the danger was. An hour later Nazly 
 returned. Judge of my amazement when she 
 brought me this answer, which I read in terror : 
 
 " What ! It was you ! This adorable pity 
 which trembles for my life, does it come from 
 your heart ? Ah ! may you be blessed for this 
 word, for those flowers, which, like the Gulnare 
 of dreams, you let fall at the feet of the poor 
 poet Hafiz. Yes ! I will be wary to preserve this 
 sad life, which exile has rendered so bitter that 
 for a long time I have not wished to prolong it, 
 and I will obey you. But I can not leave here ! 
 Do not ask it more. How could I go now ? I 
 have seen you ! I know you ! Ah ! do not pun- 
 ish me for this cry which escapes from the depths 
 of my soul ! It only reaches you as the most 
 humble gratitude as toward a deity. I know 
 you ; I have seen you ! I know who you are, and 
 I would not trust my lips even to pronounce your 
 name, but, in the midst of danger, I shall know 
 that a good angel protects me. Blessed are 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 97 
 
 you, for you have increased my courage and my 
 faith!" 
 
 When I had finished the letter, I remained 
 motionless, overwhelmed with astonishment. In 
 writing my note I had yielded to an impulse of 
 compassion. This unexpected answer caused me 
 unspeakable terror. Under the humility of this 
 respect and enthusiastic joy lurked an avowal 
 which it was impossible for me to mistake. He 
 loved me, and he dared to tell me he would not 
 go away. On seeing this result of my impru- 
 dence, I asked myself by what madness I had 
 been made guilty of it. 
 
 Yet I strove to struggle against these fears, 
 which were possibly too great ; perhaps his senti- 
 ments were only a poet's gratitude, decked in 
 Oriental imagery, and the natural exaggeration 
 of a service rendered by a woman. I read it over 
 again, weighing each word, and scrutinizing each 
 thought which had dictated it. Alas ! I could not 
 deceive myself I could not doubt. Each word 
 was a flame. This unhappy man loved me, and, 
 in the confusion and terror into which I am thrown, 
 I can accuse no one but myself. Did I not do it 
 all? The folly with which I amused myself at 
 the window he took for encouragement a hope, 
 perhaps. Great Heavens ! what must he have sus- 
 pected as the cause of my imprudence ? But no, 
 his love, so humble, so resigned, which from afar, 
 in his retreat, would cause him to sacrifice even 
 7 
 
98 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 his life for me, is a love without hope. He says 
 so. Must he not know, then, that I am to be mar- 
 ried ? that he can never approach me ? And yet 
 he will not fly ; he will not abandon the place I 
 live in, the house which speaks to him of me. 
 Poor boy ! 
 
 XV. 
 
 EVENTS have so crowded on each other, at the 
 very moment when I believed myself delivered 
 from all cause of uneasiness, that I have not been 
 able to find time even to write you. Happily, all 
 is done well this time, and in the consciousness of 
 having repaired my error I can efface it by for- 
 getting it. Some days had passed since those idle 
 terrors of which no trace remained, when one 
 morning Ali came to see me. During our con- 
 versation, I perceived, in spite of his efforts to be 
 amused, a certain preoccupied air. He had come 
 from the palace, where they had just discovered 
 that a conspiracy exists, and that a relation of the 
 Viceroy a bitter enemy of Mohammed is at the 
 head of it. The name of Hassan was mixed with 
 these rumors. I could not help blushing. 
 
 " Is he in danger ? " I inquired. 
 
 " At least he has a good deal to dread," re- 
 plied he. " Mohammed is a man with brains and 
 energy." 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 99 
 
 I felt myself shiver ; with a faltering voice I 
 questioned him, and learned that our family inter- 
 ests, closely connected with those of Mohammed, 
 disturbed him more than he chose to own. 
 
 The entrance of my sister Hosnah prevented 
 our continuing the subject. On perceiving AH, 
 she could not repress a movement of her brow, 
 which recalled the Hosnah of old ; but she imme- 
 diately controlled herself, and came to me holding 
 out both hands. When she was seated, conversa- 
 tion recommenced, with some constraint, on in- 
 different subjects. In regard to Ali, she affected 
 that sort of ignoring which conveys the utmost 
 contempt. My brother soon took leave of me. 
 When he had gone 
 
 " You seem to be very intimate," she said in 
 a suspicious manner. 
 
 " Yes ; is it not very natural ? " 
 
 " Do you see him often ? " 
 
 " Not as often as I should desire." 
 
 " And his wife ? " she continued, fastening her 
 eyes on mine. 
 
 The promise I had given my father forced me 
 to evade her question. I was slightly embar- 
 rassed. 
 
 " You well know we must not receive her," 
 replied I, smiling to hide my confusion. 
 
 But I was uneasy about what Ali had .been 
 telling me, and questioned Hosnah. 
 
 " Bah ! " she said, shrugging her shoulders. 
 
100 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 " Do not make yourself uneasy about Moham- 
 med ; he has them in his grasp this moment, 
 and, if he delays acting, it is only to crush them 
 more completely when the right moment ar- 
 rives." 
 
 I let her take me to Choubrah. We were re- 
 turning from our drive when a battalion of weary 
 soldiers, covered with dust, and who seemed to 
 have arrived after a long march, passed us. 
 With a sort of joyous curiosity, Hosnah lifted 
 the blind softly, to see them pass. 
 
 " We shall have news to-morrow," she said. 
 
 Astonished, warned by a presentiment, I ques- 
 tioned her. 
 
 " Pshaw ! " she replied in a low tone, " it is a 
 secret which concerns you. Mohammed will prob- 
 ably this night make away with enemies mad 
 enough to dare to attack him." 
 
 I returned to Chimilah a prey to the most 
 horrible pangs. In this lawless country, where 
 an order is all that is requisite for an execution, 
 they were going to take Hassan's life. Could I let 
 them commit this crime, all the fault of which 
 would be mine ? It was no longer now a ques- 
 tion of imprudence or rashness. I had a duty to 
 fulfill, a reparation to make, which it would be 
 cowardly to frustrate. I must speak to Hassan, 
 must confess to him that I was the involuntary 
 cause of the danger which hung over his head, 
 show him his blind folly, and, if needful, implore 
 
THE RETURN OF TBfr EHZNCE3S 
 
 him to fly for the sake of'.piy^utiirs 1 ptjaee.* 'Af- 
 ter all, was I not convinced of his respect ? Hum- 
 ble and resigned as he is, he would know how to 
 suppress, in my presence, that adoration which 
 he doubtless betrayed under a conviction that we 
 should never meet. What had I to fear from a 
 heart so grand, so strong in its abnegation? 
 Does not my rank place me above suspicion? 
 Besides, am I not already the wife of Moham- 
 med ? A soul like his could not mistake my in- 
 terest, but would understand, in the dignity of an 
 engagement, that any other sentiment would be 
 an insult. Was I not encouraging my weakness 
 by these scruples, which, at heart, I felt to be 
 cowardly? It seemed by a providential chance 
 that all obstacles smoothed their own way, as if 
 to constrain my doubts and conquer my timidity. 
 Did not Zourah's house offer a safe place of meet- 
 ing ? What would be the harm of meeting him 
 there, under the protection of these two women, 
 in whose devotion I could so entirely confide ? 
 Certain of the discretion of ISTazly, veiled and dis- 
 guised under the habarah of some slave, what 
 chance was there that Zourah would recognize 
 me at all ? or would not rather suspect me to be 
 a woman from Chimilah, some friend of her sis- 
 ter's ? I had still to hesitate before deciding ; 
 but could I live with the thought that his life was 
 in my hands, perhaps ? Each hour which passed 
 would increase his peril, yet still I hesitated and 
 
102 ,TUE TvKTWN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 ba ck. . , eou!<4 Ipfcar it no longer. I called 
 Nazly. 
 
 " Are you not devoted to me ? " I asked. 
 
 " My dear mistress, even unto death ! " 
 
 " Well, you must assist me in saving an un- 
 happy man, whom they intend to put to death 
 this very night, for I have been the cause of his 
 ruin." 
 
 I then revealed my project to her. She was 
 terrified, and offered violent resistance ; but, see- 
 ing me so desperate, and ready to commit any 
 folly, she yielded. Time passed. I gave her this 
 note, which Zourah was to carry immediately, 
 without knowing, any more than the two previous 
 times, who had sent it : 
 
 " This ic oman will conduct you to where I 
 await you" 
 
 A spray of jasmine still served me for a sig- 
 nature. When the time arrived, disguised with 
 care, I started with Nazly, who often goes out 
 thus, accompanied by some slave. A hackney- 
 coach awaited us, and we got in. My decision 
 had been made after many doubts and combat- 
 ings, and yet I felt fears assailing me anew. The 
 sort of feverish energy which had sustained me 
 in preparing for a departure so rash and danger- 
 ous abandoned me. I was amazed to have dared 
 it. But did I not, after all, exaggerate the bear- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 103 
 
 ing of this interview ? Could it have any other 
 motive than a natural pity? A meeting for a 
 moment, closely veiled, and in the presence of 
 Nazly, had certainly nothing mysterious about it. 
 Had I not already spoken to him in the presence 
 of Adilah and her people ? Enlightened as to his 
 foolish enterprise, and told by me of its hopeless- 
 ness, he could no longer hesitate to yield to the 
 only course which could save him. * 
 
 The coach stopped in a lonely road on the 
 banks of the Nile, where the little white house 
 was half hidden from sight by the sycamores. I 
 was in advance of the time. Nazly alone fol- 
 lowed me into a little garden close in the rear of 
 the house. Day began to fall, but there was still 
 such a transparent light that I could even distin- 
 guish the outlines of the Pyramids commanding 
 the horizon like great gray phantoms. It was a 
 soft, balmy, azure twilight. I looked around pal- 
 pitating and oppressed ; those moments of wait- 
 ing seemed centuries. The little door opened 
 suddenly, and Zourah appeared, followed by a 
 man. When he reached me he knelt and kissed 
 the hem of my mantle, while Nazly and her sister 
 moved off to a distance. 
 
 There are sometimes strange sensations which 
 abruptly take us by surprise, and defeat the most 
 wisely calculated foresight. I had prepared for 
 this interview, but in vain I called all my sang-froid 
 to my aid ; I could not think of a word to say. 
 
104 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 I stood perfectly still under my boiirko then 
 made him a sign to rise, and hesitatingly faltered 
 a few embarrassed sentences in French, because 
 my women did not understand that language. I 
 alluded to the service he had rendered the child 
 whom I had taken, and gave that as an excuse for 
 my unusual proceeding, and revealed to him the 
 design which was intended on this night. 
 
 " I bless the peril I passed through, since it 
 has won me thanks from your lips," replied he, 
 with a glance that betrayed all his repressed agi- 
 tation. " I am proud and happy at this present 
 danger, to which I owe your pity, and to which I 
 owe the joy of seeing you to-day a thing I have 
 never dared to hope for." 
 
 I was alarmed at his calmness, and the accent 
 in which he pronounced these words. I strove 
 in vain to prevent my mind from understanding 
 the sense of them ; the recollection of his let- 
 ter weighed on us both. His repressed passion, 
 united to his respectful timidity, moved me much 
 more than an avowal would have done. Could 
 I take offense at the silent ecstasy that I read in 
 his eyes ? 
 
 By degrees I conquered my embarrassment, 
 and spoke to him of his menaced life that he 
 must preserve it to give me peace, and I entreated 
 him to fly. 
 
 " No," he said, when I ceased, in his deep, rich 
 voice <( no, I shall not go ; I do not wish to go." 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 105 
 
 And if I order you ? " 
 
 At this word, which escaped me, I felt myself 
 crimson under my veil ; for did not this reveal 
 that I knew his love, and that I was not offended 
 at the knowledge? He so understood it. His 
 eyes sparkled, but he immediately cast them 
 down. 
 
