Sheikh Nefzaoui: The Perfumed Garden
                                      
                      Translated by Sir Richard Burton

    Note to the 1886 Edition
    
   The Perfumed Garden was translated into French before the year 1850,
   by a staff officer of the French army in Algeria. An autograph
   edition, printed in the italic character, was printed in 1876, but, as
   only twenty-five copies are said to have been made, the book is both
   rare and costly, while, from the peculiarity of its type, it is
   difficult and fatiguing to read. An admirable reprint has, however,
   been recently issued in Paris, with the translator's notes and
   remarks, revised and corrected in the light of the fuller knowledge of
   Algeria which has been acquired since the translation was made. From
   that last edition the present translation (an exact and literal one)
   has been made, and it is the first time that the work - one of the
   most remarkable of its kind - has appeared in the English language.
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Notes of the Translator Respecting the Sheikh Nefzaoui

   The name of the Sheikh has become known to posterity as the author of
   this work, which is the only one attributed to him.
   
   In spite of the subject-matter of the book, and the manifold errors
   found in it and caused by the negligence and ignorance of the
   copyists, it is manifest that this treatise comes from the pen of a
   man of great erudition, who had a better knowledge in general of
   literature and medicine than is commonly found with Arabs.
   
   According to the historical notice contained in the first leaves of
   the manuscript, and notwithstanding the apparent error respecting the
   name oft he Bey who was reigning in Tunis, it may be presumed that
   this work was written in the beginning of the sixteenth century, about
   the year 925 of the Hegira.
   
   As regards the birthplace of the author, it may be taken for granted,
   considering that the Arabs habitually joined the name of their
   birth-place to their own, that he was born at Nefzaoua, a town
   situated in the district of that name on the shore of the lake Sebkha
   Melrir, in the south of the kingdom of Tunis.
   
   The Sheikh himself records that he lived in Tunis, and it is most
   probable the book was written in that city. According to tradition, a
   particular motive induced him to undertake a work entirely at variance
   with his simple tastes and retired habits.
   
   His knowledge of law and literature, as well as of medicine, having
   been reported to the Bey of Tunis, this ruler wished to invest him
   with the office of Cadi, although he was unwilling to occupy himself
   with public functions.
   
   As he, however, desired not to give the Bey cause for offence, whereby
   he might have incurred danger, he merely requested a short delay, in
   order to be able to finish a work which he had in hand.
   
   This having been granted, he set himself to compose the treatise which
   was then Occupying his mind, and which, becoming known, drew so much
   attention upon the author, that it became henceforth impossible to
   confide to him functions of the nature of those of a Cadi.
   
   But this version, which is not supported by any authenticated proof,
   and which represents the Sheikh Nefzaoui as a man of light morals,
   does not seem to be admissible. One need only glance at the book to be
   convinced that its author was animated by the most praiseworthy
   intentions, and that, far from being in fault, he deserves gratitude
   for the services he has rendered to humanity. Contrary to the habits
   of the Arabs, there exists no commentary on this book; the reason may,
   perhaps, be found in the nature of the subject of which it treats, and
   which may have frightened, unnecessarily, the serious and the
   studious. I say unnecessarily, because this book, more than any other,
   ought to have commentaries; grave questions are treated in it, and
   open out a large field for work and meditation.
   
   What can be more important, in fact, than the study of the principles
   upon which rest the happiness of man and woman, by reason of their
   mutual relations; relations which are themselves dependent upon
   character, health, temperament and the constitution, all of which it
   is the duty of philosophers to study.
   
   In doubtful and difficult cases, and where the ideas of the author did
   not seem to be clearly set out, I have not hesitated to look for
   enlightenment to the savants of sundry confessions, and by their kind
   assistance many difficulties, which I believed insurmountable, were
   conquered. lam glad to render them here my thanks.
   
   Amongst the authors who have treated of similar subjects, there is not
   one that can be entirely compared with the Sheikh; for his book
   reminds you, at the same time, of Aretin, of the book Conjugal Love,
   and of Rabelais. But what makes this treatise unique as a book of its
   kind, is the seriousness with which the most lascivious and obscene
   matters are presented. It is evident that the author is convinced of
   the importance of his subject, and that the desire to be of use to his
   fellowmen is the sole motive of his efforts.
   
   With the view to giving more weight to his recommendations, he does
   not hesitate to multiply his religious citations, and in many cases
   invokes even the authority of the Koran, the most sacred book of the
   Mussulmans.
   
   It may be assumed that this book, without being exactly a compilation,
   is not entirely due to the genius of the Sheikh Nefzaoui, and that
   several parts may have been borrowed from Arabian and Indian writers.
   For instance, all the record of Moa'ailama and of Chedja is taken
   from the work of Mohammed ben Djerir el Taberi; the description of the
   different positions for coition, as well as the movements applicable
   to them, are borrowed from Indian works; finally, the book Birds and
   Flowers by Azeddine el Mocadecci seems to have been consulted with
   respect to the interpretation of dreams. But an author certainly is to
   be commended for having surrounded himself with the lights of former
   savants, and it would be ingratitude not to acknowledge the benefit
   which his books have conferred upon people who were still in their
   infancy in the art of love.
   
   It is only to be regretted that this work, so complete in many
   respects, is defective in so fir as it makes no mention of a custom
   too common with the Arabs not to deserve particular attention. I speak
   of the taste so universal with the old Greeks and Romans, namely, the
   preference they give to a boy before a woman, or even to treat the
   latter as a boy.
   
   There might have been given on this subject sound advice as well with
   regard to the pleasures mutually enjoyed by the women called tribades.
   The same reticence has been observed by the author with regard to
   bestiality. Nevertheless he does speak, in one story (i.e. `The
   History of Zohra', in the concluding chapter of the work), of the
   mutual caresses of women; and he relates an anecdote concerning a
   woman who provoked the caresses of an ass [which has been eliminated
   from the present edition], thus revealing that he knew of such
   matters.
   
   Lastly, the Sheikh does not mention the pleasures which the mouth or
   the hand of a pretty woman can give, nor the cunnilinges.
   
   What may have been the motive for these omissions? The author's
   silence cannot be attributed to ignorance, for in the course of his
   work he has given proofs of an erudition too extended and various to
   permit a suspicion of his knowledge.
   
   Should we look for the cause of this gap to the contempt which the
   Mussulman in reality feels for woman, and owing to which he may think
   that it would be degrading to his dignity as a man to descend to
   caresses otherwise regulated than by the laws of nature? Or did the
   author, perhaps, avoid the mention of similar matters out of fear that
   he might be suspected of sharing tastes which many people look upon as
   depraved?
   
   However this may be, the book contains much useful information and a
   large number of curious cases, and I have undertaken the translation
   because, as the Sheikh Nefzaoui says in his preamble: `I swear before
   God, certainly! the knowledge of this book is necessary. It will be
   only the shamefully ignorant, the enemy of all science, who does not
   read it, or who turns it into ridicule.'
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INTRODUCTION

  General Remarks about Coition
  
   PRAISE BE GIVEN TO God, who has placed man's greatest pleasure in the
   natural parts of woman, and has destined the natural parts of man to
   afford the greatest enjoyment to woman.
   
   He has not endowed the parts of woman with any pleasurable or
   satisfactory feeling until the same have been penetrated by the
   instrument of the male; and likewise the sexual organs of man know
   neither rest nor quietness until they have entered those of the
   female.
   
   Hence the mutual operation. There takes place between the two actors
   wrestling, intertwinings, a kind of animated conflict. Owing to the
   contact of the lower parts of the two bellies, the enjoyment soon
   comes to pass. The man is at work as with a pestle, while the woman
   seconds him by lascivious movements; finally comes the ejaculation.
   
   The kiss on the mouth, on the two cheeks, upon the neck, as well as
   the sucking up of flesh lips, are gifts of God, destined to provoke
   erection at the favourable moment. God also is it who has embellished
   the chest of the woman with breasts, has furnished her with a double
   chin, and has given brilliant colours to her cheeks.
   
   He has also gifted her with eyes that inspire love, and with eyelashes
   like polished blades.
   
   He has furnished her with a rounded belly and a beautiful navel, and
   with a majestic crupper; and all these wonders are borne up by the
   thighs. It is between these latter that God has placed the arena of
   the combat; when the same is provided with ample flesh, it resembles
   the head of a lion. It is called the vulva. Oh! how many men's deaths
   lie at her door? Amongst them how many heroes!
   
   God has furnished this object with a mouth, a tongue, two lips; it is
   like the impression of the hoof of the gazelle in the sands of the
   desert.
   
   The whole is supported by two marvellous columns, testifying to the
   might and the wisdom of God; they are not too long nor too short; and
   they are graced with knees, calves, ankles, and heels, upon which rest
   precious rings.
   
   Then the Almighty has plunged woman into a sea of splendours, of
   voluptuousness, and of delights, and covered her with precious
   vestments, with brilliant girdles and provoking smiles.
   
   So let us praise and exalt him who has created woman and her beauties,
   with her appetizing flesh; who has given her hails, a beautiful
   figure, a bosom with breasts which are swelling, and amorous ways,
   which awaken desires.
   
   The Master of the Universe has bestowed upon them the empire of
   seduction; all men, weak or strong, are subjected to a weakness for
   the love of woman. Through woman we have society or dispersion,
   sojourn or emigration.
   
   The state of humility in which are the hearts of those who love and
   are separated from the object of their love, makes their hearts burn
   with love's fire; they are oppressed with a feeling of servitude,
   contempt and misery; they suffer under the vicissitudes of their
   passion: and all this as a consequence of their burning desire for
   contact.
   
   I, the servant of God, am thankful to him that no one can help falling
   in love with beautiful women, and that no one can escape the desire to
   possess them, neither by change, nor flight, nor separation.
   
   I testify that there is only one God, and that he has no associate. I
   shall adhere to this precious testimony to the day of the last
   judgment.
   
   I likewise testify as to our lord and master, Mohammed, the servant
   and ambassador of God, the greatest of the prophets (the benediction
   and pity of God be with him and with his family and disciples!). I
   keep prayers and benedictions for the day of retribution, that
   terrible moment.
   
The Origin of This Work

   I have written this magnificent work after a small book called The
   Torch of the World, which treats of the mysteries of generation.
   
   This latter work came to the knowledge of the Vizir of our master,
   Abd-el-Aziz, the ruler of Tunis.
   
   This illustrious Vizir was his poet, his companion, his friend and
   private secretary. He was good in council, true, sagacious and wise,
   the best learned man of his time, and well acquainted with all things.
   He called himself Mohammed ben Ouana ez Zounaoui, and traced his
   origin from Zounaoua. He had been brought up at Algiers, and in that
   town our master Abd-el-Aziz el Hafsi had made his acquaintance.
   
   On the day when Algiers was taken, that ruler took flight with him to
   Tunis (which land may God preserve in his power till the day of
   resurrection), and named him his Grand Vizir.
   
   When the above-mentioned book came into his hands, he sent for me, and
   invited me pressingly to come and see him. I went forthwith to his
   house, and he received me most honourably.
   
   Three days after, he came to me and, showing me my book, said, `This
   is your work.' Seeing me blush, he added, `You need not be ashamed;
   everything you have said in it is true; no one need be shocked at your
   words. Moreover, you are not the first who has treated of this matter;
   and I swear by God that it is necessary to know this book. It is only
   the shameless bore and the enemy of all science who will not read it,
   or will make fun of it. But there are sundry things which you will
   have to treat about yet.' I asked him what these things were, and he
   answered, `I wish that you would add to the work a supplement,
   treating of the remedies of which you have said nothing, and adding
   all the facts appertaining thereto, omitting nothing. You will
   describe in the same the motives of the act of generation, as well as
   the matters that prevent it. You will mention the means for undoing
   spells (aiguillettes), and the way to increase the size of the virile
   member, when too small, and to make it resplendent. You will further
   cite those means which remove the unpleasant smells from the armpits
   and the natural parts of women, and those which will contract those
   parts. You will further speak of pregnancy, so as to make your book
   perfect and wanting in nothing. And, finally, you will have done your
   work, if your book satisfy all wishes.'
   
   T replied to the Vizir: `Oh, my master, all you have said here is not
   difficult to do, if it is the pleasure of God on high.'
   
   I forthwith went to work with the composition of this book, imploring
   the assistance of God (may he pour his blessing on his prophet, and
   may happiness and pity be with him).
   
   I have called this work, The Perfumed Garden for the Souls Recreation
   (Er Roud el Âater p'nezaha el Khater).
   
   And we pray to God, who directs everything for the best (and there is
   no other God than He, and there is nothing good that does not come
   from Him), to lend us His help, and lead us in good ways; for there is
   no power nor joy but in the high and mighty God.
   
