Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-03-04
nxpERrENcE HAREM
80 n warren Came Near Uansing .
n,varce by Has PoIiteness.

Exrariences ia Three Continents, gives
the following amusing account OF ms
professional visits to a parem IN
Egypt, and the jealousy caused oy ms
politeness to a fair patient.
Icame near being the cause Of a ai-
voree on one occasion, by Simply 10
inc that which / considered to be de-
handed by thelaws ofcommon Poll1es
ness was sent for by an OLD bey Oh
wealth and influence to VISIT tIe
Youngest OF his four wives--a nazei-
eyed, voluptuous looking C~ircassian.
who was suffering from stomatites'
produced by the use OF henna, asuo
stance i'm common use among ING
women OF Egypt for the staining OF
.beir nails. teeth, the soles oil their
feet. etc. found her seated upon a
divan. covered with a habarrah, and
as a special privilege, | was permitIeu
to introduce my hand beneath us
folds to feel her gums. prescribing 70
the best of my ability, under these us
advantageous circumstances, L prom
;sed to return in a few days ana DOW
ed myself out of the apartment.
on nv second visit, by some acci-
dent left nv dragoman at home,
and found, on my arrival at the Beys
residence, that its master was absent.
The eunuch received me graciously,
however. and conducted me TO ii
anartmept of his mistress, where L
found the patient awaiting me Inc
fa;r invalid was unusually compiais-
ant. expressing much pleasure at my
visit, chatting gayly about her m's'a,
DIV, and gradually removing her ven
until she had uncovered her entire
face. which / thought perfectly right,
as her mother vas present, u as IL
enabled me to examine her gums, n
to make a proper application to
them. She then ordered coffee n
cigarettes, which / accepted In the
hest Arabic that / could master, and
made myself as agreeable as possible,
though not getting beyond few com
mopplace expressions taken IRON the
phrase-book.
was delighted with the manner m
which | had been entertained, ana L
departed, rejoicing in the conViction
that I had made a good impression
upon the invalid, and had secured the
family en- permanence as friends n
patrons. ,ua
At an early hour on the succeeding
morning / received a message from
the Bey to the effect that his wife had
gone 10 the country for a change o1
air. and the sum of fifty francs IN re-
turn for my professional services.
Assured at once that something was
wrong, | sent Achmed around to pre-
sent my compliments and to aseer-
tain the difficulty. He soon returned
looking as pale as a ghost, and fright-
ened nearly out of his wits.
"Oh, DOCTOR" he exclaimed, as he
entered my Office, 1.-THE Bey is terribly
angry with you. He is going to visit
the Khedive to complain that you
have insulted him, and to ask for re-
dress. He says that you shall be
driven out OF the country forthegreat
outrage that you have perpetrated IN
his house on yesterday. You are IN
serious trouble. ! am so sorry that l
was not with you.o ~
II was as polite and respectful as
possible on yesterday. | conducted
myself as Il gentleman and aphyslclan
in every way. Of what does the old
fool complaint"
O. "He says that you eviolatedthe
Mohammedan law-that you have OF.
fered an insult to the religion and the
customs of the country, and he swears
by the beard of the Prophet that you
shall be punished for it, He has al
ready punished his wife"
PUNISHED his wife? What does it
all mean?"
His wife uncovered herself, before
you, did she not?"
"Yes, but / had nothing to do with
her unoovering herself. She did 1t OF
her own volition. Whathave | done |
should like to know2a {
you looked at her face: You saw
her mouth and the back of her head"
"Of course, but how could / help
seeing her face and head when she IN
covered them? As for her mouth, it
is what Iwantedt to see. Was there any
crime in seeing what was before my
eyes-in looking at what Twas sentfor
to treat?"
"Yes, doctor, according to the Mo-
hammedan law it was a crime to look
at them, and especially at her mouth
and head. You have defiled her
by gazing at them, and have placed
your life even at the mercy of her hus-
band"
"A crime to look at her face! De
filed by seeing her mouth aud head
What was / to do when she uncov-
cred herself and exposed them to my
view"
at was your solemn duty to turn
your back upon her and then walk to
the corner of the room and hold your
face until she had recovered herself.
That is what our law and customs de-
mand under such circumstances; and
it is for not doing that precise thing
the old mar is going to report you to
his highness."
"Well, let him report as soon as he
pleases. His highness has lived in
Christian countries, andh he knows that
to turn ones back on a lady is offense
that no gentleman would think of
committing. / am not in the least
alarmed. But you say he has punish
ed his wife. What has he done to
herr"
"Oh, yes, he has punished her. l
heard both her and her mother wall
ing, and the eunuch told me that the
Bey had said to her: Il divorce you,'
twice, and had ordered her to her
country place on probation for six
months, when he would decide wheth-
err or not to make the divorce abso-
lutte, repeating it the third time.
Nothing but the prayers OF her mother
has prevented him from divorcing her
at C and absolutely"
Then come with me; | will pay him
n visit, and after havingexplained nv
conduct, having shown him as a
Christian and a gentleman that |
could not turn my back on a lady. |
Will mtercede for the poor woman"
All right, your excellency; / think
that Is the best course to pursue
l. drove at once to the house of the
Bey, where | was met by the eunuch
with many salaams, professions of
friendship, and the assurance that his
master Was not at home. THAT is
right said !, slipping a te~n-franc
piece into his itching palm, II will
await his return" Twas Immediately
invited into the house, given a cup OF
coffee and a pipe, and overwhelmed
with p~oliteness, while the master vas
produced after so brief a delay as to
aSsure me that he had been at home
all the time. NS-
Talk about French p~oliteness, It
IS no moret to be compared to that of
Oriental than a mustard seed to a
pumpkin. The old Bey was as suave
and obsequious as if I had been the
khedIve himself. Although he would
nave been pleased to throw me into
the Nile. he and lie hnn.aI