 " No ! You could not order me to desert my 
 cause," he said. " You would scorn me as a cow- 
 ard if I did fly." 
 
 And he enthusiastically painted the mission 
 on which he had been sent to redeem his country 
 from oppression and theft. He described the 
 poor fellahs bending under the courbash of the 
 masters, and to whom nothing belonged not 
 even the products of their fields. 
 
 While he spoke I looked at him. In the faint 
 light his countenance softened, and appeared as 
 if transfigured. I was astonished to find him no 
 longer ugly. The fire in his eyes gave a strange 
 brightness to his severe, dark expression. 
 
 " But," I answered with less assurance, " it is 
 an idle struggle." 
 
 " What matters that, if duty forces it on me ? " 
 
 He saw me shiver. 
 
 " Oh, do not tremble," he said eagerly. 
 " Thanks to you, am I not saved until to-mor- 
 row ? And to-morrow who knows ? " 
 
 " Have you some hope, then ? " I cried, moved 
 by this answer. 
 
106 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 He hesitated a moment, as if battling with the 
 fear of betraying himself. 
 
 " Pardon me if I am silent on that point," he 
 then replied, " but have confidence, and be tran- 
 quil. I wish to live, and have I not at this hour 
 a talisman which protects me ? " 
 
 And he placed before my eyes a sprig of dried 
 jasmine. I did not answer. There was perfect 
 silence, and I felt his gaze weigh upon me. He 
 slightly leaned toward me, and in a low and 
 troubled voice 
 
 " I already owe too much happiness to you," 
 he said softly. My heart beat so I did not dare 
 to speak. 
 
 " I have had little joy in the world," he con- 
 tinued ; " the liveliest has been the gift of this 
 poor flower : there are moments which are worth 
 an eternity." 
 
 Suddenly a dark shadow rose near us ; it was 
 the signal for departure given by Nazly. 
 
 For an instant we remained standing before 
 each other. 
 
 "Adieu ! " I murmured. 
 
 " Adieu ! " he repeated. 
 
 It was only after my return home, alone in the 
 silence, not having to tremble or to think, that I 
 began to recover. With that sort of complacency 
 which leads us to brood over all that has violently 
 agitated and shaken us, I recalled the least inci- 
 dents of my audacious escapade. My heart flut- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 107 
 
 tered still with a thousand confused impressions. 
 Certain that I had now acquitted myself toward 
 him, I again saw myself in the garden, reading 
 his eyes and divining his thoughts. Had I not 
 let fall some imprudent words which revealed that 
 I was aware of his passion ? What must he think 
 of me ? I calmed myself by the thought that I 
 had disabused the mind of this poor madman. 
 An adieu had ended his dream of a day. 
 
 Yet I could not sleep at night. If he went, 
 could he escape them ? I had opened a window 
 of the veranda, not recollecting that the park at 
 Chimilah cut off all noises, and depending on the 
 rarity of the air to bring me some sound of what 
 was taking place at that hour. Nothing ! The 
 sky, the stars with their mild light, illumined the 
 parterres, whence rose odoriferous breathings. 
 Daylight surprised me still up. I told myself 
 then that this terrible adventure was unknown. 
 As to Zourah as I said before, she believed she 
 carried a letter from some woman of the harem. 
 From what passed at her house she can suspect 
 nothing. Thus, then, no one will ever discover 
 that the Princess Miriam protected this unfortu- 
 nate, nor suspect that one evening she left her 
 palace to speak with him. Now, deprived of all 
 hope, the poor poet will live, and the remem- 
 brance of this incident will weaken in his mind 
 with time, which effaces all things. 
 
 The next morning I had scarcely risen when 
 
108 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 Nazly entered, handing me a letter which bore no 
 address. 
 
 " Where did this letter come from ? " I asked 
 in amazement. 
 
 " Zourah brought it to me. A slave carried it 
 to her house and desired her to convey it imme- 
 diately to the hanum who had come to visit her 
 garden yesterday." 
 
 I tremblingly opened the paper. Some jas- 
 mine flowers fell upon my knees. I read : 
 
 " This act of thanks will reach you to say that 
 you have saved me. Alas ! in leaving you I knew 
 that the adieu from your lips was a final adieu, 
 and that I should never see you more, but I bear 
 in my heart the imperishable souvenir of that 
 pity of an instant that you felt for me. From the 
 retirement of the retreat which I have secured, I 
 do not wish one cloud to still trouble the calm 
 peace of your happy life. Know, then, that I am 
 free ; that the perils which made you tremble are 
 now no more than idle shadows ; and that I re- 
 member." When I had finished, an unspeakable 
 sadness took possession of me. Tears of tender- 
 ness wet my eyes. The danger now removed, in 
 spite of myself, I pity this love so full of abnega- 
 tion, so respectful, so humble in its hopelessness 
 that it does not even utter a complaint. The so- 
 licitude for my peace, which has made him no 
 doubt brave danger to send me this note, touches 
 me to the depths of my soul ! Poor boy 1 I have 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 109 
 
 repaired the evil that my imprudence might have 
 caused him. I am quits with my conscience, and 
 with him. 
 
 Such is the end of my prank. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 I RECOGNIZE you well there, Martha, and you 
 have been truly idle to tremble for your adven- 
 turous Miriam as you call her. Of this romance, 
 which makes you so uneasy, there only remains at 
 this hour a withered sprig of jasmine. Your little 
 princess is of a rank which sufficiently protects 
 her from the scorn which might wound her pride. 
 To put a seal on this secret for ever, I have writ- 
 ten to this unhappy man a last reasonable letter, 
 and I have again taken up my old course of life, 
 so very busy, I assure you, with preparations for 
 my marriage that it leaves no time to give way 
 to that natural nonchalance of my race with which 
 you have so often reproached me. In eight days 
 the Ramadan will be over, and, urged by my 
 father, I have pronounced the word which will 
 accomplish my destiny. You can judge of the 
 joy at Chimilah. Day before yesterday, depart- 
 ing more than ever from the established rules, 
 there was a new visit to the famous pavilion, 
 where Seigneur Mohammed came this time under 
 the character of fianc'e. Understand, I was still 
 
110 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 closely wrapped in my veils. Honestly, he did 
 not utter his protestations badly. Timid and im- 
 passioned by turns, he yet had a certain hardness 
 of glance which presages the master h'm ! Mar- 
 tha ! He would have been perfect if he had not 
 let me suspect that he treats me like a child. 
 
 Before this proud man, to whom I must one 
 day humble myself, I could not prevent my 
 thoughts from returning to the foolish dreams 
 you know of. But, pshaw ! all that has flown. 
 The glory and fortune of our family are at stake ! 
 We have arranged the routine of my house. The 
 gratings are newly gilded, as is suitable for one 
 of the rarest of birds. Each morning magnificent 
 baskets of presents are sent to the harem. I find 
 among them unknown flowers which seem to have 
 been forced expressly for me. Never was there 
 more radiant happiness. . . . Do not pay any at- 
 tention to these blistered lines. Without know- 
 ing why, I melted into tears ; that is all, and they 
 have washed them. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 MOKE and more enchanted, Hosnah has put 
 herself at the head of all the preparations for the 
 important day. She desires that Cairo shall long 
 remember such a fdte. Owing to this diversion, 
 I have gained some respite, which I have profited 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. HI 
 
 by to go and see Adilah. My father is so joyous 
 that I do not despair of arriving at the great aim 
 I have pursued in fancy to make him acknowl- 
 edge the poor, lonely girl. You know how in- 
 dulgent he is to my escapades. He listens when 
 I speak of her ; and he no longer forbids me to 
 visit her, but feigns unconsciousness. I have al- 
 ready Sa'ida as an ally. Were she not afraid of 
 being disagreeable to Hosnah, we would be sure 
 of the zeal of my step-mother, on condition always 
 that she remains hidden behind the curtain. 
 
 Mansour my little savage is a charming 
 child ; you can not imagine the affection this 
 poor little fellow has for me : he only seems to 
 live in my presence. Saida is devoted to him, 
 and we take him out to drive with us, which, the 
 other day, was the cause of a curious incident. 
 We had gone out in the coach. The weather was 
 so beautiful that passing Choubrah we reached the 
 banks of the Nile, when the idea occurred to me 
 of taking the child to see his mother. The scene 
 was the same as before : the same children 
 yaoulets, as they call them were playing on the 
 boats moored there, and startling the scarlet fla- 
 mingoes. Some buffaloes dotted the blue water 
 with great spots of black, while the little fellah- 
 ines, slender and graceful in their cloth draperies, 
 with jars upon their heads in the form of amphora 
 vases, which each supports with the arm of a 
 caryatid covered with glass bracelets, went and 
 
112 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 came with the easy, undulating grace of antique 
 statues. Mansour, on seeing his old comrades, 
 wished to get out and show himself in his dress 
 of an effendi, and we permitted him to do so. 
 We were soon surrounded, and you can imagine 
 the cries of joy and wonder. 
 
 We followed the road on foot to reach a clus- 
 ter of huts which were about a hundred yards off, 
 when suddenly Mansour dropped my hand, and 
 dashed off after a stranger who was crossing the 
 road. The pedestrian turned round : it was Has- 
 san. Letting the child lead him, he came toward 
 us, but withheld by respect stopped. My gaze 
 met his ; he started no doubt, discovering it was 
 me bowed his head in secret recognition, and 
 smiling gently on the little fellah, as if I must 
 take the smile to myself, went on without daring 
 to proffer a word. 
 
 You may believe I was much exercised in an- 
 swering Saida's questions, for she was greatly puz- 
 zled with this by-play. When she learned that 
 he was the man who saved Mansour 
 
 " How ugly he is ! " she cried. 
 
 I know not why, but this exclamation spread 
 peace into my soul. Certainly the ugliness of 
 the poor poet Hafiz absolves me for the secret 
 bond so strangely formed between us, and of 
 which chance seems to renew the remembrance. 
 I told you, I think, that Mansour's mother is a 
 fortune-teller. She was standing in the doorway, 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS 113 
 
 and, seeing me approach with the child, rushed to 
 throw herself at my feet and kiss the hem of my 
 habarah with great effusion of gratitude. 
 
 " Enter, hanums" she said, in the gravje and 
 dignified manner of a sibyl. 
 
 While she devoted herself to embracing her 
 son, I examined with amazement the interior, 
 which I had entered after much repugnance. In 
 the place of that sordid poverty and dirt which 
 are ordinarily to be found in the dwellings of the 
 fellahs, there was a comparative cleanliness which 
 almost testified to a certain ease. The cabin had 
 only one room, lighted by the open door, so that 
 the farther end was in darkness. We seated our- 
 selves on a divan of red cotton cloth ; on a mat 
 before us were carefully arranged some little pot- 
 tery cups, some shells, and some cheese ; and on 
 one side a writing-desk and some old books. Si- 
 lent, and impressed by all this, Saida looked around 
 with curiosity. 
 
 Thin, bronzed, with strongly marked harsh 
 features, the guayari has an air of savage energy 
 which must inspire confidence and terror in her 
 fortune-telling. Her eyes, shaded with kohl as 
 far as the middle of her cheeks, have a savage 
 glitter, which abash the gaze and seem to wrest 
 one's secret thoughts involuntarily. She knelt at 
 my feet, searching me with her dark orbs. 
 
 " Give me your hand," she said. 
 
 I refused, but Saida timidly held hers out. 
 8 
 
114 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 The sorceress held the little hand in hers, and 
 appeared to study the lines, then without say- 
 ing a word she rose and returned with a stand 
 upon which a live adder was crawling. Saida 
 screamed. 
 
 " Do not be afraid," she said. " It is a harm- 
 less reptile." 
 