   I have divided this book into chapters, in order to make it easier
   reading for the taleb (student) who wishes to learn, and to facilitate
   his search for what he wants. Each chapter relates to a particular
   subject, be it physical, or anecdotal, or treating of the wiles and
   deceits of women.
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CHAPTER 1

  Concerning Praiseworthy Men
  
   LEARN, O Vizir (God's blessing be upon you), that there are different
   sorts of men and women; that amongst these are those who are worthy of
   praise and those who deserve reproach.
   
   When a meritorious man finds himself near to women, his member grows,
   gets strong, vigorous and hard; he is not quick to discharge, and
   after the trembling caused by the emission of the sperm, he is soon
   stiff again.
   
   Such a man is liked and appreciated by women; this is because the
   woman loves the man only for the sake of coition. His member should,
   therefore, be of ample dimensions and length. Such a man ought to be
   broad in the chest, and heavy in the crupper; he should know how to
   regulate his emission, and be ready as to erection; his member should
   reach to the end of the canal of the female, and completely fill the
   same in all its parts. Such an one will be well beloved by women, for,
   as the poet says:
   
     I have seen women trying to find in young men
     The durable qualities which grace the man of full power,
     The beauty, the enjoyment, the reserve, the strength,
     The full-formed member providing a lengthened coition,
     A heavy crupper, a slowly coming emission,
     A lightsome chest, as it were floating upon them;
     The spermal ejaculation slow to arrive, so as
     To furnish forth a long drawn-out enjoyment.
     His member soon to be prone again for erection,
     To ply the plane again and again and again on their vulvas,
     Such is the man whose cult gives pleasure to women,
     And who will ever stand high in their esteem.
     
    Qualities Which Women Are Looking For in Men
    
   The tale goes, that on a certain day, Abd-el-Melik ben Merouane, went
   to see Leilla, his mistress, and put various questions to her. Amongst
   other things, he asked her what were the qualities which women looked
   for in men.
   
   Leilla answered him: `Oh, my master, they must have cheeks like ours.'
   `And what besides?' said Ben Merouane. She continued: `And hairs like
   ours; finally they should be like to you, O prince of believers, for,
   surely, if a man is not strong and rich he will obtain nothing from
   women.'
   
    Various Lengths of the Virile Member
    
   The virile member, to please women, must have at most a length of the
   breadth of twelve fingers, or three handbreadths, and at least six
   fingers, or a hand and a half breadth.
   
   There are men with members of twelve fingers, or three hand-breadths;
   others of ten fingers, or two and a half hands. And others measure
   eight fingers, or two hands. A man whose member is of less dimensions
   cannot please women.
   
    The Use of Perfumes in Coition. The History of Moc'ilama
    
   The use of perfumes, by man as well as by woman, excites to the act of
   copulation. The woman, inhaling the perfumes employed by the man,
   becomes intoxicated; and the use of scents has often proved a strong
   help to man, and assisted him in getting possession of a woman.
   
   On this subject it is told of Moc'ilama, the impostor, the son of
   Kaiss - whom God may curse!), that he pretended to have the gift of
   prophecy, and imitated the Prophet of God (blessings and salutations
   to him). For which reasons he and a great number of Arabs have
   incurred the ire of the Almighty.
   
   Moc'ilama, the son of Kaiss, the impostor, misconstrued likewise
   the Koran by his lies and impostures; and on the subject of a chapter
   of the Koran, which the angel Gabriel (hail be to him) had brought to
   the Prophet (the mercy of God and hail to him), people of bad faith
   had gone to see Moc'ilama, who had told them, `To me also has the
   angel Gabriel brought a similar chapter.'
   
   He derided the chapter headed `The Elephant,' saying, `In this chapter
   of the Elephant I see the elephant. What is the elephant? What does it
   mean? What is this quadruped? It has a tail and a long trunk. Surely
   it is a creation of our God, the magnificent.'
   
   The chapter of the Koran named `the kouter' was also an object of
   controversy. He said, `We have given you precious stones for yourself,
   and preference to any other man, but take care not to be proud of
   them.'
   
   Moc'ilama thus perverted sundry chapters in the Koran by his lies
   and his impostures.
   
   He had been at his work when he heard the Prophet (the salutation and
   mercy of God be with him) spoken of. He heard that after he had placed
   his venerable hands upon a bald head, the hair had forthwith sprung up
   again; that when he spat into a pit, the water came in abundantly, and
   that the dirty water turned at once clean and good for drinking; that
   when he spat into an eye that was blind or obscure, the sight was at
   once restored to it, and when he placed his hands upon the head of a
   child, saying, `Live for a century,' the child lived to be a hundred
   years old.
   
   When the disciples of Moc'ilama saw these things or heard speak of
   them, they came to him and said, `Have you no knowledge of Mohammed
   and his doings?' He replied, `I shall do better than that.'
   
   Now, Moc'ilama was an enemy of God, and when he put his luckless
   hand on the head of someone who had not much hair, the man was at once
   quite bald; when he spat into a well with a scanty supply of water,
   sweet as it was, it was turned dirty by the will of God; if he spat
   into a suffering eye, that eye lost its sight at once, and when he
   laid his hand upon the head of an infant, saying, `Live a hundred
   years,' the infant died within an hour.
   
   Observe. my brethren, what happens to those whose eyes remain closed
   to the light, and who are deprived of the assistance of the Almighty!
   
   And thus acted that woman of the Beni-Temim, called Chedjâ el Temimia,
   who pretended to be a prophetess. She had heard of Moc'ilama, and
   he likewise of her.
   
   This woman was powerful, for the Beni-Temim form a numerous tribe. She
   said, `Prophecy cannot belong to two persons. Either he is a prophet,
   and then I and my disciples will follow his laws, or I am a
   prophetess, and then he and his disciples will follow my laws.'
   
   This happened after the death of the Prophet (the salutation and mercy
   of God be with him).
   
   Chedjâ then wrote to Moc'ailama a letter, in which she told him,
   `It is not proper that two persons should at one and the same time
   profess prophecy; it is for one only to be a prophet. We will meet, we
   and our disciples, and examine each other. We shall discuss about that
   which has come to us from God (the Koran), and we will follow the laws
   of him who shall be acknowledged as the true prophet.'
   
   She then closed her letter and gave it to a messenger, saying to him:
   `Betake yourself, with this missive, to Yamama, and give it to
   Moc'ailama ben Kaiss. As for myself, I follow you, with the army.'
   
   Next day the prophetess mounted horse, with her goum, and followed the
   spoor of her envoy. When the latter arrived at Moc'ailama's place,
   he greeted him and gave him the letter.
   
   Moc'ilama opened and read it, and understood its contents. He was
   dismayed, and began to advise with the people of his goum, one after
   another, but he did not see anything in their advice or in their views
   that could rid him of his embarrassment.
   
   While he was in this perplexity, one of the superior men of his goum
   came forward and said to him: `Oh, Moc'ilama, calm your soul and
   cool your eye. I will give you the advice of a father to his son.'
   
   Moc'ilama said to him: `Speak, and may thy words be true.'
   
   And the other one said: `Tomorrow morning erect outside the city a
   tent of coloured brocades, provided with silk furniture of all sorts.
   Fill the tent afterwards with a variety of different perfumes, amber,
   musk, and all sorts of scents, as rose, orange flowers, jonquils,
   jessamine, hyacinth, carnation and other plants. This done, have them
   placed there several gold censers filled with green aloes, ambergris,
   net and so on. Then fix the hangings so that nothing of these perfumes
   can escape out of the tent. Then, when you find the vapour strong
   enough to impregnate water, sit down on your throne, and send for the
   prophetess to come and see you in the tent, where she will be alone
   with you. When you are thus together there, and she inhales the
   perfumes, she will delight in the same, all her bones will be released
   in a soft repose, and finally she will be swooning. When you see her
   thus far gone, ask her to grant you her favours; she will not hesitate
   to accord them. Having once possessed her, you will be freed of the
   embarrassment caused to you by her and her goum.'
   
   Moc'ilama exclaimed: `You have spoken well. As God lives, your
   advice is good and well thought out.' And he had everything arranged
   accordingly.
   
   When he saw that the perfumed vapour was dense enough to impregnate
   the water in the tent he sat down upon his throne and sent for the
   prophetess. On her arrival he gave orders to admit her into the tent;
   she entered and remained alone with him. He engaged her in
   conversation.
   
   While Moc'ilama spoke to her she lost all her presence of mind,
   and became embarrassed and confused.
   
   When he saw her in that state he knew that she desired cohabitation,
   and he said: `Come, rise and let me have possession of you; this place
   has been prepared for that purpose. If you like you may lie on your
   back, or you can place yourself on an fours, or kneel as in prayer,
   with your brow touching the ground, and your crupper in the air,
   forming a tripod. Whichever position you prefer, speak, and you shall
   be satisfied.'
   
   The prophetess answered, `I want it done in all ways. Let the
   revelation of God descend upon me, O Prophet of the Almighty.'
   
   He at once precipitated himself upon her, and enjoyed her as he liked.
   She then said to him, `When I am gone from here, ask my goum to give
   me to you in marriage.'
   
   When she had left the tent and met her disciples, they said to her,
   `What is the result of the conference, O prophetess of God?' and she
   replied, `Moc'ilama has shown me what has been revealed to him,
   and I found it to be the truth, so obey him.'
   
   Then Moc'ilama asked her in marriage from the goum, which was
   accorded to him. When the goum asked about the marriage-dowry of his
   future wife, he told them, `I dispense you from saying the prayer
   aceur (which is said at three or four o'clock). Ever from that time
   the Beni-Temim do not pray at that hour; and when they are asked the
   reason, they answer, `It is on account of our prophetess; she only
   knows the way to the truth.' And, in fact, they recognized no other
   prophet.
   
   On this subject a poet has said:
   
     For us a female prophet has arisen;
     Her laws we follow; for the rest of mankind
     The prophets that appeared were always men.
     
   The death of Moc'ilama was foretold by the prophecy of Abou Beker
   (to whom God be good). He was, in fact, killed by Zeid ben Khettab.
   Other people say it was done by Ouhcha, one of his disciples. God only
   knows whether it was Ouhcha. He himself says on this point, `I have
   killed in my ignorance the best of men, Haman ben Abd el Mosaleb, and
   then I killed the worst of men, Moc'ailama. I hope that God will
   pardon one of these actions in consideration of the other.'
   
   The meaning of these words, `I have killed the best of men', is that
   Ouhcha, before having yet known the prophet, had killed Haman (to whom
   God be good), and having afterwards embraced Islamism, he killed
   Moc'ilama.
   
   As regards Chedjâ el Temimia, she repented by God's grace, and took to
   the Islamitic faith; she married one of the Prophet's followers (God
   be good to her husband).
   
   Thus finishes the story.
   
   The man who deserves favours is, in the eyes of women, the one who is
   anxious to please them. He must be of good presence, excel in beauty
   those around him, be of good shape and well-formed proportions; true
   and sincere in his speech with women; he must likewise be generous and
   brave, not vainglorious, and pleasant in conversation. A slave to his
   promise, he must always keep his word, ever speak the truth, and do
   what he has said.
   
   The man who boasts of his relations with women, of their acquaintance
   and good will to him, is a dastard. He will be spoken of in the next
   chapter.
   
   There is a story that once there lived a King named Mamoum, who had a
   court fool of the name of Bahloul, who amused the princes and Vizirs.
   
   One day this buffoon appeared before the King, who was amusing
   himself. The King bade him to sit down, and then asked him, turning
   away, `Way hast thou come, O son of a bad woman?'
   
   Bahloul answered, `I have come to see what has come to our Lord, whom
   may God make victorious.'
   
   `And what has come to thee?' replied the King, `and how art thou
   getting on with thy new and with thy old wife?' For Bahloul, not
   content with one wife, had married a second one.
   
   `I am not happy,' he answered, `neither with the old one, nor with the
   new one: and moreover poverty overpowers me.'
   
   The King said, `Can you recite any verses on this subject?'
   
   The buffoon having answered in the affirmative, Mamoum commanded him
   to recite those he knew, and Bahloul began as follows:
   
     Poverty holds me in chains; misery torments me:
     I am being scourged with all misfortunes;
     Ill luck has cast me in trouble and peril,
     And has drawn upon me the contempt of man.
     God does not favour a poverty like mine;
     That is opprobrious in every one's eyes.
     Misfortune and misery for a long time
     Have held me tightly; and no doubt of it
     My dwelling house will soon not know me more.
     
   Mamoum said to him, `Where are you going to?'
   
   He replied, `To God and his Prophet, O prince of the believers.'
   
   `That is well!' said the King; `those who take refuge in God and his
   Prophet and then in us, will be made welcome. But can you now tell me
   some more verses about your two wives, and about what comes to pass
   with them?'
   
   Certainly,' said Bahloul.
   
   `Then let us hear what you have to say!'
   
