WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
a handsome young Englishman, American, or Frenchman may chance to pass. It is, of course, a mere accident that a man should pass by at that moment. The glance is enough; the flame from those languishing eyes, the witching smile of the curved, ruddy lips, showing a treasure of pearly teeth, and the delicate ivory of the complexion, touched with a rosy pink, have aroused throbbing emotions in the breast of the young man.
In this enchanted region of mystery and romance, elusive, seductive, incomprehensible Egypt, the young and adventure-loving stranger is prone to speculate closely upon the womanly loveliness immured behind the formidable barriers of the harem. He longs to emulate the exploits of Don Juan, who, in spite of bar and padlock, contrived to enter the sanctum of a royal seraglio. He recalls the lines of Byron upon "a thousand bosoms there beating for love, as the cag'd birds for air."
"A bride from the harem"; the words ring with romance. The visitor retraces his footsteps. His eyes are dazzled, and aching for another glance at those exquisite features. Again he encounters the fair Georgian, and may be this time her eyes subtly express the agitation of her heart. She, too, is fascinated. It is not the first time that she has glanced covertly at the broad-shouldered, attractive young tourist.
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