 And, as if she wished to show us what was 
 dangerous, she went and brought a little cage 
 which she placed before our eyes. A serpent, 
 rolled into a ring scarcely larger than a bracelet, 
 seemed sleeping on a bed of sand. It was an asp, 
 whose sting is mortal, and which is used only in 
 the most terrible incantations. 
 
 Of course the fortune-teller only predicted 
 happiness, fortune, power, and all smiling proph- 
 ecies, until Saida was beaming. Before going 
 away I gave Salome permission to come and see 
 her son at Chimilah. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 I HAVE had an interview with my father, which 
 was at the same time solemn and charming, in 
 which he complimented me by treating me as a 
 daughter with intelligence enough to understand 
 things, and to be associated with the ambitious 
 projects that he does not confide to the narrow 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 115 
 
 minds of my elder sisters. He did not conceal 
 from me the fact that, in the present ruined state 
 of our family affairs, they depend solely on me to 
 raise them up. Politics and caprice of the rulers 
 being in this country the only source of wealth 
 and favor, he unfolded to me the hopes arising 
 from this splendid marriage of mine, and he en- 
 tered into the most confidential details. The in- 
 fluence that I appear to have gained already over 
 Mohammed does not leave a doubt of the sover- 
 eign power I shall be able to wield. The harem, 
 my dear, strange as it may seem, holds here a 
 more important place than you may suppose in 
 the control of the government. My role is admir- 
 able, and, in view of the high position I shall be 
 called to fill, if I am to believe the style of the 
 adulation of which I am the recipient in the in- 
 numerable visits I receive, behold me already the 
 most envied hanum in Egypt. Hosnah and Fa- 
 rideh have introduced me to their most titled 
 friends in Cairo. I am enthroned, and actually 
 have almost a court, where the two parties mingle, 
 and petitions are presented to me as if I were the 
 wife of a vizier. . 
 
 Two new interviews with my fiance have now 
 definitely settled our future, and, save that he 
 only knows me by my eyes, the bond that unites 
 our souls is firmly knitted. Workmen are in his 
 palace arranging my harem in French style, and I 
 learn through Hosnah that he is spending nearly 
 
116 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS 
 
 a million dollars on it. Think if I am loved and 
 if I shall not be happy ! . . . 
 
 To escape the fatigue of the visitors whom my 
 happiness has already secured me, I drive out of 
 town, where, alone with Bell, I can collect my 
 thoughts. Nearly each time I have met the poor 
 poet Hafiz at the same spot, who seems to come 
 there and wait to see me pass. Perhaps he is in 
 concealment in some hut in the neighborhood. 
 Through precaution for him, though, I have for 
 several days discontinued going there, hoping 
 that when he does not see me any longer he will 
 cease his painful attendance ; but, some whim of 
 Hosnah's leading us through the same road, I met 
 him again more sad and paler than before. More 
 touched than I cared to be by this patient devo- 
 tion, which can only bring him suffering, I re- 
 solved to at least spare his poor, noble heart the 
 torture of an effort so agonizing. The next morn- 
 ing, arming myself with all my courage, I went 
 out alone with Bell, and, as my coach passed be- 
 fore him, I let fall a sprig of jasmine, to which I 
 had fastened this cold, harsh farewell : " I will 
 return here no more." 
 
 The same evening Nazly's sister brought me 
 this note : 
 
 " Pardon, pardon me for being so unhappy as 
 to cause you annoyance. Alas ! that it should 
 be my fault that you should avoid that road be- 
 cause I was there ! But now I recognize my 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 117 
 
 error. Return return ; I will obey you. You 
 shall not see me again." 
 
 Poor fellow ! In receiving these lines, where 
 not a word of complaint escapes his desolated 
 heart, I realize how harsh I have been. This 
 abnegation of self before his idol touches me to 
 the depths of my soul. He has the strength of 
 a lion, my dear, under this timid humility. I 
 have again read his "Princess Gulnare." An 
 Eastern poet alone could paint its burning pas- 
 sion. One of these days I will translate it for 
 you. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 MAKTHA ! you are the only one to whom I 
 can confide my most secret thoughts. Whether 
 guilty or imprudent, I know that I shall always 
 find in your heart the inextinguishable love of a 
 sister. No ! Do not say I have deceived you, 
 if, in consequence of an idle act, which up to this 
 hour troubles me, I have done injustice to my- 
 self. I will at least open my soul to you, and let 
 you search there, like another conscience which 
 forms part of my being. Yes ! you had foreseen 
 that, always pursuing chimeras, the imagination 
 of your poor Miriam would stray beyond your 
 advice and judgment. Led away by a miserable 
 
118 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 feeling of coquetry, perhaps, I have not kept my 
 promise ! I have written, I have answered his 
 letters, which breathe such resigned, submissive 
 love. I feel myself so exalted in this heart ador- 
 ing me without hope or aim ! Does he not know 
 that we are utterly separated? Do not believe 
 that I have encouraged him, Martha. His heart 
 is deep and transparent as a beautiful lake which 
 reflects the sky. All there is noble and sublime 
 in its pleasures and its sorrows. Bereft of all 
 hope, he loves me, and never dares even to pro- 
 nounce my name. Resolved to give up all my 
 dreams in consequence of the marriage required 
 by my father, I have only given the poor poet a 
 token of my sympathy for the horrible suffering 
 of which I have been the involuntary cause. His 
 respect so exalted me in my own eyes that I felt 
 reassured, and rather proud to console him. Do 
 not alarm yourself, then, like my unfortunate 
 Bell, who, ignorant of my secret, torments me 
 with a thousand questions about a change in me 
 that she observes. I shall be married in a few 
 days ; I will obey my destiny. What more can 
 they require ? Must I give up my life also ? Am 
 I not dazzled by the splendor of an unequaled 
 future ? What is wanting in my fate ? A very 
 little thing, truly only the happiness of loving, 
 the union of two souls which makes marriage an 
 enchantment. What is all this I dream of ? I 
 have a lover who adores me, and, whether with 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 119 
 
 him or with another, I shall learn to have a mas- 
 ter. That is all. 
 
 No, Martha, I can not pretend any more ! I 
 have lied to you : I feigned a stupid resignation ; 
 I am afraid I am afraid. Possessed, in spite of 
 myself, by a delirium stronger than my reason, I 
 lose my senses. The bare thought of being the 
 wife of Mohammed terrifies me. Is there not 
 some hour in our lives when the heart awakens, 
 and, bursting all the trammels that our poor wis- 
 dom has invented to subjugate it, it speaks as a 
 master, annulling the past, stifling everything, 
 even the recollection of pledges made ? Martha, 
 I love Hassan ! Do you understand ? I should 
 love to give him my life my soul, and all that is 
 mine ! I have loved him from the first day, to 
 that second supreme one when we met. I will 
 love him until I die, and I shall be the wife of 
 another ! What is to become of me in that irrev- 
 ocable future to which I thoughtlessly abandoned 
 myself ? I am lost ! lost beyond recall lost, 
 without its being possible even for me to attempt 
 to defend myself. I can not be the wife of Mo- 
 hammed ; I should die ! It would be cowardly 
 infamy. It would be a frightful torture to which 
 they have no right to condemn me. 
 
 But what shall I do ? Everything is decided 
 upon ; all is nearly accomplished. For three days 
 I have thought of throwing myself at my father's 
 
120 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 feet, and imploring him to break off the mar- 
 riage ; but what pretext could I give ? To own 
 the truth, would be to betray Hassan to loosen 
 against him new and powerful hatreds. You see, 
 I am utterly lost only a miracle can save me ! 
 
 XX. 
 
 A MIRACLE that I never dared to conceive. 
 My God ! I fear that I shall go mad. But no, I 
 will tell you all calmly, so as to prove to myself 
 that I do not dream. 
 
 Three days passed, during which my father 
 only spent a moment with me, declaring that 
 grave public affairs engrossed his time. I saw 
 that he was serious and preoccupied, but in the 
 midst of my own torments I had accepted, with- 
 out trying to fathom, the excuse he thought fit to 
 make. This morning he entered, his countenance 
 so disturbed under the calm he assumed that I 
 went to meet him with uneasiness. He kissed 
 me with a sort of nervous effusion, and, drawing 
 me to the divan, sat down near me ; there, buried 
 in a strange silence, he drew a cigarette from a 
 golden case, and began to roll it between his fin- 
 gers, forgetting to light it. In spite of my own 
 weakness and fever, I understood that something 
 extraordinary had occurred, and that the embar- 
 rassed manner of my father was but the prelude 
 
THE KETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 121 
 
 to bad news. I was making up my mind to ques- 
 tion him, when suddenly raising his head and 
 throwing away his cigarette 
 
 " My poor child," he said, " I come to entreat 
 you to be brave." 
 
 At this opening I thought of some misfortune 
 to Ali. 
 
 " I am brave, father," I answered. 
 
 He looked at me some seconds ; then, in a sad 
 tone 
 
 " We are threatened with a great annoyance, 
 Miriam, and you are the one who will feel it most 
 deeply. Yet it is one of those necessities to which 
 we are compelled to submit. Your marriage with 
 Mohammed is a happiness to us all, but an un- 
 foreseen circumstance will delay it." 
 
 My father, deceived by my emotion, and with 
 numberless precautions, introduced the subject of 
 his anxieties of the last few days, which are no- 
 thing less than the fear of a political change 
 which would drag us all down in a common dis- 
 grace. 
 
 " Nothing is yet lost," he said warmly. " Mo- 
 hammed is a man to struggle to the end. Even 
 if he falls, he will rise again. Only, I repeat, it is 
 all very serious." 
 
 A wild hope rose in my mind. I questioned 
 him, and learned that very serious embarrass- 
 ments, caused by the party hostile to the govern- 
 ment of the Khedive, had led to complications 
 
122 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 which necessitated the sending of a safe agent to. 
 London and Paris. The Khedive had designated 
 Mohammed for this mission, which will keep him 
 absent two or three months. 
 
 Two months, Martha ! It is safety ; it is 
 hope ! I could scarcely conceal my delight. My 
 father saw, though, that this delay which he 
 feared to inform me of was received without 
 much regret ; but he laid it to the score of my 
 good sense, and thanked me for relieving his anx- 
 iety by showing myself so brave. He then frank- 
 ly confided his personal fears to me ; for, though 
 my marriage would not be prevented, the fall of 
 Mohammed would be very disastrous to us all. 
 An idea occurred to me. 
 
 "Then, father," I said smiling, "it will be 
 time for us to believe in the folly of Farideh and 
 attach ourselves to ' Young Egypt.' " 
 
 " Farideh is a fool ! " 
 
 " Not such a fool after all, since she turns to- 
 ward the sun. Why can not we, also, incline 
 ourselves to the star which rises ? " 
 
 " Child," he answered, more seriously, " you 
 know nothing of these questions and divisions. 
 If the old party falls, it drags us down with it. 
 The new party will only be our enemy." 
 
 " Oh, well ! " I replied lightly, " I will be the 
 link to unite you." 
 
 He looked at me in surprise, and could not 
 help smiling. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 123 
 
 "Do you know that you are a great diploma- 
 tist ? " he said. 
 
 Immediately after he left, I sent this note to 
 my poor Hassan : 
 
 " Let us hope 1 I love you ! " 
 
 XXI. 
 
 THEEE are some extreme resolutions which 
 one can not retract, and which settle the fate of a 
 lifetime. The die is cast, my dear Martha, and 
 by this avowal of my love I arm myself against 
 any cowardly weakness. Let what may happen 
 now, I can never be the wife of Mohammed. 
 Whether he rises or falls, I have dug a ditch be- 
 tween us. I have sacrificed a future and a for- 
 tune. I would, if needful, brave my father's com- 
 mands, for I no longer belong to myself. How 
 can I describe to you the wild intoxication of 
 Hassan's letter, answering this cry of my soul 
 that could be repressed no longer, and the en- 
 chanted amazement of that poor heart scarcely 
 daring to contemplate the happiness which made 
 him dizzy ? 
 