   Bahloul then began thus with poetical words:
   
     By reason of my ignorance I have married two wives -
     And why do you complain, O husband of two wives?
     I said to myself, I shall be like a lamb between them;
     I shall take my pleasure upon the bosoms of my two sheep,
     And I have become like a ram between two female jackals,
     Days follow upon days, and nights upon nights,
     And their yoke bears me down during both days and nights.
     If I am kind to one, the other gets vexed.
     And so I cannot escape from these two furies.
     If you want to live well and with a free heart,
     And with your hands unclenched, then do not marry.
     If you must wed, then marry one wife only:
     One alone is enough to satisfy two armies
     
   When Mamoum heard these words he began to laugh, till he nearly
   tumbled over. Then, as a proof of his kindness, he gave to Bahloul his
   golden robe, a most beautiful vestment.
   
   Bahloul went in high spirits towards the dwelling of the Grand Vizir.
   Just then Hamdonna looked from the height of her palace in that
   direction, and saw him. She said to her negress, `By the God of the
   temple of Mecca! There is Bahloul dressed in a fine gold-worked robe!
   How can I manage to get possession of the same?'
   
   The negress said, `Oh, my mistress, you would not know how to get hold
   of that robe.'
   
   Hamdonna answered, `I have thought of a trick whereby to achieve my
   ends, and I shall get the robe from him.' `Bahloul is a sly man,'
   replied the negress. `People think generally that they can make fun of
   him; but for God, it is he who really makes fun of them. Give up the
   idea, mistress mine, and take care that you do not fall into the snare
   which you intend setting for him.'
   
   But Hamdonna said again, `It must be done!' She then sent her negress
   to Bahloul, to tell him that he should come to her.
   
   He said, `By the blessing of God, to him who calls you, you shall make
   answer,' and went to Hamdonna.
   
   Hamdonna welcomed him and said: `Oh, Bahloul, I believe you come to
   hear me sing.' He replied: `Most certainly, oh, my mistress! You have
   a marvellous gift for singing.'
   
   `I also think that after having listened to my songs, you will be
   pleased to take some refreshments.'
   
   `Yes,' said he.
   
   Then she began to sing admirably, so as to make people who listened
   die with love.
   
   After Bahloul had heard her sing, refreshments were served; he ate,
   and he drank Then she said to him: `I do not know why, but I fancy you
   would gladly take off your robe, to make me a present of it.' And
   Bahloul answered: `Oh, my mistress! I have sworn to give it to her to
   whom I have done as a man does to a woman.'
   
   `Do you know what that is, Bahloul?' said she.
   
   `Do I know it?' replied he. `I, who am instructing God's creatures in
   that science? It is I who make them copulate in love, who initiate
   them in the delights a female can give, show them how one must caress
   a woman, and what will excite and satisfy her. Oh, my mistress, who
   should know the art of coition if it is not I?'
   
   Hamdonna was the daughter of Mamoum, and the wife of the Grand Vizir.
   She was endowed with the most perfect beauty; of a superb figure and
   harmonious form. No one in her time surpassed her in grace and
   perfection. Heroes on seeing her became humble and submissive, and
   looked down to the ground for fear of temptation, so many charms and
   perfections had God lavished on her. Those who looked steadily at her
   were troubled in their mind, and oh! how many heroes imperilled
   themselves for her sake. For this very reason Bahloul had always
   avoided meeting her for fear of succumbing to the temptation; and,
   apprehensive for his peace of mind, had never, until then, been in her
   presence.
   
   Bahloul began to converse with her. Now he looked at her and anon bent
   his eyes to the ground, fearful of not being able to command his
   passion. Hamdonna burnt with desire to have the robe, and he would not
   give it up without king paid for it.
   
   `What price do you demand,' she asked. To which he replied, `Coition,
   O apple of my eye.'
   
   `You know what that is, O Bahloul?' said she.
   
   `By God,' he cried; `no man knows women better than I; they are the
   occupation of my life. No one has studied all their concerns more than
   I. I know what they are fond of; for learn, oh, lady mine, that men
   choose different occupations according to their genius and their bent.
   The one takes, the other gives; this one sells, the other buys. My
   only thought is of love and of the possession of beautiful women. I
   heal those that are lovesick, and carry a solace to their thirsting
   vaginas.'
   
   Hamdonna was surprised at his words and the sweetness of his language.
   `Could you recite me some verses on this subject?' she asked.
   
   `Certainly,' he answered.
   
   `Very well, O Bahloul, let me hear what you have to say.' Bahloul
   recited as follows:
   
     Men are divided according to their affairs and doings;
     Some are always in spirits and joyful, others in tears.
     There are those whose life is restless and full of misery,
     While, on the contrary, others are steeped in good fortune,
     Always in luck's happy way, and favoured in all things.
     I alone am indifferent to all such matters.
     What care I for Turkomans, Persians, and Arabs?
     My whole ambition is in love and coition with women,
     No doubt nor mistake about that!
     If my member is without vulva, my state becomes frightful,
     My heart then burns with a fire which cannot be quenched.
     Look at my member erect! There it is - admire its beauty!
     It calms the heat of love and quenches the hottest fires
     By its movement in and out between your thighs.
     Oh, my hope and my apple, oh, noble and generous lady,
     If one time will not suffice to appease thy fire,
     I shall do it again, so as to give satisfaction;
     No one may reproach thee, for all the world does the same.
     But if you choose to deny me, then send me away!
     Chase me away from thy presence without any fear or remorse!
     Yet bethink thee, and speak and augment not my trouble,
     But, in the name of God, forgive me and do not reproach me.
     While I am here let thy words be kind and forgiving.
     Let them not fall upon me like sword-blades, keen and cuffing!
     Let me come to you and do not repel me.
     Let me come to you like one that brings drink to the thirsty;
     Hasten and let my hungry eyes look at thy bosom.
     Do not withhold from me love's joys, and do not be bashful,
     Give yourself up to me - I shall never cause you trouble,
     Even were you to fill me with sickness from head to foot.
     I shall always remain as I am, and you as you are,
     Knowing that I am the servant, and you are the mistress ever.
     Then shall our love be veiled? It shall be hidden for all time,
     For I keep it a secret and I shall be mute and muzzled.
     It is by God's will that everything happens,
     And he has filled me with love; but today my luck is ill.
     
   While Hamdonna was listening she nearly swooned, and set herself to
   examine the member of Bahloul, which stood erect like a column between
   his thighs. Now she said to herself: `I shall give myself up to him,'
   and now, `No I will not.' During this uncertainty she felt a yearning
   for pleasure deep within her parts privy; and Eblis made flow from her
   natural parts a moisture, the forerunner of pleasure. She then no
   longer combated her desire to cohabit with him, and reassured herself
   by the thought: `If this Bahloul, after having had his pleasure with
   me, should divulge it no one will believe his words.'
   
   She requested him to divest himself of his robe and to come into her
   room, but Bahloul replied: `I shall not undress till I have sated my
   desire, O apple of my eye.'
   
   Then Hamdonna rose, trembling with excitement for what was to follow;
   she undid her girdle, and left the room, Bahloul following her and
   thinking: `Am I really awake or is this a dream?' He walked after her
   till she had entered her boudoir. Then she threw herself on a couch of
   silk, which was rounded on the top like a vault, lifted her clothes up
   over her thighs, trembling all over, and all the beauty which God had
   given her was in Bahloul's arms.
   
   Bahloul examined the belly of Hamdonna, round like an elegant cupola'
   his eyes dwelt upon a navel which was like a pearl in a golden cup;
   and descending lower down there was a beautiful piece of nature's
   workmanship, and the whiteness and shape of her thighs surprised him.
   
   Then he pressed Hamdonna in a passionate embrace, and soon saw the
   animation leave her face; she seemed almost unconscious. She had lost
   her head; and holding Bahloul's member in her hands, excited and fired
   him more and more.
   
   Bahloul said to her: `Why do I see you so troubled and beside
   yourself?' And she answered: `Leave me, O son of a debauched woman! By
   God, I am like a mare in heat, and you continue to excite me still
   more with your words, and what words! They would set any woman on
   fire, if she was the purest creature in the world. You will insist in
   making me succumb by your talk and your verses.'
   
   Bahloul answered: `Am I then not like your husband?' `Yes,' she said,
   but a woman gets heat on account of the man, as a mare on account of
   the horse, whether the man be the husband or not; with this
   difference, however, that the mare gets lusty only at certain periods
   of the year, and only then receives the stallion, while a woman can
   always be made rampant by words of love. Both these dispositions have
   met within me, and, as my husband is absent, make haste, for he will
   soon be back'
   
   Bahloul replied. `Oh, my mistress, my loins hurt me and prevent me
   mounting upon you. You take the man's position, and then take my robe
   and let me depart.'
   
   Then he laid himself down in the position the woman takes in receiving
   a man; and his verge was standing up like a column.
   
   Hamdonna threw herself upon Bahloul, took his member between her hands
   and began to look at it. She was astonished at its size, strength and
   firmness, and cried: `Here we have the ruin of all women and the cause
   of many troubles. O Bahloul! I never saw a more beautiful dart than
   yours!' Still she continued keeping hold of it, and rubbed its bead
   against the lips of her vulva till the latter part seemed to say: `O
   member, come into me.'
   
   Then Bahloul inserted his member into the vagina of the Sultan's
   daughter, and she, settling down upon his engine, allowed it to
   penetrate entirely into her furnace till nothing more could be seen of
   it, not the slightest trace, and she said: `How lascivious has God
   made woman, and how indefatigable after her pleasures.' She then gave
   herself up to an up-and-down dance, moving her bottom like a riddle;
   to the right and left, and forward and backward; never was there such
   a dance as this.
   
   The Sultan's daughter continued her ride upon Bahloul's member till
   the moment of enjoyment arrived, and the attraction of the vulva
   seemed to pump the member as though by suction: just as an infant
   sucks the teat of the mother. The acme of enjoyment came to both
   simultaneously, and each took the pleasure with avidity.
   
   Then Hamdonna seized the member in order to withdraw it, and slowly,
   slowly she made it come out, saying: `This is the deed of a vigorous
   man.' Then she dried it and her own private parts with a silken
   kerchief and rose.
   
   Bahloul also got up and prepared to depart, but she said, `And the
   robe?'
   
   He answered, `Why, O mistress! You have been riding me, and still want
   a present?'
   
   `But,' said she, `did you not tell me that you could not mount me on
   account of the pains in your loins?'
   
   `It matters but little,' said Bahloul. `The first time it was your
   turn, the second will be mine, and the price for it will be the robe,
   and then I will go.'
   
   Hamdonna thought to herself, `As he began he may now go on; afterwards
   he will go away.'
   
   So she laid herself down, but Bahloul said, `I shall not lie with you
   unless you undress entirely.'
   
   Then she undressed until she was quite naked, and Bahloul fell into an
   ecstasy on seeing the beauty and perfection of her form. He looked at
   her magnificent thighs and rebounding navel, at her belly vaulted like
   an arch, her plump breasts standing out like hyacinths. Her neck was
   like a gazelle's, the opening of her mouth like a ring, her lips fresh
   and red like a gory sabre. Her teeth might have been taken for pearls
   and her cheeks for roses. Her eyes were black and well slit, and her
   eyebrows of ebony resembled the rounded flourish of the noun traced by
   the hand of a skilful writer. Her forehead was like the full moon in
   the night.
   
   Bahloul began to embrace her, to suck her lips and to kiss her bosom;
   he drew her fresh saliva and bit her thighs. So he went on till she
   was ready to swoon, and could scarcely stammer, and her eyes became
   veiled. Then he kissed her vulva, and she moved neither hand nor foot.
   He looked lovingly upon the secret parts of Hamdonna, beautiful enough
   to attract all eyes with their purple centre.
   
   Bahloul cried, `Oh, the temptation of man!' and still he bit her and
   kissed her till her desire was roused to its full pitch. Her sighs
   came quicker, and grasping his member with her hand she made it
   disappear in her vagina
   
   Then it was he who moved hard, and she who responded hotly, the
   overwhelming pleasure simultaneously calming their fervour.
   
   Then Bahloul got off her, dried his pestle and her mortar, and
   prepared to retire. But Hamdonna said, `Where is the robe? You mock
   me, O Bahloul.' He answered, `O my mistress, I shall only part with it
   for a consideration. You have had your dues and I mine. The first time
   was for you, the second time for me; now the third time shall be for
   the robe.'
   
   This said. he took it off, folded it, and put it in Hamdonna's hands,
   who, having risen, lay down again on the couch and said, `Do what you
   like!'
   
   Forthwith Bahloul threw himself upon her, and with one push completely
   buried his member in her vagina; then he began to work as with a
   pestle, and she to move her bottom, until both again did flow over at
   the same time. Then he rose from her side, left his robe, and went.
   
   The negress said to Hamdonna, `O my mistress, is it not as I have told
   you? Bahloul is a bad man, and you could not get the better of him.
   They consider him as a subject for mockery, but, before God, he is
   making fun of them. Why would you not believe me?'
   
