wives ? and shall we have hut one ? Look at yourself.
Your wife is young, and ” (here the sheik
indulged in compliments), “ hut in ten years she will
not be the same as now; will you not then let
her have a nice house all to herself, when she grows
old, while you take a fresh young wife ? ”
I was obliged to explain to the sheik, that, first,
our ladies never looked old ; secondly, they improved
with age; and thirdly, that we were supposed to
love our wives with greater ardour as they advanced
in years. This was received with an ominous shake
of the head, coupled with the exclamation, “ Mash-
allah !” repeated by the whole party. This was the
moment for a few remarks on polygamy: I continued,.
“ You men are selfish ; you expect from the
woman that which you will not give in return,
‘constancy and love;’ if your wife demanded a
multiplicity of husbands, would it not be impossible
to love her ? how. can she love you if you insist
upon other wives ? ” “ Ah ! ” he replied, “ our women
are different to yours, they would not love anybody ;
look at your wife, she has travelled with you far
away from her own country, and her heart is
stronger than a man’s ; she is afraid of nothing,
because you aré with her; but our women prefer to
be far away from their husbands, and are only happy
when they have nothing whatever to do. You don’t
understand our women, they are ignorant creatures,
and when their youth is past are good for nothing
but to work. You have explained your customs;
RHINOCEROS d i s p e r s in g t h e p a r t y . Seepage 387.