 If you could have seen him the next morning 
 when I passed, accompanied by Saida, the road 
 blessed by our furtive meetings, where so many 
 sweet emotions agitated me against my will ! 
 What delicious and agitating memories, of which 
 
124 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 I taste all the joys without regret, confident now 
 in regard to the future ! As the carriage bore us 
 on toward the desert, I dropped a spray of our 
 flower at his feet. When we returned he was 
 still there, and I saw him raise the jasmine to his 
 lips. I felt as though I had received a kiss. 
 
 My dear, these heroes with grand souls have 
 the charming timidity of a child when a woman's 
 eye rests upon them. He does not even under- 
 stand that, in confessing she loves him, the Prin- 
 cess Gulnare has resolved to be his wife, and free 
 herself for his sake. As in the legend of the 
 poor Hafiz, who dies of his love with a smile up- 
 on his lips and looking at the sky, he does not 
 seem to foresee a hope of other happiness than 
 that of seeing me afar off, and knowing that I 
 love him. If you could read his adorable letters, 
 where through an extreme delicacy, as though he 
 did not wish to recall a bond I broke to be his, 
 he never gives me any name but Gulnare, which 
 touchingly recalls all that separates us. " From 
 this hour," he wrote, " my life is yours ; I await 
 your disposition of it." By a charming sympathy 
 I never address him but as Hafiz, in this history 
 of love that we are continuing. What joy, what 
 transport I shall feel when, free from this horrible 
 engagement, I shall go to him with my offered 
 hand ! 
 
 Certainly all this is madness. I comprehend, 
 without your reproaches, that I have risked the 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 125 
 
 peace of my future life in this love, unknown to 
 every one, and which binds me for ever. What 
 matters that ? Hassan loves me. I will live, if 
 needful, sharing his miseries, his dangers, and his 
 struggles. Who can tell, then, if by some change 
 of fortune or of parties I may not become a 
 guarantee of safety for my family ? My father 
 is too subtile a politician for us to despair of 
 shaking his will on the day when, his allies van- 
 quished, our ruin is assured. You are amazed? 
 Well, yes ; it is true I conspire. 
 
 The departure of Mohammed, as you may 
 imagine, has caused a certain confusion in the 
 harem. First, all the wedding preparations are 
 put a stop to, and it is a- pity to see the despair 
 of Sa'ida, who had made a fete of gifts of tur- 
 quoise solitaires. The grand lady herself emerges 
 from her idle apathy to keep herself au courant 
 to outside affairs. My father's look of anxiety 
 proves his uneasiness. Ali comes every day to 
 Chimilah, and makes no secret of his fears. 
 Still devoted to me, my sister Hosnah is loud in 
 her lamentations, which my calm manner of tak- 
 ing things often renders very bitter. She has 
 several times sharply reproved me for this indif- 
 ference. "In truth, my dear Miriam, any one 
 would suppose that you were ignorant of our an- 
 noyances, yet they affect your lover, your hus- 
 band" 
 
 In fact, notwithstanding all my attempts to 
 
126 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 bend to a dissimulation which I know is an im- 
 perative necessity, I feel that my countenance, 
 my voice, my entire being, betray the secret of 
 my heart. Is not this trouble of my people a 
 hope to me ? 
 
 With her native penetration, Hosnah, though, 
 seems to suspect that something unlocked for is 
 happening. From her repeated questions about 
 Adilah, I understand that she suspects the visits 
 I secretly make, and that she wishes to surprise 
 me. The other day when I accompanied SaSda 
 to the bazaar, a very strange thing happened. 
 As we got out of the carriage to enter the shop, 
 my little step-mother called my attention to a 
 negro in the street, who was carelessly smoking. 
 We went away again before he moved. 
 
 " I think he is one of Hosnah's eunuchs," she 
 said. 
 
 Soon the same man appeared not far from us. 
 After all, Sa'ida was not very certain that she 
 recognized him, and it might be by accident that 
 in the windings of the bazaar this lounger should 
 meet us again. We returned to Chimilah without 
 giving this incident any further thought ; yet I 
 spoke of it to AH, who advised me not to go near 
 poor Adilah for several days. But of what con- 
 sequence to me are these suspicions of my sister? 
 Nearly every morning a letter from my poet 
 brings me happiness and life. How sweet is this 
 name of Gulnare to me ! My dear, he had seen 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 127 
 
 me ; he knew me before this encounter on the 
 bank of the Nile the traitor ! A little opening 
 among the leaves at the window had betrayed 
 my espionage, which he observed from a retreat. 
 Hence the explanation of the mystery, and of his 
 audacity in throwing the spray of jasmine into my 
 carriage. He had recognized me, and "avenged 
 himself," as Adilah said. Judge how I scolded 
 him for his perfidy. Not much, though the 
 window is walled up. 
 
 To strengthen my confidence still more, I have 
 had another conversation with my father, in which 
 I won a second victory. 
 
 "How comes on your business?" I inquired 
 with an interest which was assumed. 
 
 " The accounts are bad," he replied with the 
 unreserve he exhibits to me alone. " They have 
 given Mohammed a very difficult negotiation, 
 and, whatever be his talents, I doubt if he will be 
 successful. His absence leaves the field open to 
 influences which his presence destroyed." He 
 continued in this confidential strain, showing how 
 discouraged he felt, and trembling for the hopes 
 so long encouraged. In this country of intrigues 
 " les absens ont toujours tort." On every side 
 they circumvent the Khedive, who is already too 
 much inclined to lend his ear to calumnies. 
 
 I listened trembling with joy. Without my fa- 
 ther's telling me, it was very evident that this mar- 
 riage, wished for above all in view of our fortune, 
 
128 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 would never take place in case of Mohammed's 
 being checkmated, for he would share the general 
 disgrace. 
 
 With all the tact I possessed, feigning to sac- 
 rifice everything to the family interests, I took 
 very seriously this question, scarcely broached a 
 day though, in truth, enchanted. 
 
 " Happily," I insinuated gently, " this forced 
 delay, which has suspended all our plans, can be 
 of service to us. Mohammed himself will learn 
 that he can not drag you down in his fall. Loy- 
 alty makes it only his duty to release you from a 
 promise that affairs now would make it dangerous 
 for you to keep. Can you doubt his generosity, 
 of which you have have boasted so many times ? " 
 
 Then, with infinite precaution, I ventured to 
 hint at a rupture. My father did not stop me. 
 Is not allowing such an event to be discussed 
 equivalent to admitting its possibility ? 
 
 I have seen my dear Hafiz again, and I have 
 spoken to him. 
 
 Do not scold for a poor little adventure, for 
 which chance alone is guilty. 
 
 I went out with Nazly and Mansour, and as 
 the end of our drive I decided to take the child 
 to his mother's house. In her gratitude the guay- 
 ari wished to tell my fortune this time. She on- 
 treated me to give her my hand. Has she seen 
 or divined anything ? Her devotion to me gives 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 129 
 
 in her eyes an azure tint to the skies of my future. 
 When she had arranged her shells, scattered her 
 sand, and read in her old parchment books, she 
 looked at me with delight. 
 
 " You love you are loved," she said, " and 
 long days of happiness are in store for you ! " 
 
 In spite of my incredulity, these words made 
 my heart beat. Nazly having in her turn drawn 
 her into a serious consultation, I left them, taking 
 Mansour, who led me toward the deserted huts 
 shaded by great sycamores. 
 
 I soon found myself in a little grove of palm- 
 trees. An opal tint of infinite shades crowned 
 the lofty summit of the trees, and threw golden 
 spots upon the white sand. I went on in this 
 light which seems, just before expiring, to repeat 
 the splendor of dawn. I reached thus, without 
 noticing it, a cluster of huts which seemed to 
 belong to some farm. In this corner of the oasis 
 a profound silence reigned : the workers had not 
 yet returned from the fields ; the village was empty. 
 I seated myself upon a mound, my back resting 
 against a banana-tree, the child playing at my feet. 
 
 There are hours and places and lights which 
 subdue us, and which mingle with our most inti- 
 mate sensations. I repeated the words of Salome. 
 Loved ! Yes, I was. I also love with all my 
 soul and all my strength. I believed in the beau- 
 tiful future promised by this fellahine, under this 
 sky so sweet, this peace which seemed made for 
 9 
 
130 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 me to listen to my own heart. I had almost for- 
 gotten where I was. Twilight, so rapid in Egypt, 
 announced itself by darker touches ; the tone ac- 
 centuated itself passing from mauve to sapphire, 
 the red becoming crimson. Suddenly a man came 
 from one of the huts : it was Hassan. It was 
 impossible that he should not see me just before 
 him, and only a few steps off. At the sight of a 
 hanum he raised his eyes. He was astonished at 
 first, but, on seeing the child, his pale face became 
 crimson. Doubtful about recognizing me under 
 my veil, he was continuing his walk. I said a 
 word to Mansour and pointed to him ; and the 
 child sprang to him with a cry of joy. 
 
 We were alone, as if lost in this adorable soli- 
 tude. 
 
 He approached. 
 
 " How do you happen to be here ? " I inquired. 
 
 " I have some fields below," he replied ; " these 
 huts are those of my fellahs. I came to visit one 
 of the unhapyy ones who had his leg broken yes- 
 terday." 
 
 Standing near me, he looked at me in surprise, 
 not daring to question me. I wished to show 
 myself the bravest. 
 
 " Why do you not speak of ourselves ? " I 
 faltered. 
 
 Touched, he was about to answer me. At this 
 moment the guttural music of an Arab chant 
 warned us that people were approaching. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 131 
 
 "These are my fellahs returning," he said. 
 
 I furtively held out my hand ; he placed his 
 lips upon it and retreated. That was all. 
 
 I could see him surrounded by his men and 
 women, who prostrated themselves nearly at his 
 feet with the signs of humility habitual to the 
 unfortunate serfs. 
 
 Nazly scolded me when I reappeared. She 
 was rather uneasy, for this flight, if surprised by 
 one of the eunuchs, would have cost me a severe 
 lecture from my father. I softened her by a ca- 
 ress ; I felt so happy. 
 
 That same evening my sister Hosnah, apropos 
 to what, I can not remember, not finding me suf- 
 ficiently attentive to her grievances, gave me 
 some thrusts which I received with the patient 
 indifference the intoxication of the soul gives. 
 Her wrath increased ; then, after some reproaches 
 to which I listened unmoved, she said to me 
 abruptly : 
 
 " You see Adilah, and from her comes the ad- 
 vice that will ruin you. Take care ! " 
 
 I could not help blushing. Is this only a guess ? 
 or has instinct guided her ? She did not utter 
 more then, as if she feared having been premature. 
 
 I let the time pass. During the month that 
 Mohammed has been absent, although they try to 
 hide it from me, I know by Hosnah's temper that 
 affairs are going on badly in London. 
 
132 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 A TEEEIBLE blow ! Mohammed has returned ! 
 He had succeeded in his mission ; and, warned of 
 what is plotted against him, he suddenly returned 
 to Cairo. 
 
 His arrival will reestablish his influence. 
 Struck with consternation, I could not utter a 
 word, and could scarcely restrain my tears. My 
 father joyously announced that he would visit me 
 to-morrow. 
 
