French And Oriental Love In A Harem - French and Oriental Love in a Harem Part 6
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French and Oriental Love in a Harem Part 6

"When I arrived at Aden, the Governor told me that everything which had been received had been sent on board my ship, including the papers found on my friend, and that a certificate of death had been duly drawn up, which my lieutenant was instructed to convey to the family. I asked no more questions, and wrote at once a little note of condolence to Lefebure's wife. I sent the agreed ransom to my Changallas, and at the same time a letter of complaint to the King of Nubia. Altogether, it was four months since my ship had left Aden. The following day I took the mail boat to Suez--arrived last night at Marseilles--and here I am!"

"Yes, indeed," I said to my uncle, when he had concluded; "that explains it all. They drew up the certificate of decease according to the papers found on your friend Lefebure, and as they were yours----"

"Why, they mistook him for me; and that ass Rabassu went off with the ship to bring the notary the news of my death."

"That's clear," I added.

"But what puzzles me most," replied he, "is to know what has become of my camels!"

As you may well imagine, my dear Louis, this unexpected resurrection of my uncle plunged me into a state of excitement, which took entire possession of me. I could not see enough of him, or hear enough of him; and all that day I so completely forgot everything which did not concern him, that I did not even think of moving outside the chateau. I followed him from room to room, and kept looking at him, for I felt the need of convincing myself that he was really alive. As to him, quickly recovering from the very transitory astonishment into which the news of his supposed death had thrown him, he had resumed that splendid composure, which you remember in him. He superintended all his little arrangements, and unpacked all his boxes, full of all sorts of articles from Nubia, whistling all the while fragments of _bamboulas_ which were still ringing in his ears.

After dinner in the evening, he said to me, stretching out his long legs over the divan, with the air of a man who loves his ease:

"By Jove, it's very snug here! If you like, we will stay down here several weeks."

"As many weeks as you like, uncle," I answered--"months even!"

"Well done!--But," he continued, "won't you be rather dull?--for, unless you have some little distraction----"

"Ah!" I exclaimed, remembering all at once my harem; "I forgot to tell you about this little affair!"

"What affair?" he said. "Have you found your distraction already, then?"

"I should just think I have, uncle!"

"Is she pretty?"

"Why, I have four!"

At this information my uncle did not raise his eyebrows any more than if I had told him that I was occupying my leisure by practising the rustic flute; he only stretched out his arm, took my hand and shook it smartly in the English fashion, saying,

"My compliments, my dear fellow!--I beg your pardon for my indiscretion."

"But, my dear uncle, I have quite a long story to tell you!" I added, not without a certain embarrassment "--and it is your death again that has been the cause of it!"

"How was that? Tell me all about it."

"You know, your Turkish pavilion--Kasre-el-Nouzha?"

"I know, well?"

"Well, four months ago, Mohammed-Azis arrived there."

"Hullo!" he said, "Mohammed?"

"Yes, and you had entrusted him with a--a commission," I continued.

"True," he exclaimed, "I had forgotten that!"

"Well, then, uncle----"

"He had accomplished his commission, I suppose," continued he.

"Yes," I replied. "And as you were dead, and Mohammed's commission formed part of my inheritance from you, I thought that it was my duty--"

"_Bigre!_" said my uncle, "you know how to act the heir very well, you do!"

"Why indeed--" I continued, "remember that I could not suppose----"

"In short you've done it," said he, "and it's all over, so don't let us say anything more about it! And once more, forgive me.--Now that I know all about it, nothing more need be said. Turks never discuss harem matters. Only," he added, "in order to avoid the necessity of returning to the subject, let me now recommend you to keep Mohammed; you understand? He knows the run of the ropes. And in order to make everything safe, as it would not do for me to be seen about there any more, tell him to come and see me."

"Do you wish me to send for him at once?"

"No, no, to-morrow will do. We have plenty of time.--Come, give me a little music, will you? Play me something from Verdi--"

And he began to hum in his bass voice, slightly out of tune, snatches from the air:

"Parigi o cara, noi lasceremo."

We passed a charming evening together, what with conversation, music, and cards. He won three francs of me at piquet, with a ridiculous display of triumph. About twelve o'clock I took him to his bedroom. When he was ready to get into bed, he exclaimed:

"_Te!_ I have some securities here which I had forgotten!" And taking a penknife, he proceeded to cut the stitches of his coat lining, from which he drew out some papers.

"See!" he said, as he held them out to me, "here are seven hundred thousand francs' worth of bills on London and Paris. You shall get them cashed."

"Very well, uncle," I replied. "And what do you want me to do with the money?"

"Oh, upon my word, that's your affair, my _pichoun_! You may be sure, now that you have come into your inheritance, I am not going to be troubled with such matters!"

"Well, at least advise me about them."

"But, my good fellow, that means that I am still to have all the bother about them--. After all," he continued, "keep the money if you like--it will do for my pocket money."

Thereupon he went to bed, I wished him good night, and was about to leave the room, when he called me back.

"Come here, Andre! Write, if you please, to the notary and ask him to come here to-morrow."

"Ah!" I replied, "you're coming round to that at last!"

"I am coming round to nothing whatever!" he exclaimed, in a most decided tone. "Only I want to know what has become of my camels! As you may guess, I intended to present them to the Zoological Society. I must have them found! Good night!"

I should certainly annoy you, my dear Louis, if I were to endeavour to impress upon you the full significance of the amazing events through which I have passed during these four months. I don't know of a single mortal who has experienced more original adventures. The dreadful letter from the notary, my installation at Ferouzat, my uncle's will, the harem tumbling down upon me from Turkey, the entering into complete possession of my fortune, and the whole crowned by the return of the deceased. Certainly you will agree with me that these are incidents which one does not meet with in everyday life. Nevertheless, if you want to know my ideas about them, I confess that they seem to me at the present moment to be nothing but the Necessary and the Contingent of philosophers, in their simplest application. I would go so far as to assert that, to a nephew of my uncle, things could not fall so to happen, for it would show a want of training in the most elementary principles of logic, to exhibit surprise at such little adventures, when once Barbassou-Pasha has been introduced on the scene as Prime Cause.

The substratum of my uncle so powerfully influences my destiny, that to my mind it would seem quite paradoxical to expect the same things ever to happen to me as to any other man. Cease being astonished, therefore, at any strange peculiarities in my life, even if they be eccentric enough to shock a rigidly constituted mind. Like those erratic planets which deviate occasionally from their course, I move around the remarkable star called Barbassou-Pasha, and he draws me into his own eccentric orbit. In spite of a semblance of romantic complications among the really simple facts which I have related to you, I defy you to discover in them the slightest grain of inconsistency. They can be perfectly well accounted for by the most natural causes and the most ordinary calculations of common sense. Cease your astonishment, therefore, unless you wish to fall into the lowest rank in my estimation.

Having postulated the fact that I am the nephew of my uncle, I will now return to the summarising of my situation. Well, my late uncle had come to life again, but he wanted to keep all the advantages of his status as a dead man, by obliging me to remain in possession of his property. I had just said "good night" to him, while he was dreaming about his camels. Nothing could be less complicated than that. If all that is not in strict conformity with the character of Barbassou (Claude Anatole), I know nothing about him. Nevertheless, it was only natural that the day celebrated by his return should give birth to some other incidents of importance.