   Hamdonna turned to her and said, `Do not tire me with your remarks. It
   came to pass what has to come to pass, and on the opening of each
   vulva is inscribed the name of the man who is to enter it, right or
   wrong, for love or for hatred. If Bahloul's name had not been
   inscribed on my vulva he would never have got into it, had he offered
   me the universe with all it contains.'
   
   As they were thus talking there came a knock at the door. The negress
   asked who was there, and in answer the voice of Bahloul said It is I.'
   Hamdonna, in doubt as to what the buffoon wanted to do, got
   frightened. The negress asked Bahloul what he wanted, and received the
   reply, `Bring me a little water.' She went out of the house with a cup
   full of water. Bahloul drank, and then let the cup slip out of his
   hands, and it was broken. The negress shut the door upon Bahloul, who
   sat himself down on the threshold.
   
   The buffoon being thus close to the door, the Vizir, Hamdonna's
   husband, arrived, who said to him, `Why do I see you here, O Bahloul?'
   And he answered, `O my lord, I was passing through the street when I
   was overcome by a great thirst. A negress came and brought me a cup of
   water. The cup slipped from my hands and got broken. Then our lady
   Hamdonna took my robe, which the Sultan our Master had given me, as
   indemnification.'
   
   Then said the Vizir, `Let him have his robe.' Hamdonna at this moment
   came out, and her husband asked her whether it was true that she had
   taken the robe in payment for the cup. Hamdonna then cried, beating
   her hands together, `What have you done, O Bahloul?' He answered, `I
   have talked to your husband the language of my folly; talk to him,
   you, the language of thy wisdom.' And she, enraptured with the cunning
   he had displayed, gave him back his robe, and he departed.
                 __________________________________________
                                      
CHAPTER 2

  Concerning Women Who Deserve To Be Praised
  
   Know, O Vizir (and the mercy of God be with you!), that there are
   women of all sorts; that there are such as are worthy of praise, and
   such is deserve nothing but contempt.
   
   In order that a woman may be relished by men, she must have a perfect
   waist, and must be plump and lusty. Her hair will be black her
   forehead wide, she will have eyebrows of Ethiopian blackness, large
   black eyes, with the whites in them very limpid. With cheek of perfect
   oval, she will have an elegant nose and a graceful mouth; lips and
   tongue vermilion; her breath will be of pleasant odour, her throat
   long, her neck strong, her bust and her belly large; her breasts must
   be full and firm, her belly in good proportion, and her navel
   well-developed and marked; the lower part of the belly is to be large,
   the vulva projecting and fleshy, from the point where the hairs grow,
   to the buttocks; the conduit must be narrow and not moist, soft to the
   touch, and emitting a strong heat and no bad smell; she must have the
   thighs and buttocks hard, the hips large and full, a waist of fine
   shape, hands and feet of striking elegance, plump arms, and
   well-developed shoulders.
   
   If one looks at a woman with those qualities in front, one is
   fascinated; if from behind, one dies with pleasure. Looked at sitting,
   she is a rounded dome; lying, a soft-bed; standing, the staff of a
   standard. When she is walking, her natural parts appear as set off
   under her clothing. She speaks and laughs rarely, and never without a
   reason. She never leaves the house, even to see neighbours of her
   acquaintance. She has no women friends, gives her confidence to
   nobody, and her husband is her sole reliance. She takes nothing from
   anyone, excepting from her husband and her parents. If she sees
   relatives, she does not meddle with their affairs. She is not
   treacherous, and has no faults to hide, nor bad reasons to proffer.
   She does not try to entice people. If her husband shows his intention
   of performing the conjugal rite, she is agreeable to his desires and
   occasionally even provokes them. She assists him always in his
   affairs, and is sparing in complaints and tears; she does not laugh or
   rejoice when she sees her husband moody or sorrowful, but shares his
   troubles, and wheedles him into good humour, till he is quite content
   again. She does not surrender herself to anybody but her husband, even
   if abstinence would kill her. She hides her secret parts, and does not
   allow them to be seen; she is always elegantly attired, of the utmost
   personal propriety, and takes care not to let her husband see what
   might be repugnant to him. She perfumes herself with scents, uses
   antimony for her toilets, and cleans her teeth with souak.
   
   Such a woman is cherished by all men.
   
    The Story of the Negro Dorérame
    
   The story goes, and God knows its truth, that there was once a
   powerful King who had a large kingdom, armies and allies. His name was
   Ali ben Direme.
   
   One night, not being able to sleep at all, he called his Vizir, the
   Chief of the Police, and the Commander of his Guards. They presented
   themselves before him without delay, and he ordered them to arm
   themselves with their swords. They did so at once, and asked him,
   `What news is there?'
   
   He told them: `Sleep will not come to me; I wish to walk through the
   town tonight, and I must have you ready at my hand during my round.'
   
   `To hear is to obey,' they replied.
   
   The King then left, saying: `In the name of God! and may the blessing
   of the Prophet be with us, and benediction and mercy be with him.'
   
   His suite followed, and accompanied him everywhere from street to
   street.
   
   So they went on, until they heard a noise in one of the streets, and
   saw a man in the most violent passion stretched on the ground, face
   downwards, beating his breast with a stone and crying, `All there is
   no longer any justice here below! Is there nobody who will tell the
   King what is going on in his states?' And he repeated incessantly:
   `There is no longer any justice! she has disappeared and the whole
   world is in mourning.'
   
   The King said to his attendants, `Bring this man to me quietly, and be
   careful not to frighten him.' They went to him, took him by the hand,
   and said to him, `Rise and have no fear - no harm will come to you.'
   
   To which the man made answer, `You tell me that I shall not come to
   harm, and have nothing to be afraid of, and still you do not bid me
   welcome! And you know that the welcome of a believer is a warrant of
   security and forgiveness. Then, if the believer does not welcome the
   believer there is certainly ground for fear.' He then got up, and went
   with them towards the King.
   
   The King stood still, hiding his face with his haik, as also did his
   attendants. The latter had their swords in their hands, and leant upon
   them.
   
   When the man had come close to the King, he said, `Greetings be with
   you, O man!' The King answered, `I return your greetings, O man!' Then
   the man, `Why say you "O man?"' The King, `And why did you say "O
   man?"' `It is because I do not know your name.' `And likewise I do not
   know yours!'
   
   The King then asked him, `What mean these words I have heard: "Ah!
   there is no more justice here below! Nobody tells the King what is
   going on in his states!" Tell me what has happened to you.' `I shall
   tell it only to that man who can avenge me and free me from oppression
   and shame, if it so please Almighty God!'
   
   The King said to him, `May God place me at your disposal for your
   revenge and deliverance from oppression and shame!'
   
   `What I shall now tell you,' said the man, `is marvellous and
   surprising. I loved a woman, who loved me also, and we were united in
   love. These relations lasted a long while, until an old woman enticed
   my mistress and took her away to a house of misfortune, shame and
   debauchery. Then sleep fled from my couch; I have lost all my
   happiness, and I have fallen into the abyss of misfortune.'
   
   The King then said to him, `Which is that house of ill omen, and with
   whom is the woman?'
   
   The man replied, `She is with a negro of the name of Dorérame, who has
   at his house women beautiful as the moon, the likes of whom the King
   has not in his palace. He has a mistress who has a profound love for
   him, is entirely devoted to him, and who sends him all he wants in the
   way of silver, beverages and clothing.'
   
   Then the man stopped speaking. The King was much surprised at what he
   had heard, but the Vizir, who had not missed a word of this
   conversation, had certainly made out, from what the man had said, that
   the negro was no other than his own.
   
   The King requested the man to show him the house.
   
   `If I show it you, what will you do?' asked the man.
   
   `You will see what I shall do,' said the King. `You will not be able
   to do anything,' replied the man, `for it is a place which must be
   respected and feared. If you want to enter it by force you will risk
   death, for its master is redoubtable by means of his strength and
   courage.'
   
   `Show me the place,' said the King, `and have no fear.' The man
   answered, `So be it as God will!'
   
   He then rose, and walked before them. They followed him to a wide
   street, where he stopped in front of a house with lofty doors, the
   walls being on all sides high and inaccessible.
   
   They examined the walls, looking for a place where they might be
   scaled, but with no result. To their surprise they found the house to
   be as close as a breastplate.
   
   The King, turning to the man, asked him, `What is your name?'
   
   `Omar ben Isad,' he replied.
   
   The King said to him, `Omar, are you determined?'
   
   `Yes, my brother,' answered he, `if it so pleases God on high!' And
   turning to the King he added, `May God assist you tonight!'
   
   Then the King, addressing his attendants, said, `Are you determined?
   Is there one amongst you who could scale these walls?'
   
   `Impossible!' they all replied.
   
   Then said the King, `I myself will scale this wall, so please God on
   high! but by means of an expedient for which I require your
   assistance, and if you lend me the same I shall scale the wall, if it
   pleases God on high.'
   
   They said, `What is there to be done?'
   
   `Tell me,' said the King, `who is the strongest amongst you.' They
   replied, `The Chief of the Police, who is your Chaouch.'
   
   The King said, `And who next?'
   
   `The Commander of the Guards.'
   
   `And after him, who?' asked the King.
   
   `The Grand Vizir.'
   
   Omar listened with astonishment. He knew now that it was the King, and
   his joy was great.
   
   The King said, `Who is there yet?'
   
   Omar replied, `I, O my master.'
   
   The King said to him, `O Omar, you have found out who we are; but do
   not betray our disguise, and you will be absolved from blame.'
   
   `To hear is to obey,' said Omar.
   
   The King then said to the Chaouch, `Rest your hands against the wall
   so that your back projects.'
   
   The Chaouch did so.
   
   Then said the King to the Commander of the Guards, `Mount upon the
   back of the Chaouch.' He did so, and stood with his feet on the other
   man's shoulders. Then the King ordered the Vizir to mount, and he got
   on the shoulders of the Commander of the Guards, and put his hands
   against the wall.
   
   Then said the King, `O Omar, mount upon the highest place!' And Omar,
   surprised by this expedient, cried, `May God lend you his help, O our
   master, and assist you in your just enterprise!' He then got on to the
   shoulders of the Chaouch, and from there upon the back of the
   Commander of the Guards, and then upon that of the Vizir, and,
   standing upon the shoulders of the latter, he took the same position
   as the others. There was now only the King left.
   
   Then the King said, `In the name of God! and his blessing be with the
   prophet, upon whom be the mercy and salutation of God!' and, placing
   his hand upon the back of the Chaouch, he said, `Have a moment's
   patience; if I succeed you will be compensated!' He then did the same
   with the others, until he got upon Omar's back, to whom he also said,
   `O Omar, have a moment's patience with me, and I shall name you my
   private secretary. And, of all things, do not move!' Then, placing his
   feet upon Omar's shoulders, the King could with his hands grasp the
   terrace; and crying, `In the name of God! may he pour his blessings
   upon the Prophet, on whom be the mercy and salutation of God!' he made
   a spring, and stood upon the terrace.
   
   Then he said to his attendants, `Descend now from each other's
   shoulders!'
   
   And they got down one after another, and they could not help admiring
   the ingenious idea of the King, as well as the strength of the Chaouch
   who carried four men at once.
   
   The King then began to look for a place for descending, but found no
   passage. He unrolled his turban, fixed one end with a single knot at
   the place where he was, and let himself down into the courtyard, which
   he explored until he found the portal in the middle of the house
   fastened with an enormous lock. The solidity of this lock, and the
   obstacle it created, gave him a disagreeable surprise. He said to
   himself, `I am now in difficulty, but all comes from God; it was he
   who gave me the strength and the idea that brought me here; he will
   also provide the means for me to return to my companions.'
   
   He then set himself to examine the place where he found himself, and
   counted the chambers one after another. He found seventeen chambers or
   rooms, furnished in different styles, with tapestries and velvet
   hangings of various colours, from the first to the last.
   
   Examining all round, he saw a place raised by seven stairsteps, from
   which issued a great noise from voices. He went up to it, saying, `O
   God! favour my project, and let me come safe and sound out of here.
   
   He mounted the first step, saying, `In the name of God the
   compassionate and merciful!' Then he began to look at the steps, which
   were of variously coloured marble - black, red, white, yellow, green
   and other shades.
   
   Mounting the second step, he said, `He whom God helps is invincible!'
   
   On the third step he said, `With the aid of God the victory is near.'
   
   And on the fourth, `I have asked victory of God, who is the most
   puissant auxiliary.'
   
   Finally he mounted the fifth, sixth, and seventh steps, invoking the
   prophet (with whom be the mercy and salvation of God).
   
   He then arrived at the curtain hanging at the entrance; it was of red
   brocade. From there he examined the room, which was bathed in light,
   filled with many chandeliers, and candles burning in golden sconces.
   In the middle of this saloon played a jet of musk-water. A tablecloth
   extended from end to end, covered with sundry meats and fruits.
   
   The saloon was provided with gilt furniture, the splendour of which
   dazzled the eye. In fact, everywhere, there were ornaments of all
   kinds.
   