 When left alone, I collected my ideas : there 
 was no longer time for cowardly procrastination. 
 The hope I had built upon the fall of Mohammed, 
 to bring about a rupture that the interests of my 
 family would justify, was extinguished at once, 
 leaving me face to face with the implacable real- 
 ity. I could hesitate no longer ; I must acknowl- 
 edge all to my father, and declare my resolution 
 of refusing the marriage I had agreed on. I 
 thought a long time, seeking an exit from this 
 frightful gulf which I wished to leave, living or 
 dead, but worthy of myself, and of Hassan, whom 
 I loved. I nerved myself with courage, and, sup- 
 ported by my love, felt very firm and decided. 
 Yet reflection came to me to make me act pru- 
 dently. Would it not be the ruin of my poor 
 exile to mention him to my father ? Had I the 
 right, in this struggle upon which our two lives 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 133 
 
 depended, not to make an appeal for his aid, his 
 advice his wishes ? I would confide all to him, 
 crying, " Save me save us ! " Whatever he di- 
 rected I would do without fear, without hesita- 
 tion, without weakness. 
 
 But the peril was pressing. Before the odious 
 interview of to-morrow, all must be ended. How 
 should I write and consult with Hassan ? Hiding 
 outside of Cairo, would he receive my message 
 in time? Could he answer me in the fleeting 
 moments that remained ? 
 
 My plan was soon decided. At the hour when 
 I met him daily on the road, I would let a little 
 note fall at his feet, in which I would arrange a 
 meeting for the same evening in Zourah's garden. 
 
 When evening came I went, accompanied by 
 Nazly, as if for my usual drive to Choubrah. 
 After the warm day, the cool shade had attracted 
 numerous equipages. I was in advance of the 
 hour. I wished to be seen there, and, above all, 
 not to excite the suspicion of the eunuchs. When 
 I had made several turns, seemingly weary of the 
 crowd and noise, I gave the order to follow the 
 bank of the Nile. I sought this solitude too 
 often for them to suspect anything in this desire. 
 The house of Zourah being near the road, none of 
 my people could be surprised if we took a fancy 
 to stop there for a few moments on our return. 
 
 We were soon beyond the town. Breathless, 
 oppressed, but very resolute, I thought that night 
 
134 THE RETUKN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 a new era of my life would begin. I would yield 
 myself up to this love which possessed me. I 
 was going to the husband whom I had sworn to 
 take for guide and master, and to confide to his 
 hands the defense of our mutual happiness. 
 Trembling at the idea of seeing him again after 
 our exchange of the vows which linked our two 
 souls, I felt a nameless proud joy at this first act 
 of submission to so haughty a will to this poor, 
 grand heart, until now so humble and timid in 
 his patient and resigned adoration. On this 
 grand appeal our destiny depended. What he 
 decided on should be done. In spite of my fa- 
 ther, I should obey him. 
 
 The hour came at length when we retook the 
 road to return to Chimilah ; then, when we reached 
 Zourah's house, I ordered the carriage to stop, 
 and got out with Nazly. The night was clear, 
 and we were only a few steps from the mansion, 
 when I seemed to see a man who was walking on 
 the road suddenly hide himself in a bush. My 
 heart beat wildly. In a flash I recalled the day 
 when Safda had recognized, several times follow- 
 ing us, a slave of Hosnah's. 
 
 Assailed by a horrible presentiment, and throw- 
 ing around me a glance of terror, I perceived not 
 far behind us, on the same road we had come 
 over, a coach which had stopped like ours, and 
 was waiting. 
 
 What if, having seen me at Choubrah, Hos- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 135 
 
 nah had followed me ? A prey to terror, my first 
 thought was to fly, but Nazly was already at the 
 door with Zourah, and I knew Hassan was there. 
 They doubtless wished to surprise us. The piti- 
 less executions of the harem recurred to my mind. 
 They would perhaps kill him. Yet to give a hint, 
 to hesitate a moment, would hopelessly ruin us. 
 I entered, and the door closed behind me. 
 
 " He is here, is he not ? " I asked. 
 
 " Yes ! In the garden, hanum" answered 
 Zourah. 
 
 I dashed out. My poor beloved, seeing me 
 appear in the lighted entrance, ran to meet me. 
 Wild, distracted, and dragging him toward the 
 hedge which served as an inclosure 
 
 " Fly ! fly ! " I cried. " I have been followed. 
 If they find you here, we are lost." 
 
 Terrified at this cry of anguish, he looked at 
 me with surprise. 
 
 "Fly," he said, "when I am here to protect 
 you?" 
 
 By the energetic expression which illumined 
 his countenance, I understood that the unhappy 
 man wished to resist. He made a step toward 
 Nazly, who came to meet us. 
 
 At this moment we heard a knocking at the 
 door which opened on the street. 
 
 " Hassan, I implore you," I cried, " fly ! I de- 
 sire it. I am yours I love you. Save your life. 
 Save us both ! " 
 
136 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 We could no longer doubt. Zourah ran to us 
 in terror, asking whether she must answer. Has- 
 san made a terrible, desperate gesture. 
 
 " Return quickly, before they open ! " cried 
 Nazly to me. 
 
 " No ! no ! they shall kill us both here," I re- 
 plied. As I said this, I could see Hassan turn pale. 
 
 They were again knocking. Suddenly he seized 
 me in his arms, and through my veil pressed a kiss 
 upon my brow. 
 
 "My life belongs to you," he said eagerly. 
 " Go ! go ! I will obey you. I will escape them." 
 And, tearing himself from my embrace, he darted 
 toward the end of the inclosure. 
 
 We returned to the house in haste. As the 
 garden-door closed behind us, Zourah opened the 
 street-door. Hosnah appeared on the step, fol- 
 lowed by three or four slaves. With a rough 
 gesture she threw back her veil, ran her eye round 
 the room, and, terrific in her rage, rushed up to 
 Zourah like a fury and struck her in the face. 
 
 The fellahine uttered a cry of pain. Unde- 
 serving of this brutal aggression, she asserted her- 
 self. 
 
 " Hanum" she said, "I am a free woman and 
 not your slave ! You have no right to strike me ! " 
 
 " Why did you not open the door ? " demanded 
 Hosnah. 
 
 " We were in the garden ; and, besides, this is 
 my own house." 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 137 
 
 " Yes, and you follow a pretty trade here ! 
 Come, give way, that we may search the house." 
 
 During this odious scene, so rapid in its bru- 
 tality, I was trembling and frozen, and only kept 
 from fainting by an effort ; but at these words, 
 which recalled Hassan's peril, I regained my cour- 
 age. 
 
 " Hosnah ! " I cried boldly, " the order that you 
 give is an outrage. I forbid you to oppress this 
 woman, whom I intend to protect against you." 
 
 " Ah ! you can speak, then," she said with bit- 
 ter irony ; " but this is not the place for an ex- 
 planation between us." Then, turning to her 
 eunuchs 
 
 " Obey me. Search through the garden, and 
 bring me whoever you find there ; and kill him if 
 ho resists ! " 
 
 Struck with terror at the thought that Hassan 
 perhaps was still there, I threw myself before the 
 door. 
 
 " Your people shall not pass ! " I cried. 
 
 They hesitated. With a sign Hosnah repeated 
 her order. These brutes seized me and pushed me 
 aside. It was a moment of terrible anguish ; but 
 they soon went over the garden, and returned 
 without finding any one. 
 
 I breathed freely. Hosnah was wild with 
 rage. " This act of violence is infamous," I said 
 then, certain that we were saved, "and you shall 
 account to my father for it ! " 
 
138 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 Her distracted glance wandered round the 
 room. She was about to answer, when one of her 
 people, who had remained without, returned and 
 whispered a few words. 
 
 She made a gesture of unspeakable delight. 
 
 "You saw him? '' she demanded. 
 
 " Yes ! He leaped over the hedge. Youssouf 
 and Ahmed are in pursuit." 
 
 I could not repress a cry. Hosnah turned to 
 me : 
 
 " Well," she said, " you hear it ! Now you 
 will not deny that a man was there. It was very 
 wrong in a sister, on the eve of your marriage, to 
 have disturbed so charming a rendezvous ! " 
 
 I was weary of lying and humiliating myself, 
 and raised my head haughtily. 
 
 " Well, yes ! " I replied, looking her full in the 
 face, " I love him. And as for this marriage that 
 your ambition has so adroitly planned, it shall 
 never take place ? " 
 
 She answered me by an ironical burst of 
 laughter. 
 
 " You can tell all that to our father, and bear 
 to him your complaints at my indiscreet inter- 
 vention. In the mean time I will take it upon 
 myself," she added, " to carry you back to the 
 harem." 
 
 All resistance would have been useless, and I 
 should have blushed to lower my pride by re- 
 senting this last insult. Throwing on her a 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 139 
 
 glance of scorn, I passed out and regained my 
 carriage, where she took a seat beside me, and 
 we reached Chimilah without exchanging a word. 
 " Adieu," she said, " until to-morrow." 
 I entered my house nearly crazed. A fright- 
 ful anxiety was consuming me. Had Hassan 
 escaped his pursuers ? At thought of the inter- 
 view I must have on the morrow with my father, 
 I felt ready to die with terror. What should I 
 say to him? After the declaration of my love, 
 so haughtily thrown at Hosnah, there could be 
 no recoil. I must repeat this avowal, and con- 
 firm my formal refusal to espouse Mohammed. 
 What would happen? By degrees, however, I 
 grew calmer. Is it not true that hope lives even 
 in our deepest griefs ? Would it be possible for 
 my father to condemn me to misery without feel- 
 ing an impulse of pity ? I would tell him all. Is 
 not Hassan worthy, noble admired ? Poor and 
 disinherited, is he not still above Mohammed by 
 the superiority of his birth, his renown, and his 
 life ? During the course of these reflections I be- 
 gan to be astonished that I had so long trembled 
 and hesitated to plead for our happiness. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 MARTHA ! all is ingulfed around me ; I am 
 lost separated from all those I love in this world. 
 I do not even know if this letter will ever reach 
 
140 THE RETURN OP THE PRINCESS. 
 
 you, to bear you my last adieu. I have told you 
 of that horrible night during which I tried to 
 fasten on some idle illusion. In the morning I 
 was called to my father. I armed myself against 
 my weakness, and went down to receive him as 
 usual. He was leaning against a window, and 
 turned at my entrance. By his attitude, and a 
 certain hardness of expression which I had never 
 seen in him, I at once comprehended that Hosnah 
 had spoken ; that he knew all, and had already 
 prejudged me. Despite the hopes I had indulged 
 in the evening, my heart seemed turned to stone. 
 Without saying a word, without even giving me 
 his hand to kiss as he was accustomed, he took a 
 seat, leaving me standing ; thus using for the first 
 time, in regard to me, the right of a master who 
 makes a woman stand in his presence. Express- 
 ing himself in Arabic, so as to be certain of his 
 meaning 
 
 " Hosnah has told me incredible things about 
 you," he said, fixing his eyes upon mine ; " she 
 pretends that yesterday, at the house of a woman 
 the sister of Nazly she surprised you with a 
 man who was awaiting you there. Is this true ? " 
 
 I called all my courage to my aid, and, with- 
 out turning away my eyes 
 
 "I will not lie to you, father," I answered ; 
 "Hosnah told the truth." 
 
 " Then you do not deny it. This house has 
 been a place of rendezvous ? " 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 141 
 
 " No I that last word is not true," replied I 
 proudly, " for I have never seen him but twice, 
 under my veil, in Nazly's presence. Your daugh- 
 ter has not forgotten what she owes herself." 
 
 " And why these meetings ? " 
 
 I felt myself turn pale, but I was resolute. 
 
 " Because we love each other," I replied. 
 
 At this unexpected avowal my father exhib- 
 ited so much wrath and rose with so terrific a 
 gesture that, alarmed, I sank at his feet. 
 
 " Pardon ! pardon, father ! " I cried, " and I 
 will tell you everything. I am not guilty, and he 
 is worthy of us of you I swear it ! If you only 
 could know how I have suffered ; and how I have 
 striven against this love so as to obey your wishes 
 sacred ta me as the will of God and which 
 tears my heart, and will kill me " 
 
 " Enough, enough, unhappy girl ! " he said. 
 
 He seized me by the wrist, to force me to rise, 
 so roughly that, falling back on the divan, I closed 
 my eyes and uttered a cry. 
 
 " All that you shall tell me is his name ! " he 
 replied in a dull, trembling voice, as if he was 
 powerless to control himself. 
 
 Frozen by the expression of his countenance, I 
 knew then that we were lost. By a miracle, I 
 had sufficient presence of mind to understand also 
 that the question as to the name of my accom- 
 plice made it evident that Hassan had escaped, 
 and that they knew nothing which could guide 
 
142 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 them in their project of vengeance. Satisfied, 
 then, that the punishment would fall on me alone, 
 I breathed again, resolved to confront everything 
 rather than now reveal our secret, the disclosure 
 of which had become so dangerous. 
 
 " Well ! the name the name ! " repeated my 
 father. "I await it." 
 
 I rallied from a cowardly fear which for an 
 instant assailed me. 
 
 " Pardon me, father," I answered, " if I dis- 
 obey this order, but the name you ask for I can 
 not give you." 
 
 " You dare still to resist ? " he demanded, con- 
 founded by such audacity. 
 
 I thought he was going to crush me ; but 
 suddenly, afraid perhaps of himself, he passed 
 his hand across his brow, and leaving me over- 
 whelmed, and nearly fainting on the divan, he 
 commenced pacing the room, and, going to the 
 window, opened it, as if to breathe in a little 
 calmness. A few moments of frightful silence 
 passed. 
 
 " Come ! you are mad ! " he then said, " and 
 I wish to have pity for your ignorance of things, 
 and your forgetfulness of the power I have over 
 you. You can not imagine, I suppose, that all 
 this will end thus ; and that such an attempt, 
 which dishonors us all, can remain unpunished ? 
 You are no longer in Paris : our wives and 
 daughters have to respect other laws here, and 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 143 
 
 when they transgress, thank heaven ! we have 
 sure means of punishing them." 
 
 " I am in your power, father," I said with 
 resignation. " If you have no mercy on me, I 
 will submit to your harshness." 
 
 " Oh ! I have no need of this assurance I 
 can arrange that," replied he, so coldly that this 
 time I felt crushed. " But you must know that 
 now I have something of more importance to 
 attend to than your regrets. This has been an 
 infamous attempt, which I do not wish spread 
 abroad. Do not force me, then, to measures be- 
 fore which I swear I will not recoil, to discover 
 the wretch who is your accomplice. If through 
 you I can not learn his name, Nazly remains to 
 me ; I can make her speak." 
 
 A shiver of terror ran through my frame at 
 the idea of the torture threatened my poor 
 Nazly. 
 
 " No ! no ! " I cried, " she is not guilty. She 
 is not guilty, she does not know him ! I alone 
 have dragged her into this fault. I deceived her : 
 she did not know that I expected any one." 
 
 " Then save her from having to answer, and 
 put a stop to this. Who is he ? How did you 
 become acquainted ? Perhaps he is a foreigner, 
 doubtless come from Paris to rejoin you." 
 
 My distress inspired me with the idea of a lie, 
 so as to mislead research, and turn the danger 
 aside from Hassan. 
 
144 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 " Yes ! " I whispered, as if constrained to the 
 avowal. "It is a foreigner who has followed me 
 from Paris." 
 
 I gave a name recklessly, and my father left 
 me I knew, to go and interrogate Bell, from 
 whom they have separated me. Happily she 
 knows nothing. 
 
 For four days I have seen neither Bell nor my 
 father. Isolated from every one, I am guarded 
 as in a prison. My people, suspected of com- 
 plicity, no doubt, are no more admitted to me, 
 and two old slaves of Zeinab are alone permitted 
 to wait on me. Nothing from outside can reach 
 me. What is going on ? Martha ! this anguish 
 is overwhelming ! Yesterday I tried to go to the 
 great harem, hoping that there, perhaps, I might 
 learn my fate. One of the slaves informed me 
 that I am forbidden to leave my apartment, and 
 I feel that some great misfortune hangs over me. 
 Where is ISTazly, that poor, dear, devoted friend ? 
 Have they tortured her to make her confess ; or 
 have I succeeded in leading them astray ? Even 
 Saida has deserted me. I saw her for a moment 
 in the garden as I was looking through the win- 
 dow. She raised her eyes to my veranda, but, 
 seeing me, quickly turned away as if she was 
 obeying an order. In this complete abandon- 
 ment there is something sinister, which over- 
 whelms and terrifies me. It seems as if my life 
 is ended ; that this imprisonment is to be per- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 145 
 
 petual ; and that I shall never more leave these 
 walls ! 
 
 This morning my father returned. On seeing 
 him enter so calmly, with his cigarette between 
 his lips as in the days when so lively an affection 
 existed between us, my first impulse was to throw 
 myself at his feet, and implore pardon for a fault 
 which had given him pain ; but, noting his frigid 
 mien, I immediately knew that this time he came 
 as a master, to dictate his will to me. 
 
 " I come to tell you what I have decided," he 
 said, " and in what manner I intend to regulate 
 the last days that you are to be with us before 
 your marriage." 
 
 " My marriage ! " I cried, casting away a wild 
 hope that he had come to pardon me. 
 
 "Beyond a doubt," he replied. "Are you 
 not engaged ? " 
 
 "Father, in pity," I replied, breathlessly in- 
 terrogating his eyes, "can it be true that you 
 bring me hope ? Of whom do you speak ? " 
 
 " How of whom ? Is it possible you have 
 forgotten that you are engaged to Mohammed ? " 
 
 At this name I felt faint. I had at least be- 
 lieved myself clear of this threat. My father, 
 seeing my incredible surprise, dispersed my de- 
 lirium at a single blow. 
 
 "Decidedly you have lost your senses," he 
 continued in a frigid tone, "and I see that I 
 shall have to put an end to romantic ideas which, 
 10 
 
146 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 in this country, have no place. If you have 
 counted on any happy consequences of your adven- 
 tures, you have deluded yourself, my dear. We 
 know here how to keep our women sheltered form 
 gallants. In view, then, of our want of success 
 in discovering your lover I deem you told me 
 the truth about his name, and that he has consid- 
 ered it prudent to protect himself from the conse- 
 quences of remaining here put aside this child- 
 ishness, so that we shall be occupied only with 
 the marriage I have resolved on for you." 
 
 " But this marriage has become impossible, 
 father," I said in consternation. 
 
 "Why so? Has not Mohammed my word 
 and yours ? " 
 
 " But this is deception ! " I cried. " After the 
 confession that I have made you, could I, without 
 being disloyal, consent still to be Mohammed's 
 wife?" 
 
 "Ah ! these are your European ideas, my 
 dear," he replied coldly. " Under our laws the 
 husband is master, and these questions of senti- 
 mentality are of small import. Obedience is suf- 
 ficient ; do not vex your mind with anything 
 else." 
 
 "But this condition you speak of, father, is 
 that of a slave," I answered, terrified at this lan- 
 guage. " Is it my fault that you have educated 
 me far away from you, and that the ideas you 
 reproach me with are different from yours ? Am 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 147 
 
 I guilty in having a heart, a soul, a conscience, 
 which revolt at the thought of a lie, and of dis- 
 loyalty ? You well know that I do not love him ; 
 that I can not love him longer ; and that this 
 marriage would be a torture all iny life. Father, 
 you can not inflict this misery on me, it would be 
 too frightful ! I implore you to take pity on 
 me ! " cried I, bursting into tears. 
 
 My father had listened unmoved. I had be- 
 lieved for a moment that the sight of my tears 
 would bend him, but soon perceived this last hope 
 was vain. 
 
 " I had believed you more reasonable," he 
 said ; " for you know the importance I attach to 
 this marriage, so necessary for your fortune and 
 ours. I depended on finding you rational, but 
 regret to see you are not ; but I am your father, 
 and, as I have something more serious at stake 
 than questions of sentiment, I shall still marry 
 you to Mohammed. As for these scruples of 
 heart and soul and loyalty, which torment you, 
 do not trouble yourself. The harem does not 
 know these subtilties of foreign invention. A 
 wife is a wife, and submission is all we desire. 
 Mohammed more than ever desires to ally himself 
 with us, and is engaged in a business all the profits 
 of which will be yours. Do not, then, confuse 
 yourself with these romantic reveries, which do 
 not agree with real life. I am confident as to 
 your happiness and future in a position so high 
 
148 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 that all women will envy you. You will thank 
 me a little later for having decided for you." 
 
 In my despair I again tried to implore him, 
 but he interrupted me by rising. 
 
 " I have not come to talk over your folly," he 
 said, "but to inform you what is decided on. 
 Your marriage will take place in eight days ; but 
 until then it is not suitable that your doors shall 
 be closed to visits of etiquette, nor that any one 
 should suspect what has passed between us. Some 
 of your people shall return to you ; only know 
 this time that I am on the watch, and that I have 
 given orders to prevent any imprudence." 
 
 My father then left, and Bell came in and 
 threw herself into my arms. She told me that 
 for five days she also had been a prisoner like my- 
 self, in spite of her protestations and entreaties to 
 see me. 
 
 Nazly has disappeared, driven off or even 
 killed, perhaps ; and they have so succeeded in 
 hushing up any rumor in regard to our rendez- 
 vous that no one will ever learn anything about 
 it. 
 
 To every one even my own people my se- 
 clusion has been attributed to a severe indispo- 
 sition, and my disgrace is only known by Hosnah 
 and my father. Poor Bell, though questioned 
 minutely, never has even understood, in her strict 
 integrity, the charge against me. I have kept 
 my secret, and have only owned to her that there 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 149 
 
 was a serious disagreement between my father 
 and myself on the subject of my marriage, The 
 good creature seemed to fall from the clouds at 
 this unexpected news. 
 
 My door is open, and I am besieged by visitors 
 whom my father compels me to receive. Hos- 
 nah was among the first to hasten here with her 
 friends, and remained until evening, as an elder 
 sister, to assist my inexperience. Ironical, implac- 
 able, watchful of the least of my movements, she 
 made me submit to the hypocritical effusions that 
 she recommenced at the entrance of each new- 
 comer. At last the day had flown, the last visi- 
 tor gone. Hosnah called her slaves to raise her 
 from the divan, and, as she went away, said in a 
 mocking voice : 
 
 " I advise you to put some rouge on your 
 cheeks to-morrow. Your face is dreadful for a 
 bride. You must be beautiful ! " 
 
 I turned my back on her without answering ; 
 and, when she had gone, I ran to lock myself up 
 in my own room, and burst into tears. Bell was 
 beside herself at this despair, which she could not 
 understand. The crisis over, yielding to her en- 
 treaties, I let her carry me into the garden. I 
 was scarcely there, when the cry of a child touched 
 me to my soul. Mansour on seeing me ran up, 
 holding out both hands : he was to me something 
 from Hassan. The poor little fellow had been ill, 
 and Saida had obtained permission for his mother 
 
150 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 to install herself at Chimilah for some days to 
 take care of him, and exert those charms in which 
 she herself believes. While I kissed the child on 
 the forehead, his mother seized my hand with 
 transport, and, bearing it to her lips 
 
 "May Allah bless your actions and desires, 
 hanum ! " she said. " Your servant is under your 
 feet, and you can walk over her after the good 
 you have done ! " 
 
 Saida, having seen me from the window of the 
 harem, came down to join me. She also is in the 
 dark. I learned from her, in the midst of the 
 exuberance of her childish prattle, the magnificent 
 preparations they were making for my wedding, 
 and the programme of the f&tes, which will last 
 three days. Overwhelmed, I returned home to 
 write you. I need settling my wandering reason. 
 I fear I shall go mad. O God ! if I could die ! 
 Alas ! yes, my poor Martha, I wish to die ; and 
 only yesterday I completed my eighteenth year ! 
 