   On looking closer the King ascertained that round the tablecloth there
   were twelve maidens and seven women, all like moons; he was astonished
   at their beauty and grace. There were likewise with them seven negroes
   and this sight filled him with surprise. His attention was above all
   attracted by a woman like the full moon, of perfect beauty, with black
   eyes, oval cheeks, and a lithe and graceful waist; she humbled the
   hearts of those who became enamoured of her.
   
   Stupefied by her beauty, the King was as one stunned. He then said to
   himself `How is there any getting out of this place? O my spirit, do
   not give way to love!'
   
   And continuing his inspection of the room, he perceived in the hands
   of those who were present, glasses filled with wine. They were
   drinking and eating, and it was easy to see they were overcome with
   drink.
   
   While the King was pondering how to escape his embarrassment, he heard
   one of the women saying to one of her companions, calling her by name,
   `Oh, so and so, rise and light a torch, so that we two can go to bed,
   for sleep is overpowering us. Come, light the torch, and let us retire
   to the other chamber.'
   
   They rose and lifted up the curtain to leave the room. The King hid
   himself to let them pass; then, perceiving that they had left their
   chamber to do a thing necessary and obligatory in human kind, he took
   advantage of their absence, entered their apartment, and hid himself
   in a cupboard.
   
   Whilst he was thus in hiding the women returned and shut the doors.
   Their reason was obscured by the fumes of wine; they pulled off all
   their clothes and began to caress each other mutually.
   
   The King said to himself, `Omar has told me true about this house of
   misfortune as an abyss of debauchery.'
   
   When the women had fallen asleep the King rose, extinguished the
   light, undressed, and lay down between the two. He had taken care
   during their conversation to impress their names on his memory. So he
   was able to say to one of them, `You, so and so, where have you put
   the door-keys?' speaking very low.
   
   The woman answered, `Go to sleep, you whore, the keys are in their
   usual place.'
   
   The King said to himself, `There is no might and strength but in God
   the Almighty and Benevolent!' and was much troubled.
   
   And again he asked the woman about the keys, saying, `Daylight is
   coming. I must open the doors. There is the sun. I am going to open
   the house.'
   
   And she answered, `The keys are in the usual place. Why do you thus
   bother me? Sleep, I say, till it is day.'
   
   And again the King said to himself, `There is no might and strength
   but in God the Almighty and Benevolent, and surely if it were not for
   the fear of God I should run my sword through her.' Then he began
   again, `Oh, you, so and so!'
   
   She said, `What do you want?'
   
   `I am uneasy,' said the King, `about the keys; tell me where they
   are.'
   
   And she answered, `You hussy! Does your vulva itch for coition? Cannot
   you do without for a single night? Look! the Vizir's wife has
   withstood all the entreaties of the negro, and repelled him since six
   months! Go the keys are in the negro's pocket. Do not say to him,
   "Give me the keys;" but say, "Give me your member." You know his name
   is Dorérame.'
   
   The King was now silent, for he knew what to do. He waited a short
   time till the woman was asleep; then he dressed himself in her
   clothes, and concealed his sword under them; his face he hid under a
   veil of red silk. Thus dressed he looked like other women. Then he
   opened the door, stole softly out, and placed himself behind the
   curtains of the saloon entrance. He saw only some people sitting
   there; the remainder were asleep.
   
   The King made the following silent prayer, `O my soul, let me follow
   the right way, and let all those people among whom I find myself be
   stunned with drunkenness, so that they cannot know the King from his
   subjects, and God give me strength.'
   
   He then entered the saloon saying: `In the name of God!' and he
   tottered towards the bed of the negro as if drunk. The negroes and the
   women took him to be the woman whose attire he had taken.
   
   Dorérame had a great desire to have his pleasure with that woman, and
   when he saw her sit down by the bed he thought that she had broken her
   sleep to come to him, perhaps for love games. So he said, `Oh, you, so
   and so, undress and get into my bed, I shall soon be back'
   
   The King said to himself, `There is no might and strength but in the
   High God, the Benevolent!' Then he searched for the keys in the
   clothes and pockets of the negro, but found nothing. He said, `God's
   will be done!' Then raising his eyes, he saw a high window; he reached
   up with his arm, and found gold-embroidered garments there; he slipped
   his hands into the pockets, and, oh, surprise! he found the keys. He
   examined then' and counted seven, corresponding to the number of the
   doors of the house, and in his joy, he exclaimed, `God, be praised and
   glorified!' Then he said, `I can only get out of here by a ruse.' Then
   feigning sickness, and appearing as if he wanted to vomit violently,
   he held his hand before his mouth, and hurried to the centre of the
   courtyard. The negro said to him, `God bless you! oh, so and so! any
   other woman would have been sick into the bed!'
   
   `The King then went to the inner door of the house, and opened it; he
   closed it behind him, and so from one door to the other, till he came
   to the seventh, which opened upon the street. Here he found his
   companions agaIn, who had been in great anxiety, and who asked him
   what he had seen?
   
   Then said the King: `This is not the time to answer. Let us go into
   this house with the blessing of God and with his help.'
   
   They resolved to be upon their guard, there being in the house seven
   negroes twelve maidens, and seven women, beautiful as moons.
   
   The Vizir asked the King, `What garments are these?' And the King
   answered, `Be silent; without them I should never have got the keys.'
   
   He then went to the chamber where were the two women, with whom he had
   been lying, took off the clothes in which he was dressed, and resumed
   his own, taking good care of his sword. Repairing to the saloon, where
   the negroes and the women were, he and his companions ranged
   themselves behind the door curtain.
   
   After having looked into the saloon, they said, `Amongst all these
   women there is none more beautiful than the one seated on the elevated
   cushion!' The King said, `I reserve her for myself, if she does not
   belong to someone else.'
   
   While they were examining the interior of the saloon, Dorérame
   descended from the bed, and after him one of those beautiful women.
   Then another negro got on the bed with another woman, and soon till
   the seventh. They rode them in this way, one after the other,
   excepting the beautiful woman mentioned above, and the maidens. Each
   of these women appeared to mount upon the bed with marked reluctance,
   and descended, after the coition was finished, with her head bent
   down.
   
   The negroes, however, were lusting after, and pressing one after the
   other, the beautiful woman. But she spurned them all, saying, `I shall
   never consent to it, and as to these virgins, I take them also under
   my protection.'
   
   Dorérame then rose and went up to her, holding in his hands his member
   in full erection, stiff as a pillar. He hit her with it on the face
   and head, saying, `Six times this night I have pressed you to cede to
   my desires, and you always refuse; but now I must have you, even this
   night.'
   
   When the woman saw the stubbornness of the negro and the state of
   drunkenness he was in, she tried to soften him by promises. `Sit down
   here by me,' she said, `and tonight thy desires shall be contented.'
   
   The negro sat down near her with his member still erect as a column.
   The King could scarcely master his surprise.
   
   Then the woman began to sing the following verses, intoning them from
   the bottom of her heart:
   
     I prefer a young man for coition, and him only;
     He is full of courage - he is my sole ambition,
     His member is strong to deflower the virgin,
     And richly proportioned in all its dimensions;
     It has a head like to a brazier.
     Enormous, and none like it in creation;
     Strong it is and hard, with the head rounded off.
     It is always ready for action and does not die down;
     It never sleeps, owing to the violence of its love.
     It sighs to enter my vulva, and sheds tears on my belly;
     It asks not fur help, not being in want of any;
     It has no need of an ally, and stands alone the greatest fatigues,
     And nobody can be sure of what will result from its efforts.
     Full of vigour and life, it bores into my vagina,
     And it works about there in action constant and splendid.
     First from the front to the back, and then from the right to the
     left;
     Now it is crammed hard in by vigorous pressure,
     Now it rubs its head on the orifice of my vagina.
     And he strokes my back, my stomach, my sides,
     Kisses my cheeks, and anon begins to suck at my lips.
     He embraces me close, and makes me roll on the bed,
     And between his arms I am like a corpse without life.
     Every part of my body receives in turn his love-bites,
     And he covers me with kisses of fire;
     When he sees me in heat he quickly comes to me,
     Then he opens my thighs and kisses my belly,
     And puts his tool in my hand to make it knock at my door.
     Soon he is in the cave, and I feel pleasure approaching.
     He shakes me and trills me, and hotly we both are working,
     And he says, `Receive my seed!' and I answer, `Oh give it beloved
     one!
     It shall be welcome to me, you light of my eyes!
     Oh, you man of all men, who fillest me with pleasure.
     Oh, you soul of my soul, go on with fresh vigour,
     For you must not yet withdraw it from me; leave it there,
     And this day will then be free of all sorrow.
     He had sworn to God to have me for seventy nights,
     And what he wished for he did, in the way of kisses and embraces,
     during all those nights.
     
   When she had finished, the King, in great surprise, said, `How
   lascivious has God made this woman.' And turning to his companions,
   `There is no doubt that this woman has no husband, and has not been
   debauched, for, certainly that negro is in love with her, and she has
   nevertheless repulsed him.'
   
   Omar ben Isad took the word, `This is true, O King! Her husband has
   been now away for nearly a year, and many men have endeavoured to
   debauch her, but she has resisted.'
   
   The King asked, `Who is her husband?' And his companions answered,
   `She is the wife of the son of your father's Vizir.'
   
   The King replied, `You speak true; I have indeed heard it said that
   the son of my father's Vizir had a wife without fault, endowed with
   beauty and perfection and of exquisite shape; not adulterous and
   innocent of debauchery.'
   
   `This is the same woman,' said they.
   
   The King said, `No matter how, but I must have her,' and turning to
   Omar, he added, `Where, amongst these women, is your mistress?' Omar
   answered, `I do not see her, O King!' upon which the King said, `Have
   patience, I will show her to you.' Omar was quite surprised to find
   that the King knew so much. `And this then is the negro Dorérame?'
   asked the King. `Yes, and he is a slave of mine,' answered the Vizir.
   `Be silent, this is not the time to speak,' said the King.
   
   While this of course was going on, the negro Dorérame, still desirous
   of obtaining the favours of that lady, said to her, `I am tired of
   your lies, O Beder el Bedour' (full moon of the full moons), for so
   she called herself.
   
   The King said, `He who called her so called her by her true name, for
   she is the fall moon of the full moons, afore God!'
   
   However, the negro wanted to draw the woman away with him, and hit her
   in the face.
   
   The King, mad with jealousy, and with his heart full of ire, said to
   the Vizir, `Look what your negro is doing! By God! he shall die the
   death of a villain, and I shall make an example of him, and a warning
   to those who would imitate him!'
   
   At that moment the King heard the lady say to the negro, `You are
   betraying your master the Vizir with his wife, and now you betray her,
   in spite of your intimacy with her and the favours she grants to you.
   And surely she loves you passionately, and you are pursuing another
   woman!'
   
   The King said to the Vizir, `Listen, and do not speak a word.' The
   lady then rose and returned to the place where she had been before,
   and began to recite:
   
     Oh, men! listen to what I say on the subject of woman,
     Her thirst for coition is written between her eyes.
     Do not put trust in her vows, even were she the Sultan's daughter.
     Woman's malice is boundless; not even the king of kings
     Would suffice to subdue it, whate'er be his might.
     Men, take heed and shun the love of woman!
     Do not say, `Such a one is my well beloved';
     Do not say, `She is my life's companion.'
     If I deceive you, then say my words are untruths.
     As long as she is with you in bed, you have her love,
     But a woman's love is not enduring, believe me.
     Lying upon her breast, you are her love-treasure;
     Whilst the coition goes on, you have her love, poor fool!
     But, anon, she looks upon you as a fiend;
     And this is a fact undoubted and certain.
     The wife receives the slave in the bed of the master,
     And the serving-men allay upon her their lust
     Certain it is, such conduct is not to be praised and honoured.
     But the virtue of women is frail and changeful,
     And the man thus deceived is looked upon with contempt.
     Therefore a man with a heart should not put trust in a woman.
     
   At these words the Vizir began to cry, but the King bade him to be
   quiet. Then the negro recited the following verses in response to
   those of the lady:
   
     We negroes have had our fill of women,
     We fear not their tricks, however subtle they be.
     Men confide in us with regard to what they cherish.
     This is no lie, remember, but is the truth, as you know.
     Oh, you women all! for sure you have no patience when the virile
     member you are wanting,
     For in the same resides your life and death;
     It is the end and all of your wishes, secret or open.
     If your choler and ire are aroused against your husbands,
     They appease you simply by introducing their members.
     Your religion resides in your vulva, and the manly member is your
     soul.
     Such you will always find is the nature of woman.
     
   With that, the negro threw himself upon the woman, who pushed him
   back.
   
   At this moment, the King felt his heart oppressed; he drew his sword,
   as did his companions, and they entered the room. The negroes and
   women saw nothing but brandished swords.
   