 I have been dreaming all night that I saw 
 myself delivered to the man I hate solitary, 
 abandoned, in the heart of his harem. His wife ! 
 Martha, my sister, can you realize such a horrible 
 death ? His wife ! How, as in a terrible dream, 
 I represent to myself the nuptial chamber which 
 awaits me ! Forced to submit to his affection, 
 and to wipe away his kisses ! No, no ! My bleed- 
 ing heart all the shame in my nature revolts 
 against it ! 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 151 
 
 Hassan, Hassan ! My love, my beloved, save 
 me ! I vainly keep thinking how I can die ! It 
 is only strong natures that can cast away their 
 burden of misery. I am weak and cowardly, and 
 fear to suffer. I have remained an hour beside 
 the Nile with its depth, trying to accustom my- 
 self to its enticing abyss. I am afraid I a*m 
 afraid ! 
 
 With the day recommenced my torture. My 
 father came, and I could hope no longer. I have, 
 however, obtained permission not to see any one ; 
 for, as my big sister says, my swollen eyes and 
 altered countenance produce a very bad impres- 
 sion. I shut myself up with Mansour, and his 
 mother, who looked at me with her great, pro- 
 phetic eyes without speaking, as if, divining my 
 pain, she sought in her magic incantation some 
 strange exorcism. 
 
 Farideh forced an entrance to consult me 
 about the choice of dresses that she was order- 
 ing from Paris, and also to point out the enor- 
 mity of my folly. 
 
 " You are very silly," she said, " and your head 
 must be turned for you to grieve so because our 
 father has forced you to be happy." 
 
 Three more days have flown, which bring me 
 nearer to the fatal moment. I can not think any 
 more, and I feel myself falling into an abyss, gid- 
 dy and unconscious. 
 
152 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 MY destiny is decided on ! This is perhaps 
 :in eternal adieu, for this night I shall leave my 
 father's house, never to return ! 
 
 You know that Salome, Mansour's mother, has 
 free access to my prison. The superstitious fears 
 of these people will not dare to bar her way. I 
 have told you of the deep devotion this woman 
 has for me. Yesterday seeing me weak and list- 
 less, with my hands upon my lap, looking into 
 vacant space, she gently approached, and in her 
 flowery language 
 
 "You bear a heavy pain, hanum" she said. 
 " Do you wish to die ? " 
 
 " What does it matter ? " I replied, frozen in 
 my apathy. 
 
 "Why do you forget I am here?" she added. 
 " Can not a dog aid his master? " 
 
 I slowly turned my eyes toward her. 
 
 " My poor Salome, my ill is not of the kind 
 that your sorcery can cure." 
 
 " How do you know," she inquired, with her 
 strange calmness, "that I have not penetrated 
 your secret that I have not already prepared 
 for your deliverance ? " 
 
 " You ! " cried I. " My deliverance ? " I am 
 not a timid gazelle myself who weeps wildly at 
 the sight of danger, and yields herself a prey to 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 153 
 
 the hounds. "But what would you have me 
 do?" I inquired, dumbfounded. "Would you 
 dare to risk your life for me and your son's ? " 
 
 I surprised a strange smile of disdain upon 
 her lips. 
 
 "The fool alone lets herself be caught in the 
 snare ; the wise one knows how to avoid it. 
 Hold ! look ! " she added, holding out her hand, 
 and showing me a key. "This opens the door 
 of the garden upon the bank of the Nile., If you 
 use it some night, who will ever know how you 
 went ? " 
 
 I could not repress a cry. What Salome 
 brought me was a means of escape. It was only 
 necessary to warn Hassan. My heart beat in 
 my bosom. I seized the guayari in my arms, 
 and in a whisper I confided all to her, leaving my 
 salvation in her hands. 
 
 All the preparations are finished. A note 
 that she managed to have conveyed to Hassan 
 brought back directions for our flight. This very 
 night he awaits me. A trustworthy man, chosen 
 by Salome, will conduct me to him, and to-mor- 
 row at dawn of day we shall have bidden adieu 
 to Cairo. 
 
 Not to alarm Bell, I have hidden everything 
 from her. What is the use of mixing her up in 
 these anxieties ? Salome will see that you receive 
 these last letters, which will at the same time tell 
 you of the tortures and deliverance of your poor 
 
154 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 Miriam. I do not know from what refuge or 
 when I can write you. 
 
 My sister, do not blame me 1 
 
 XXV. 
 
 MARTHA, I am lost ! All is destroyed ! No- 
 thing nothing more remains for me ! Alone in 
 the midst of my despair I look, petrified, at the 
 irreparable disaster. I dread to think. I have, 
 it seems, been very ill ; they thought I was dying. 
 Happily, I am doomed ! I can never get cured, 
 because in this dreadful disaster it is my reason, 
 my heart, my soul, my entire being, which are 
 bleeding, and succumb. Imagine the most hor- 
 rible plot, the most stupid mistake of my imagina- 
 tion, wandering for three months in the maddest 
 of dreams ! But you will never understand. Yet 
 listen ! 
 
 You are aware that the plan of my flight was 
 all arranged and resolved on. Hassan was to 
 meet me at the house of a fellah, of whom Sa- 
 lome was as certain as of herself, who would 
 conduct us there as soon as we could escape 
 through the garden-door. 
 
 When evening came, I pretended an attack 
 of fever, so as to go to bed, and get rid of my 
 people. Bell alone remained, and did not leave 
 me until nearly midnight. When everything was 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 155 
 
 quiet in the palace, I rose again, and dressed my- 
 self very softly. I had taken care to hide in my 
 room my European clothing, which would conceal 
 me better. It was impossible for any but a for- 
 eign woman to travel in the company of a man. 
 For fear of meeting any one, I threw a large 
 habarah over this costume, enveloped my head 
 in a veil, and went down. Salome awaited me in 
 the garden, which we crossed in the shadow. In 
 the windows of the harem the dim night-lamps 
 still flickered. When we reached the door Sa- 
 lome opened it, and we found ourselves on the 
 road which borders the Nile, where a man was 
 watching for us. Without speaking a word, he 
 walked along the shore, and we followed him. He 
 loosened a boat, and when we got in he took the 
 oars and crossed the stream to reach the opposite 
 bank. Was it the fever, or joy, or some fatal 
 presentiment ? Sitting silent near Salome, I trem- 
 bled at this rash resolution which was to decide 
 my future life but I was going to Hassan, and 
 would forget all. Then we disembarked, I hastily 
 disembarrassed myself of my habarah, and we 
 moved in the direction of a solitary hut about a 
 hundred yards from the river. Near the door the 
 fellah and Salome stopped ; my heart beat to 
 bursting as I entered. A smoky lamp scarcely 
 illumined the hut. Hassan was there. As I ap- 
 peared, he rose quickly and came to meet me, but 
 suddenly stopped, amazed. I believed that he 
 
156 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 did not recognize me under my disguise, and, 
 throwing back my veil, darted toward him with 
 extended hands. A cry of grief escaped his lips. 
 
 " You are not Adilah-Hanum ! " he cried. 
 
 " Adilah ! " stammered I, without comprehend- 
 ing. 
 
 " My God ! what has happened ? " he contin- 
 ued, looking at me in dismay. " Why has she sent 
 you in her place? What do you come to tell me ? " 
 
 Another cry was stifled in my throat a cry 
 of horror, of terror and shame. Adilah ! Adilah ! 
 Had he said that ? A frighf ul light shone on me. 
 In an instant I divined all. It was Adilah he 
 was expecting. In those letters full of fire, in 
 those meetings under the veil, it was not me he 
 loved, nor whom he had loved ! He had believed 
 that flower from the window of the pavilion was 
 thrown by the hand of Adilah. When he met us 
 on the bank of the Nile, both unveiled, the day 
 he saved Mansour, he had only seen her. He did 
 not even know me. 
 
 Surprised by my silence, not understanding 
 what a horrible pain struck me dumb, he repeated 
 his question. 
 
 "Tell me, then," he said in a voice which 
 trembled, " where is she ? " 
 
 I can not remember what I answered, I only 
 know I flew. I still can see myself running dis- 
 mayed across the road, with Salome near me ; then 
 it suddenly seemed as if the earth opened under 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 157 
 
 my feet, and darkness covered my eyes. I fell 
 in her arms on reaching the boat which should 
 have carried her back alone. 
 
 When I recovered consciousness, I found my- 
 self at Chimilah, a prey to the strangest delirium, 
 in the chamber I had left. It was nearly day. 
 Bell, very pale, sat at my bedside, watching my 
 return to life. She told me that in the middle of 
 the night Salome had entered her room, saying 
 that, in going through the garden, she had found 
 me near a bench fainting, and had brought me 
 in. Bell knew nothing more, but my disheveled 
 clothing plainly proved that some terrible event 
 had happened. Only one thought occurred, that 
 I was dying. I had not strength to speak. I 
 glanced at my dress, still soiled with mud, and 
 she concealed all that could betray me. When 
 the people of the palace had risen, they informed 
 my father, and a French doctor was called in 
 haste. I vaguely understood that I was in dan- 
 ger ! To die Great God ! what joy ! You can 
 understand that only this hope is left me ! 
 
 Since then eight days have passed, and, though 
 the violence of my grief has not decreased, I still 
 live. Some stupid strength of my flesh still bat- 
 tles within me, and I rise, walk, and even write 
 you. But tell me, Martha, is not this a frightful 
 mistake ? It was Adilah whom he did love, and 
 whom he doubtless loves still ; and he believes it 
 was Adilah he saw at Zourah's. He believed 
 
158 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 that this hand, seen through the window, was 
 hers ; for was it not her house ? And when he 
 wrote me that I was not free, it was her he ad- 
 dressed her, the wife of Ali. And I, poor fool, 
 did not understand, did not suspect it ! My heart 
 did not warn me, and the happiness I felt was a 
 lie which I built over a ruin. 
 
 But what avails it all now, since I am dying ? 
 Days succeed days, hours follow hours, but what 
 interest have I now in marking their course ? I 
 ask nothing, and desire nothing. The great kings 
 of Egypt under their pyramids must have this 
 unconscious calmness, the insensibility of marble, 
 for all which is of this world, to which they no 
 longer belong. And he, the unhappy one, how 
 he must suffer ! Is it not a strange adventure ? 
 To see suddenly before him this unknown wo- 
 man he did not even know who I was ! Luckily 
 he will never learn my name, and he will take me 
 for some slave. But why harrow up these pains ? 
 What is the cause, but this odious weakness 
 which does not know how to stifle passion under 
 pride? I will not think of it more. Martha, 
 what infernal delirium has taken possession of 
 my soul ? I can not even avenge myself by f or- 
 getfulness. Alas ! how he loves her ! Do you 
 remember his letters ? But you have not seen 
 his look, nor heard his voice when he thought he 
 was speaking to her. It was to her do you un- 
 derstand to her ! I wished to write you, imagin- 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 159 
 
 ing I had lost the strength to suffer, and that 
 my despair had worn out with my vitality. But, 
 behold ! all my thoughts reawaken, like furies, 
 which, for a moment pacified, rage more violently 
 from the reaction. O Martha, how I suffer ! And 
 I have no tears left, but horrible convulsions rend 
 my breast ; a frightful regret distracts me ! Why 
 did I fly so quickly ? Perhaps he might have 
 taken pity on me ; but no, no, he must not know 
 me he never shall know me. 
 