   One of the negroes rose, and rushed upon the King and his companions,
   but the Chaouch severed with one blow his head from his body. The King
   cried, `God's blessing upon you! Your arm is not withered and your
   mother has not borne a weakling. You have struck down your enemies,
   and paradise shall be your dwelling and place of rest!'
   
   Another negro got up and aimed a blow at the Chaouch, which broke the
   sword of the Chaouch in twain. It had been a beautiful weapon, and the
   Chaouch, on seeing it ruined, broke out into the most violent passion;
   he seized the negro by the arm, lifted him up, and threw him against
   the wall, breaking his bones. Then the King cried, `God is great. He
   has not dried up your hand. Oh, what a Chaouch! God grant you his
   blessing.'
   
   `The negroes, when they saw this, were cowed and silent, and the King,
   master now of their lives, said, `The man that lifts his hand only,
   shall lose his head!' And he commanded that the remaining five negroes
   should have their hands tied behind their backs.
   
   This having been done, he turned to Beder el Bedour and asked her,
   `Whose wife are you, and who is this negro?'
   
   She then told him on that subject what he had heard already from Omar.
   And the King thanked her, saying, `May God give you his blessing.' He
   then asked her, `How long can a woman patiently do without coition?'
   She seemed amazed, but the King said, `Speak, and do not be abashed.'
   
   She then answered, `A well-born lady of high origin can remain for six
   months without; but a lowly woman of no race nor high blood, who does
   not respect herself when she can lay her hand upon a man, will have
   him upon her; his stomach and his member will know her vagina.'
   
   Then said the King, pointing to one of the women, `Who is this one?'
   She answered, `This is the wife of the Cadi.' `And this one?' `The
   wife of the second Vizir.' `And this?' `The wife of the Chief of the
   Muftis.' `And that one?' `The Treasurer's.' `And those two women that
   are in the other room?' She answered, `They have received the
   hospitality of the house, and one of them was brought here yesterday
   by an old woman; the negro has so far not got possession of her.'
   
   Then said Omar, `This is the one I spoke to you about, O my master.'
   
   `And the other woman? To whom does she belong?' said the King.
   
   `She is the wife of the Amine of the Carpenters,' answered she.
   
   Then said the King, `And these girls, who are they?'
   
   She answered, `This one is the daughter of the clerk of the treasury;
   this other one the daughter of the Mohtesib, the third is the daughter
   of the Bouab, the next one the daughter of the Athine of the Moueddin;
   that one the daughter of the colour-keeper.' At the invitation of the
   King, she passed them thus all in review.
   
   The King then asked for the reason of so many women being brought
   together there.
   
   Beder el Bedour replied, `O master of ours, the negro knows no other
   passions than for coition and good wine. He keeps making love night
   and day, and his member rests only when he himself is asleep.
   
   The King asked further, `What does he live upon?'
   
   She said, `Upon yolks of eggs fried in fat and swimming in honey, and
   upon white bread; he drinks nothing but old muscatel wine.'
   
   The King said, `Who has brought these women here, who, all of them,
   belong to officials of the State?'
   
   She replied `O master of ours, he has in his service an old woman who
   has had the run of the houses in the town; she chooses and brings to
   him any woman of superior beauty and perfection; but she serves him
   only against good consideration in silver, dresses, etc., precious
   stones, rubies, and other objects of value.'
   
   `And whence does the negro get that silver?' asked the King. The lady
   remaining silent, he added, `Give me some information, please.'
   
   She signified with a sign from the corner of her eye that he had got
   it all from the wife of the Grand Vizir.
   
   The King understood her, and continued, `O Beder el Bedour! I have
   faith and confidence in you, and your testimony will have in my eyes
   the value of that of the two Adels. Speak to me without reserve as to
   what concerns yourself.'
   
   She answered him, `I have not been touched, and however long this
   might have lasted the negro would not have had his desire satisfied.'
   
   `Is this so?' asked the King.
   
   She replied `It is so!' She had understood what the King wanted to
   say, and the King had seized the meaning of her words.
   
   `Has the negro respected my honour? Inform me about that,' said the
   King.
   
   She answered, `He has respected your honour as far as your wives are
   concerned. He has not pushed his criminal deeds that far; but if God
   had spared his days there is no certainty that he would not have tried
   to soil what he should have respected.'
   
   The King having asked her then who those negroes were, she answered,
   `They are his companions. Alter he had quite surfeited himself with
   the women he had caused to be brought to him, he handed them over to
   them, as you have seen. If it were not for the protection of a woman,
   where would that man be?'
   
   Then spoke the King, `O Beder el Bedour, why did not your husband ask
   my help against this oppression? Why did you not complain?'
   
   She replied, `O King of the time, O beloved Sultan, O master of
   numerous armies and allies! As regards my husband I was so far unable
   to inform him of my lot; as to myself I have nothing to say but what
   you know by the verses I sang just now. I have given advice to men
   about women from the first verse to the last.'
   
   The King said, `O Beder el Bedour! I like you, I have put the question
   to you in the name of the chosen Prophet (the benediction and mercy of
   God be with him!). Inform me of everything; you have nothing to fear;
   I give you the aman complete. Has this negro not enjoyed you? For I
   presume that none of you were out of reach of his attempts and had her
   honour safe.'
   
   She replied, `O King of our time, in the name of your high rank and
   your power! Look! He, about whom you ask me, I would not have accepted
   him as a legitimate husband; how could I have consented to grant him
   the favour of an illicit love?'
   
   The King said, `You appear to be sincere, but the verses I heard you
   sing have roused doubts in my soul.'
   
   She replied, `I had three motives for employing that language.
   Firstly, I was at that moment in heat, like a young mare; secondly,
   Eblis had excited my natural parts; and lastly, I wanted to quiet the
   negro and make him have patience, so that he should grant me some
   delay and leave me in peace until God would deliver me of him.'
   
   The King said, `Do you speak seriously?' She was silent. Then the King
   cried, `O Beder el Bedour, you alone shall be pardoned!' She
   understood that it was she only that the King would spare from the
   punishment of death. He then cautioned her that she must keep the
   secret, and said he wanted to leave now.
   
   Then all the women and virgins approached Beder el Bedour and implored
   her, saying, `Intercede for us, for you have power over the King'; and
   they shed tears over her hands, and in despair threw themselves down.
   
   Beder el Bedour then called the King back, as he was going, and said
   to him, `O our master! you have not granted me any favour yet. `How,'
   said he, `I have sent for a beautiful mule for you; you will mount her
   and come with us. As for these women, they must all of them die.'
   
   She then said, `O our master! I ask you and conjure you to authorise
   me to make a stipulation which you will accept.' The King made oath
   that he would fulfil it. Then she said, `I ask as a gift the pardon of
   all these women and of all these maidens. Their deaths would moreover
   throw the most terrible consternation over the whole town.'
   
   The King said, `There is no might nor power but in God, the merciful!'
   He then ordered the negroes to be taken out and beheaded. The only
   exception he made was with the negro Dorérame, who was enormously
   stout and had a neck like a bull. They cut off his ears, nose, and
   lips; likewise his virile member, which they put into his mouth, and
   then hung him on a gallows.
   
   Then the King ordered the seven doors of the house to be closed, and
   returned to his palace.
   
   At sunrise he sent a mule to Beder el Bedour, in order to let her be
   brought to him. He made her dwell with him, and found her to be
   excelling all those who excel.
   
   `Then the King caused the wife of Omar ben Isad to be restored to him,
   and he made him his private secretary. After which he ordered the
   Vizir to repudiate his wife. He did not forget the Chaouch and the
   Commander of the Guards, to whom he made large presents, as he had
   promised, using for that purpose the negro's hoards. He sent the son
   of his father's Vizir to prison. He also caused the old go-between to
   be brought before him, and asked her, `Give me all the particulars
   about the conduct of the negro, and tell me whether it was well done
   to bring in that way women to men.' She answered, `This is the trade
   of nearly all old women.' He then had her executed, as well as all old
   women who followed that trade, and thus cut off in his State the tree
   of panderism at the root, and burnt the trunk.
   
   He besides sent back to their families all the women and girls, and
   bade them repent in the name of God.
   
   This story presents but a small part of the tricks and stratagems used
   by women against their husbands.
   
   The moral of the tale is, that a man who falls in love with a woman
   imperils himself, and exposes himself to the greatest troubles.
                 __________________________________________
                                      
CHAPTER 3

  About Men Who Are To Be Held in Contempt
  
   Know, O My Brother (to whom God be merciful), that a man who is
   misshapen, of coarse appearance, and whose member is short, thin and
   flabby, is contemptible in the eyes of women.
   
   When such a man has a bout with a woman, he does not do his business
   with vigour and in a manner to give her enjoyment. He lays himself
   down upon her without previous toying, he does not kiss her, nor twine
   himself round her; he does not bite her, nor suck her lips, nor tickle
   her.
   
   He gets upon her before she has begun to long for pleasure, and then
   he introduces with infinite trouble a member soft and nerveless.
   Scarcely has he commenced when he is already done for; he makes one or
   two movements, and then sinks upon the woman's breast to spend his
   sperm; and that is the most he can do. This done he withdraws his
   affair, and makes all haste to get down again from her.
   
   Such a man - as was said by a writer - is quick in ejaculation and
   slow as to erection; after the trembling, which follows the
   ejaculation of the seed, his chest is heavy and his sides ache.
   
   Qualities like these are no recommendation with women. Despicable also
   is the man who is false in his words; who does not fulfil the promise
   he has made; who never speaks without telling lies, and who conceals
   from his wife all his doings, except the adulterous exploits which he
   commits.
   
   Women cannot esteem such men, as they cannot procure them any
   enjoyment.
   
   It is said that a man of the name of Abbes, whose member was extremely
   small and slight, had a very corpulent wife, whom he could not
   contrive to satisfy in coition, so that she soon began to complain to
   her female friends about it.
   
   This woman possessed a considerable fortune, whilst Abbes was very
   poor and when he wanted anything, she was sure not to let him have
   what he wanted.
   
   One day he went to see a wise man, and submitted his case to him.
   
   The sage told him: `If you had a fine member you might dispose of her
   fortune. Do you not know that women's religion is in their vulvas? But
   I will prescribe you a remedy which will do away with your troubles.'
   
   Abbes lost no time in making up the remedy according to the recipe of
   the wise man, and after he had used it his member grew to be long and
   thick. When his wife saw it in that state she was surprised; but it
   was still better when he made her feel in the matter of enjoyment
   quite another thing than she had been accustomed to experience; he
   began in fact to work her with his tool in quite a remarkable manner,
   to such a point that she trembled and sighed and sobbed and cried out
   during the operation.
   
   As soon as the wife found in her husband such eminently good qualities
   she gave him her fortune, and placed her person and all she had at his
   disposal.
                 __________________________________________
                                      
CHAPTER 4

  About Women Who Are To Be Held in Contempt
  
   Know, O Vizir (to whom God be merciful), that women differ in their
   natural dispositions: there are women who are worthy of all praise;
   and there are, on the other hand, women who only merit contempt.
   
   The woman who merits the contempt of men is ugly and garrulous; her
   hair is woolly, her forehead projecting, her eyes are small and blear,
   her nose is enormous, the lips lead-coloured, the mouth large, the
   cheeks wrinkled and she shows gaps in her teeth; her cheekbones shine
   purple, and she sports bristles on her chin; her head sits on a meagre
   neck, with very much developed tendons; her shoulders are contracted
   and her chest is narrow, with flabby pendulous breasts, and her belly
   is like an empty leather-bottle, with the navel standing out like a
   heap of stones; her flanks are shaped like arcades; the bones of her
   spinal column may be counted; there is no flesh upon her croup; her
   vulva is large and cold.
   
   Finally, such a woman has large knees and feet, big hands and
   emaciated legs.
   
   A woman with such blemishes can give no pleasure to men in general,
   and least of all to him who is her husband or who enjoys her favours.
   
   The man who approaches a woman like that with his member in erection
   will find it presently soft and relaxed, as though he was only close
   to a beast of burden. May God keep us from a woman of that
   description!
   
   Contemptible likewise is the woman who is constantly laughing out;
   for, as it was said by an author, `If you see a woman who is always
   laughing, fond of gaming and jesting, always ruling to her neighbours,
   meddling with matters that are no concern of hers, plaguing her
   husband with constant complaints, leaguing herself with other women
   against him, playing the grand lady, accepting gifts from everybody,
   know that that woman is a whore without shame.'
   
   And again to be despised is the woman of a sombre, frowning nature,
   and one who is prolific in talk; the woman who is light-headed in her
   relations with men, or contentious, or fond of tittle-tattle and
   unable to keep her husband's secrets, or who is malicious. The woman
   of a malicious nature talks only to tell lies; if she makes a promise
   she does so only to break it, and if anybody confides in her, she
   betrays him; she is debauched, thievish, a scold, coarse and violent;
   she cannot give good advice; she is always occupied with the affairs
   of other people, and with such as bring harm, and is always on the
   watch for frivolous news; she is fond of repose, but not of work; she
   uses unbecoming words in addressing a Mussulman, even to her husband;
   invectives are always at her tongue's end; she exhales a bad odour
   which infects you, and sticks to you even after you have left her.
   