 I have been obliged to stop my letter. I 
 heard a noise at my door, and on inquiry found 
 it was Mansour, who had thought I was dead, and 
 wished to see me. Mansour ! poor, sole souvenir 
 of that which is no more. Mansour ! the cause 
 of all my unhappiness. I do not know why I or- 
 dered them to let him come in. In the doorway 
 he stopped, distressed ; then, darting to me, he 
 melted into tears. The emotion of the child 
 touched me in spite of myself. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 THE doctor has declared me out of danger, 
 and I am doomed to live. They inform me that 
 the preparations for my marriage, continued 
 against my will, are all now finished. What 
 does it matter, after all ? Do I not know that 
 neither prayers nor tears will save me that I 
 
160 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 can neither struggle nor defend myself ? List- 
 less, without strength, I have no courage left. 
 Well ! well ! I will forget if I can ; that is all. 
 
 Listen to what passed yesterday. My father 
 came to inform me that the f&te of presents and 
 of the contract would take place the same even- 
 ing at the grand harem. I must therefore re- 
 ceive visits of congratulation all day. Toward 
 evening, Hosnah came to direct the details of my 
 bridal toilet. When I was ready, they drew 
 over me a long veil of rose-colored tulle which 
 entirely covered me, and carried me in. In spite 
 of the paint and kohl with which they had paint- 
 ed me, I was still very pale, but an inward energy 
 sustained me, and gave me strength to walk 
 firmly. There is less feeling of apathy when a 
 decision is irrevocably made. They carried me 
 in a cort'ege to the grand harem, where "a burst 
 of music saluted our entrance. Advancing, as 
 through a sea of fire, still supported by my sis- 
 ter, I mounted some steps. Then my veil fell 
 off. I heard around me a continuous murmur, 
 and confused, dizzy, and dazzled, I closed my 
 eyes for a moment to recover myself. When I 
 again opened them I found myself seated upon 
 a sort of throne formed of immense masses of 
 camellias and roses. I was stunned at so much 
 richness. The walls, sparkling with light, were 
 hidden under a curtain of flowers intermingled 
 with silk embroidered in gold and precious stones. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 161 
 
 The two families had united their treasures to 
 t deck this immense saloon. My sister's slaves, 
 mixing with ours, all in dazzling costumes, 
 formed a lane, each one holding in her hand a 
 gauze flower through which the light of a candle 
 gently shone. With the greatest ceremony Hos- 
 nah presented me to the relations of Mohammed, 
 who overwhelmed me with their kind congratu- 
 lations. The guests then defiled, after kissing 
 the hem of my veil. All Mussulwomen having 
 the right of entrance at any marriage fete, the 
 crowd was so great that the eunuchs could 
 scarcely manage it. Exhausted by the long soli- 
 tude of my illness, all this noise bewildered me ; 
 I was still too weak to stand it, and this strange 
 music enervated me and made me ill. 
 
 Then in a moment, at some signal, doubtless, 
 all the crowd suddenly became silent, and the 
 music ceased. This silence, following so much 
 excitement, roused me from my stupor. Hosnah 
 took me by the hand and led me to the closed 
 door of the harem. I can not fell why, but a 
 thrill of terror ran through me ; I feared this 
 mysterious ceremony that I could not understand. 
 First, behind the door they knocked three times ; 
 then a voice demanded my consent to my mar- 
 riage with Mohammed. I looked at my sister in 
 amazement. Three times she answered in the af- 
 firmative : she had answered for me. 
 
 The f$te lasted until morning. Hosnah made 
 11 
 
162 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 excuses for me, and herself carried me back to 
 my home with that solicitude which she affects. 
 While Bell was taking off my veils, my sister ex- 
 plained to me that during my illness vague ru- 
 mors had circulated in Cairo, which had annoyed 
 the family of Mohammed, and my father, to re- 
 assure them, had resolved on this public evidence 
 of my consent. 
 
 It was the imam who had questioned on the 
 other side of the door. 
 
 Martha ! I am married ! 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 FOB two days this is the first hour I have had 
 to myself. All is ended. To-morrow I leave 
 Chimilah ; they carry me to my husband's house. 
 A farewell f&te takes place this evening at the 
 harem, at which etiquette forbids me to assist. 
 Hosnah represents me there. 
 
 These two days have only left on my mind an 
 impression of dizziness and fatigue ; for, harassed, 
 I sleep at night a heavy sleep. Never away from 
 me, Hosnah guides me entirely. It is she who 
 regulates the employment of each moment. Ali 
 came to congratulate me, but I had to receive 
 him before her. 
 
 By a desire expressed by Mohammed, and 
 which is an unparalleled attention in the Oriental 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 163 
 
 world, Hosnah carried me to see the palace I am 
 to occupy which I shall occupy to-morrow. The 
 women of the family did the honors, and gave us 
 a handsome collation. Hosnah skillfully covered 
 my coldness. I went over this ostentatious dwell- 
 ing, where my life is to be passed, with an indif- 
 ference I could not overcome. In the great sa- 
 loon of the harem, near an Erard piano, I recog- 
 nized my music-stand, my pieces, even my favorite 
 morceaux. All was as natural as if I were al- 
 ready living there. I can not tell if Hosnah's 
 penetration could read what was passing in my 
 soul : she seemed uneasy, and abridged the visit. 
 I returned to Chimilah, with an attack of fever, 
 which I dissembled so as to.be left in peace. My 
 father came to see me ; my submission has ap- 
 peased his anger, and now I find him almost af- 
 fectionate, with some gleams of that favor which 
 formerly marked our interviews. For a moment 
 I threw myself weeping into his arms, and he 
 consoled me with his old tenderness. 
 
 Then Ali brought me a superb cadeau from 
 Adilah. I have put down my letter, for a flood 
 of memories rushes to my brain. I must fight 
 against them. I took a turn in my apartment, to 
 bid adieu to the dear objects I am leaving. I 
 have taken a book by chance from my little li- 
 brary. It is Shakespeare. I have opened it ac- 
 cidentally at Cleopatra. Is there not forgetful- 
 ness there? The terrible end of this tragedy 
 
164 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 has frozen me with terror. There are, then, 
 some lofty souls which dare to throw off the bur- 
 den of pain. I wept over this lover. Though 
 she had been loved, and the imperishable souve- 
 nir of happiness remained to fill her life ; she had 
 not been scorned and driven off ; she knew how 
 to die ! 
 
 u Show me, my women, like a queen : Go fetch 
 My best attires ; I am again for Oydnus, 
 To meet Mark Antony." 
 
 And then near her the man carrying a bas- 
 ket of figs, of whom she asks whether he has the 
 asp : 
 
 "Hast thou the pretty worm of Nilua there, 
 That kills and pains not ? " 
 
 He tells her that its bite is mortal, and wishes 
 her "all joy of the worm." 
 
 Mansour's mother came in while I was read- 
 ing. On seeing her, an extraordinary curiosity 
 took possession of me. 
 
 " Have you still that asp I saw at your house 
 one day ? " I asked her. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Is it true that its wound is mortal ? " 
 
 " Yes. One becomes giddy and sleeps." 
 
 " Listen. I wish to look again at the one you 
 showed me." 
 
 " Why do you wish to do that ? " 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 165 
 
 " Do you see this book ? It is a history of 
 one of our queens. She was beautiful and pow- 
 erful ; but she died from the sting of an asp. Go 
 bring me the little serpent," I added, " I wish to 
 see what this little instrument of death looks like." 
 
 She gave me a searching look. 
 
 " What do you wish to do with it ? " 
 
 " Can not your magic tell you ? I enter my 
 new home to-morrow. Bring at the same time 
 your wand and fortune-telling book, and you 
 shall tell me my fortune. Go, go ! I wish it." 
 
 At this imperative order she obeyed me, and 
 left. 
 
 It is a strange curiosity which has seized me 
 this evening of solitude and sad reveries. 
 
 My destiny ! Do you recollect the day I ar- 
 rived at Chimilah ? What enchantment ! How 
 smiling everything seemed ! And since then ? 
 .... Say, Martha, is not this an unheard-of 
 event ? I have lived, loved, suffered all the deliri- 
 um of passion, at the will of others, in the seclu- 
 sion of this harem, as if in a senseless hallucina- 
 tion. And of the secret of my life, wrapped in 
 the darkness of a despair which kills me, neither 
 my father nor my family can ever raise the veil. 
 
 I have in a superb vase there an immense 
 bouquet from my husband, which recalls the mor- 
 row to me. Among the Bengal and Sharon roses 
 there are some sprays of jasmine. You can not 
 believe how ill this flower makes me ! 
 
166 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 xxvm. 
 
 I WATCHED until daylight. It is mid-day now, 
 and I have just risen. I wish to add a few lines 
 to my letter of yesterday while waiting for Sa- 
 lome, who is coming to predict my fate. Upon 
 the table in front of me are her things, which she 
 has already brought, and in a box pierced with 
 holes the little asp lies upon a bed of leaves. 
 
 What a strange creature ! It looks like a 
 pretty emerald bracelet dotted with rose-colored 
 pearl. 
 
 I have locked myself in my chamber, to es- 
 cape the extraordinary activity which pervades 
 the entire palace. They are preparing for my 
 departure : my trousseau must be carried in great 
 state to my husband's palace. This evening, with 
 a cortege of torches, my sister Hosnah takes me 
 to my new dwelling. Of course I take Bell, as 
 well as my poor little Mansour. 
 
 Yet, is it indeed true that I am married ? 
 Why does this word freeze my heart ? Have I 
 not had three days to accustom myself to it? 
 Have I not known for three days that I must go 
 to-day ? Have I not been Mohammed's wife for 
 three days? ... At the end of my apartment, 
 from the chamber of my women, we can see the 
 interior of the court, where they have taken out 
 the coaches of the harem. I wished to see them. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 167 
 
 All are ornamented and dazzling ; and the seats 
 are covered with stuffs embroidered in gold. 
 These preparations are for me to carry me away. 
 I flew like a maniac to regain my chamber. 
 
 It is done all is ended. At the close of 
 this day, which is speeding on, I shall no longer 
 belong to myself. To-night I shall be at the 
 house of Mohammed Mohammed my husband. 
 Why have I never realized this ? I have thought 
 that this terrible hour would never come. Thought- 
 less, stupid, crushed by grief, believing that I 
 could not suffer any more, I have allowed myself 
 to drift on. Though I have been lured on, abused, 
 vilified, I love I love as on the first day. I love 
 Hassan. I love the recollection of him. I love 
 this mistake which has lost me. I can not, I will 
 not, be another's. 
 
 Me married? Oh, no, no! I have acted in 
 the torpor of a dream, and now I awaken. My 
 somber destiny is accomplished. 
 
 Martha ! IsTo other being in this world, not 
 even he, must ever know this sad secret of my 
 life that I have confided to you. Keep it, as well 
 as my memory, in the depths of your heart. My 
 friend, my sister, forgive me ! 
 
 I have opened the box in which Salome keeps 
 her asp. The little worm has bitten me. I am 
 dying. Adieu ! 
 
168 THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 "My DEAR CHILD : Blinded by my tears, I 
 write you these few lines. When all here was 
 joy and happiness at the accomplishment of this 
 marriage, which fulfilled all our expectations, a 
 horrible accident turns our joy to mourning. Our 
 poor little Princess Miriam is no more ! At the 
 very moment when they came to conduct her to 
 her husband's palace, they found her inanimate 
 form reclining on the divan. 
 
 " She was dead stung by an asp, that was 
 afterward found among the flowers ! 
 
 "Alas ! just when so splendid a future await- 
 ed her. Inclosed with these deeply afflicted words 
 is this sealed letter, addressed to you, which was 
 
 still in her hand. 
 
 "BELL." 
 
 THE END. 
 

 
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