   And not less contemptible is she who talks to no purpose, who is a
   hypocrite and does no good act; she, who, when her husband asks her to
   fulfil the conjugal office, refuses to listen to his demand; the woman
   who does not assist her husband in his affairs; and finally, she who
   fatigues him with unceasing complaints and tears.
   
   A woman of that sort, seeing her husband irritated or in trouble does
   not share his affliction; on the contrary, she laughs and jests all
   the more, and does not try to drive away his ill-humour by
   endearments. She is more prodigal with her person to other men than to
   her husband; it is not for his sake that she adorns herself, and it is
   not to please him that she tries to look well. Far from that; with him
   she is very untidy, and does not mind letting him see things and
   habits about her person which must be repugnant to him. Lastly, she
   never uses either atsmed nor souak.
   
   No happiness can be hoped for a man with such a wife. God keep us from
   such a one!
                 __________________________________________
                                      
CHAPTER 5

  Relating to the Act of Generation
  
   Know, O Vizir (and God protect you!), that if you wish for coition, in
   joining the woman you should not have your stomach loaded with food
   and drink, only in that condition will your cohabitation be wholesome
   and good. If your stomach is full, only harm can come of it to both of
   you; you will have threatening symptoms of apoplexy and gout, and the
   least evil that may result from it will be the inability of passing
   your urine, or weakness of sight.
   
   Let your stomach then be free from excessive food and drink, and you
   need not apprehend any illness.
   
   Before setting to work with your wife excite her with toying, so that
   the copulation will finish to your mutual satisfaction.
   
   Thus it will be well to play with her before you introduce your verge
   and accomplish the cohabitation. You will excite her by kissing her
   cheeks, sucking her lips and nibbling at her breasts. You will lavish
   kisses on her navel and thighs, and titillate the lower parts. Bite at
   her arms, and neglect no part of her body; cling close to her bosom,
   and show her your love and submission. Interlace your legs with hers,
   and press her in your arms, for, as the poet has said:
   
     Under her neck my right hand
     Has served her for a cushion,
     And to draw her to me
     I have sent out my left hand,
     Which bore her up as a bed.
     
     When you are close to a woman, and you see her eyes getting dim,
     and hear her, yearning for coition, heave deep sighs, then let your
     and her yearning be joined into one, and let your lubricity rise to
     the highest point; for this will be the moment most favourable to
     the game of love. The pleasure which the woman then feels will be
     extreme; as for yourself, you will cherish her all the more, and
     she will continue her affection for you, for it has been said:
     
     If you see a woman heaving deep sighs, with her lips getting red
     and her eyes languishing, when her mouth half opens and her
     movements grow heedless; when she appears to be disposed to go to
     sleep, vacillating in her steps and prone to yawn, know that this
     is the moment for coition; and if you there and then make your way
     into her you will procure for her an unquestionable treat. You
     yourself will find the mouth of her womb clasping your article,
     which is undoubtedly the crowning pleasure for both, for this
     before everything begets affection and love.
     
     The following precepts, coming from a profound connoisseur in love
     affairs, are well known:
     
     Woman is like a fruit, which will not yield its sweetness until you
     rub it between your hands. Look at the basil plant; if you do not
     rub it warm with your fingers it will not emit any scent. Do you
     not know that the amber, unless it be handled and warmed, keeps
     hidden within its pores the aroma contained in it. It is the same
     with woman. If you do not animate her with your toying, intermixed
     with Kissing, nibbling and touching, you will not obtain from her
     what you are wishing; you will feel no enjoyment when you share her
     couch, and you will waken in her heart neither inclination nor
     affection, nor love for you; all her qualities will remain hidden.
     
     It is reported that a man, having asked a woman what means were the
     most likely to create affection in the female heart, with respect
     to the pleasures of coition, received the following answer:
     
     O you who question me, those things which develop the taste for
     coition are the toyings and touches which precede it, and then the
     close embrace at the moment of ejaculation!
     
     Believe me, the kisses, nibblings, suction of the lips, the close
     embrace, the visits of the mouth to the nipples of the bosom, and
     the sipping of the fresh saliva, these are the things to render
     affection lasting.
     
     In acting thus, the two orgasms take place simultaneously, and
     enjoyment comes to the man and woman at the same moment. Then the
     man feels the womb grasping his member, which gives to each of them
     the most exquisite pleasure.
     
     This it is which gives birth to love, and if matters have not been
     managed this way the woman has not had her full share of pleasure,
     and the delights of the womb are wanting. Know that the woman will
     not feel her desires satisfied, and will not love her rider unless
     he is able to act up to her womb; but when the womb is made to
     enter into action she will feel the most violent love for her
     cavalier, even if he be unsightly in appearance.
     
     Then do all you can to provoke a simultaneous discharge of the two
     spermal fluids; herein lies the secret of love.
     
     One of the savants who have occupied themselves with this subject
     has thus related the confidences which one of them made to him:
     
     O you men, one and all, who are soliciting the love of woman and
     her affection, and who wish that sentiment in her heart to be of an
     enduring nature, toy with her previous to coition; prepare her for
     enjoyment, and neglect nothing to attain that end. Explore her with
     the greater assiduity, and, entirely occupied with her, let nothing
     else engage your thoughts. Do not let the moment propitious for
     pleasure pass away; that moment will be when you see her eyes
     humid, half open. Then go to work, but, remember, not till your
     kisses and toyings have taken effect.
     
     After you have got the woman into a proper state of excitement, O
     men! put your member into her, and, if you then observe the proper
     movements, she will experience a pleasure which will satisfy all
     her desires.
     
     Lie on her breast, rain kisses on her cheeks, and let not your
     member quit her vagina. Push for the mouth of her womb. This will
     crown your labour.
     
     If, by God's favour, you have found this delight, take good care
     not to withdraw your member, but let it remain there, and imbibe an
     endless pleasure! Listen to the sighs and heavy breathing of the
     woman. They witness the violence of the bliss you have given her.
     
     And after the enjoyment is over, and your amorous struggle has come
     to an end, be careful not to get up at once, but withdraw your
     member cautiously. Remain close to the woman, and lie down on the
     right side of the bed that witnessed your enjoyment. You will find
     this pleasant, and you will not be like a fellow who mounts the
     woman after the fashion of a mule, without any regard to
     refinement, and who, after the emission, hastens to get his member
     out and to rise. Avoid such manners, for they rob the woman of all
     her lasting delight.
     
     In short, the true lover of coition will not fail to observe all
     that I have recommended; for, from the observance of my
     recommendations will result the pleasure of the woman, and these
     rules comprise everything essential in that respect.
     
     God has made everything for the best!
                 __________________________________________
                                      
CHAPTER 6

  Concerning Everything That Is Favourable to the Act of Coition
  
   KNOW, O Vizir (God be good to you!), if you would have pleasant
   coition, which ought to give an equal share of happiness to the two
   combatants and be satisfactory to both, you must first of all toy with
   the woman, excite her with kisses, by nibbling and sucking her lips,
   by caressing her neck and cheeks. Turn her over in the bed, now on her
   back, now on her stomach, till you see by her eyes that the time for
   pleasure is near, as I have mentioned in the preceding chapter, and
   certainly I have not been sparing with my observations thereupon.
   
   Then when you observe the lips of a woman to tremble and get red, and
   her eyes to become languishing, and her sighs to become quicker, know
   that she is hot for coition; then get between her thighs, so that your
   member can enter into her vagina. If you allow my advice, you will
   enjoy a pleasant embrace, which will give you the greatest
   satisfaction, and leave with you a delicious remembrance.
   
   Someone has said:
   
     If you desire coition, place the woman on the ground, cling closely
     to her bosom, with her lips close to yours; then clasp her to you,
     suck her breath, bite her; kiss her breasts, her stomach, her
     flanks, press her close in your arms, so as to make her faint with
     pleasure; when you see her so far gone, then push your member into
     her. If you have done as I said, the enjoyment will come to both of
     you simultaneously. This it is which makes the pleasure of the
     woman so sweet. But if you neglect my advice the woman will not be
     satisfied and you will not have procured her any pleasure.
     
     The coition being finished, do not get up at once, but come down
     softly on her right side, and if she has conceived, she will bear a
     male child, if it please God on high!
     
   Sages and Savants (may God grant to all his forgiveness!) have said:
   
     If anyone placing his hand upon the vulva of a woman that is with
     child pronounces the following words: `In the name of God! may he
     grant salutation and mercy to his Prophet (salutation and mercy be
     with him). Oh! my God! I pray to thee in the name of the Prophet to
     let a boy issue from this conception,' it will come to pass by the
     will of God, and in consideration for our lord Mohammed (the
     salutation and grace of God be with him), the woman will be
     delivered of a boy.
     
   Do not drink rain-water directly after copulation, because this
   beverage weakens the kidneys.
   
   If you want to repeat the coition, perfume yourself with sweet scents,
   then close with the woman, and you will arrive at a happy result.
   
   Do not let the woman perform the act of coition mounted upon you, for
   fear that in that position some drops of her seminal fluid might enter
   the canal of your verge and cause a sharp urethritis.
   
   Do not work hard directly after coition as this might affect your
   health adversely, but go to rest for some time.
   
   Do not wash your verge directly after having withdrawn it from the
   vagina of the woman, until the irritation has gone down somewhat; then
   wash it and its opening carefully. Otherwise, do not wash your member
   frequently. Do not leave the vulva directly after the emission, as
   this may cause canker.
   
      Sundry Positions for the Coitus
      
   The ways of doing it to women are numerous and variable. And now is
   the time to make known to you the different positions which are usual.
   
   God, the magnificent, has said: `Women are your field. Go upon your
   field as you like.'
   
   According to your wish you can choose the position you like best,
   provided, of course, that coition takes place in the spot destined for
   it, that is, in the vulva.
   
   MANNER THE FIRST - Make the woman lie upon her back, with her thighs
   raised, then, getting between her legs, introduce your member into
   her. Pressing your toes to the ground, you can rummage her in a
   convenient, measured way. This is a good position for a man with a
   long verge.
   
   MANNER THE SECOND - If your member is a short one, let the woman lie
   on her back, lift her legs into the air, so that her right leg be near
   her right ear, and the left one near her left ear, and in this
   posture, with her buttocks lifted up, her vulva will project forward.
   Then put in your member.
   
   MANNER THE THIRD - Let the woman stretch herself upon the ground, and
   place yourself between her thighs; then putting one of her legs upon
   your shoulder, and the other under your arm, near the armpit, get into
   her.
   
   MANNER THE FOURTH - Let her lie down, and put her legs on your
   shoulders; in this position your member will just face her vulva,
   which must not touch the ground. And then introduce your member.
   
   MANNER THE FIFTH - Let her lie down on her side, then lie yourself
   down by her on your side, and getting between her thighs, put your
   member into her vagina. But sidelong coition predisposes for rheumatic
   pains and sciatica.
   
   MANNER THE SIXTH - Make her get down on her knees and elbows, as if
   kneeling in prayer. In this position the vulva is projected backwards;
   you then attack her from that side, and put your member into her.
   
   MANNER THE SEVENTH - Place the woman on her side, and squat between
   her thighs, with one of her legs on your shoulder and the other
   between your thighs, while she remains lying on her side. Then you
   enter her vagina, and make her move by drawing her towards your chest
   by means of your hands, with which you hold her embraced.
   
   MANNER THE EIGHTH - Let her stretch herself upon the ground, on her
   back, with her legs crossed; then mount her like a cavalier on
   horseback, being on your knees, while her legs are placed under her
   thighs, and put your member into her vagina.
   
   MANNER THE NINTH - Place the woman so that she leans with her front,
   or, if you prefer it, her back upon a moderate elevation, with her
   feet set upon the ground. She thus offers her vulva to the
   introduction of your member.
   
   MANNER THE TENTH - Place the woman near to a low divan, the back of
   which she can take hold of with her hands; then, getting under her,
   lift her legs to the height of your navel, and let her clasp you with
   her legs on each side of your body; in this position plant your verge
   into her, seizing with your hands the back of the divan. When you
   begin the action your movements must respond to those of the woman.
   
   MANNER THE ELEVENTH - Let her lie upon her back on the ground with a
   cushion under her posterior; then getting between her legs, and
   letting her place the sole of her right foot against the sole of her
   left foot, introduce your member.
   
   There are other positions besides the above named in use among the
   peoples of India. It is well for you to know that the inhabitants of
   those parts have multiplied the different ways to enjoy women, and
   they have advanced farther than we in the knowledge and investigation
   of coitus.
   
   Amongst those manners are the following, called:
   
    1. El asemeud, the stopperage
    2. El modefedâ frog fashion
    3. El mokefâ, with the toes cramped
    4. El mokeurmeutt, with legs in the air
    5. El setouri, he-goat fashion
    6. El loulabi, the screw of Archimedes
    7. El kelouci, the summersault
    8. Hachou en nekanok, the tail of the ostrich
    9. Lebeuss el djoureb, fitting on of the sock
   10. Kechef el astine, reciprocal sight of the posteriors
   11. Nezâ el kouss, the rainbow arch
   12. Nesedj el kheuzz, alternative piercing
   13. Dok el arz, pounding on the spot
   14. Nik el kohoul, coition from the back
   15. Et keurchi, belly to belly
   16. Et kebachi, ram-fashion
   17. Dok el outed, driving the peg home
   18. Sebek el heub, love's fusion
   19. Tred ech chate, sheep-fashion
   20. Kalen el miche, interchange in coition
   21. Rekeud el aďr, the race of the member
   22. El modakheli, the fitter-in
   23. El khouariki, the one who stops in the house
   24. Nik el haddadi, the smith's coition
   25. El moheundi, the seducer
       
   FIRST MANNER - Et asemeud (the stopperage). Place the woman on her
   back, with a cushion under her buttocks, then get between her legs,
   resting the points of your feet against the ground; bend her two
   thighs against her chest as far as you can; place your hands under her
   arms so as to enfold her or cramp her shoulders. Then introduce your
   member, and at the moment of ejaculation draw her towards you. This
   position is painful for the woman, for her thighs being bent upwards
   and her buttocks raised by the cushion, the walls of her vagina
   tighten, and the uterus tending forward there is not much room for
   movement, and scarcely space enough for the intruder; consequently the
   latter enters with difficulty and strikes against the uterus. This
   position should therefore not be adopted, unless the man's member is
   short or soft.
   
   SECOND MANNER - El modefedâ (frog fashion). Place the woman on her
   back, and arrange her thighs so that they touch the heels, which
   latter are thus coming close to the buttocks; then down you sit in
   this kind of merry thought, facing the vulva, in which you insert your
   member; you then place her knees under your arm-pits; and taking firm
   hold of the upper part of her arms, you draw her towards you at the
   crisis.
   
   THIRD MANNER - El mokefâ (with the toes cramped). Place the woman on
   her back, and squat on your knees, between her thighs, gripping the
   ground with your toes; raise her knees as high as your sides, in order
   that she may cross her legs over your back, and then pass her arms
   round your neck.
   
   FOURTH MANNER - El mokeurmeutt (with legs in the air). The woman lying
   on her back, you put her thighs together and raise her legs up until
   the soles of her feet look at the ceiling; then enfolding her within
   your thighs you insert your member, holding her legs up with your
   hands.
   
   FIFTH MANNER - El setouri (he-goat fashion). The woman being crouched
   on her side, you let her stretch out the leg on which she is resting,
   and squat down between her thighs with your calves bent under you.
   Then you lift her uppermost leg so that it rests on your back, and
   introduce your member. During the action you take hold of her
   shoulders, or, if you prefer it, her arms.
   
   SIXTH MANNER - El loulabi (the screw of Archimedes). The man being
   stretched on his back the woman sits on his member, facing him; she
   then places her hands upon the bed so that she can keep her stomach
   from touching the man's, and moves up and downwards, and if the man is
   supple he assists her from below. If in this position she wants to
   kiss him, she need only stretch her arms along the bed.
   
   SEVENTH MANNER - El kelouci (the somersault). The woman must wear a
   pair of pantaloons, which she lets drop upon her heels; then she
   stoops, placing her head between her feet, so that her neck is in the
   opening of her pantaloons. At that moment, the man, seizing her legs,
   turns her upon her back, making her perform a summersault; then with
   his legs curved under him he brings his member right against her vulva
   and, slipping it between her legs, inserts it.
   
   It is alleged that there are women who, while lying on their back, can
   place their feet behind their head without the help of pantaloons or
   hands.
   
   EIGHTH MANNER - Hachou en nekanok (the tail of the ostrich). The woman
   lying on her back along the bed, the man kneels in front of her,
   lifting up her legs until her head and shoulders only are resting on
   the bed; his member having penetrated into her vagina, he seizes and
   sets into motion the buttocks of the woman who, on her part, twines
   her legs around his neck.
   
   NINTH MANNER - Lebeuss el djoureb (fitting on of the sock). The woman
   lies on her back. You sit down between her legs and place your member
   between the lips of her vulva, which you fit over it with your thumb
   and first finger; then you move so as to procure for your member, as
   far as it is in contact with the woman, a lively rubbing, which action
   you continue until her vulva gets moistened with the liquid emitted
   from your verge. When she is thus amply prepared for enjoyment by the
   alternate coming and going of your weapon in her scabbard, put it into
   her in full length.
   
   TENTH MANNER - Kechef el astine (reciprocal sight of the posteriors).
   The man lying stretched out on his back, the woman sits down upon his
   member with her back to the man's face, who presses her sides between
   his thighs and legs, whilst she places her hands upon the bed as a
   support for her movements and, lowering her head, her eyes are turned
   towards the buttocks of the man.
   
   ELEVENTH MANNER - Nezâ el kouss (the rainbow arch). The woman is lying
   on her side; the man also on his side, with his face towards her back,
   pushes in between her legs and introduces his member, with his hands
   lying on the upper part of her back. As to the woman, she then gets
   hold of the man's feet, which she lifts up as far as she can, drawing
   him close to her; thus she forms with the body of the man an arch, of
   which she is the rise.
   
   TWELFTH MANNER - Nesedj el kheuzz (the alternate movement of
   piercing). The man in sitting attitude places the soles of his feet
   together, and lowering his thighs, draws his feet nearer to his
   member; the woman sits down upon his feet, which he takes care to keep
   firm together. In this position the two thighs of the woman are
   pressed against the man's flanks, and she puts her arms round his
   neck. Then the man clasps the woman's ankles, and drawing his feet
   nearer to his body, brings the woman, who is sitting on them, within
   range of his member, which then enters her vagina. By moving his feet
   he sends her back and brings her forward again, without ever
   withdrawing his member entirely.
   
   The woman makes herself as light as possible, and assists as well as
   she can in this come-and-go movement; her co-operation is, in fact,
   indispensable for it. If the man apprehends that his member may come
   out entirely, he takes her round the waist, and she receives no other
   impulse than that which is imparted to her by the feet of the man upon
   which she is sitting.
   
   THIRTEENTH MANNER - Dok el arz (pounding on the spot). The man sits
   down with his legs stretched out; the woman then places herself
   astride on his thighs, crossing her legs behind the back of the man,
   and places her vulva opposite his member, which latter she guides into
   her vagina; she then places her arms round his neck, and he embraces
   her sides and waist, and helps her to rise and descend upon his verge.
   She must assist in his work.
   
   FOURTEENTH MANNER - Nik el kohoul (coitus from the back). The woman
   lies down on her stomach and raises her buttocks by help of a cushion;
   the man approaches from behind, stretches himself on her back and
   inserts his tool, while the woman twines her arms round the man's
   elbows. This is the easiest of all methods.
   
   FIFTEENTH MANNER - El keurchi (belly to belly). The man and the woman
   are standing upright, face to face; she opens her thighs; the man then
   brings his feet forward between those of the woman, who also advances
   hers a little. In this position the man must have one of his feet
   somewhat in advance of the other. Each of the two has the arms round
   the other's hips; the man introduces his verge, and the two move thus
   intertwined after a manner called Neza el dela, which I shall explain
   later, if it please God the Almighty. [See FIRST MOVEMENT]
   
   SIXTEENTH MANNER - El kebachi (after the fashion of the ram). The
   woman is on her knees, with her forearms on the ground; the man
   approaches from behind, kneels down, and lets his member penetrate
   into her vagina, which she presses out as much as possible; he will do
   well in placing his hands on the woman's shoulders.
   
   SEVENTEENTH MANNER - Dok el outed (driving the peg home). The woman
   enlaces with her legs the waist of the man, who is standing, with her
   arms passed round his neck, steadying herself by leaning against the
   wall. Whilst she is thus suspended the man insinuates his pin into her
   vulva.
   
   EIGHTEENTH MANNER - Sebek el heub (love's fusion). While the woman is
   lying on her right side, extend yourself on your left side; your left
   leg remains extended, and you raise your right one till it is up to
   her flank, when you lay her upper leg upon your side. Thus her
   uppermost leg serves the woman as a support for her back. After having
   introduced your member you move as you please, and she responds to
   your action as she pleases.
   
   NINETEENTH MANNER - Tred ech chate (coitus of the sheep). The woman is
   on her hands and knees; the man, behind her, lifts her thighs till her
   vulva is on a level with his member, which he then inserts. In this
   position she ought to place her head between her arms.
   
   TWENTIETH MANNER - Kalen el miche (interchange in coition). The man
   lies on his back. The woman, gliding in between his legs, places
   herself upon him with her toe-nails against the ground; she lifts up
   the man's thighs, turning them against his own body, so that his
   virile member faces her vulva, into which she guides it; she then
   places her hands upon the bed by the sides of the man. It is, however,
   indispensable that the woman's feet rest upon a cushion to enable her
   to keep her vulva in concordance with his member.
   
   In this position the parts are exchanged, the woman fulfilling that of
   the man, and vice-versa.
   
   There is a variation to this manner. The man stretches himself out
   upon his back, while the woman kneels with her legs under her, but
   between his legs. The remainder conforms exactly to what has been said
   above.
   
   TWENTY-FIRST MANNER - Rekeud el aďr (the race of the member). The man,
   on his back, supports himself with a cushion under his shoulders, but
   his posterior must retain contact with the bed. Thus placed, he draws
   up his thighs until his knees are on a level with his face; then the
   woman sits down, impaling herself on his member; she must not lie
   down, but keep seated as if on horseback, the saddle being represented
   by the knees and the stomach of the man. In that position she can, by
   the play of her knees, work up and down and down and up. She can also
   place her knees on the bed, in which case the man accentuates the
   movement by plying his thighs, whilst she holds with her left hand on
   to his right shoulder.
   
   TWENTY-SECOND MANNER - El modakheli (the fitter-in). The woman is
   seated on her coccyx, with only the points of her buttocks touching
   the ground; the man takes the same position, her vulva facing his
   member. Then the woman puts her right thigh over the left thigh of the
   man, whilst he on his part puts his right thigh over her left one.
   
   The woman, seizing with her hands her partner's arms, gets his member
   into her vulva; and each of them leaning alternately a little back,
   and holding each other by the upper part of the arms, they initiate a
   swaying movement, moving with little concussions, and keeping their
   movements in exact rhythm by the assistance of their heels. which are
   resting on the ground.
   
   TWENTY-THIRD MANNER - El khouariki (the one who stops at home). he
   woman being couched on her back, the man lies down upon her, with
   cushions held in his hands.
   
   After his member is in, the woman raises her buttocks as high as she
   can off the bed, the man following her up with his member well inside;
   then the woman lowers herself again upon the bed, giving some short
   shocks, and although they do not embrace, the man must stick like glue
   to her. This movement they continue, but the man must make himself
   light and must not be ponderous, and the bed must be soft; in default
   of which the exercise cannot be kept up without break
   
   TWENTY-FOURTH MANNER - Nik el haddadi (the coition of the blacksmith).
   The woman lies on her back with a cushion under her buttocks, and her
   knees raised as far as possible towards her chest, so that her vulva
   stands out as a target; she then guides her partner's member in.
   
   The man executes for some time the usual action of coition, then draws
   his tool out of the vulva, and glides it for a moment between the
   thighs of the woman, as the smith withdraws the glowing iron from the
   furnace in order to plunge it into cold water. This manner is called
   sferdgeli, position of the quince.
   
   TWENTY-FIFTH MANNER - El moheundi (the seducer). The woman lying on
   her back, the man sits between her legs, with his croupe on his feet;
   then he raises and separates the women's thighs, placing her legs
   under his arms, or over his shoulders; he then takes her round the
   waist, or seizes her shoulders.
   
   The preceding descriptions furnish a large number of procedures, that
   cannot well be all put to the proof; but with such a variety to choose
   from, the man who finds one of them difficult to practise, can easily
   find plenty of others more to his convenience.
   
   I have not made mention of positions which it appeared to me
   impossible to realize, and if there be anybody who thinks that those
   which I have described are not exhaustive, he has only to look for new
   ones.
   
   It cannot be gainsaid that the Indians have surmounted the greatest
   difficulties in respect to coition. As a grand exploit, originating
   with them, the following may be cited:
   
     The woman being stretched out on her back, the man sits down on her
     chest, with his back turned to her face, his knees turned forward
     and his nails gripping the ground; he then raises her hips, arching
     her back until he has brought her vulva face to face with his
     member, which he then inserts, and thus gains his purpose.
     
   This position, as you perceive, is very fatiguing and very difficult
   to attain. I even believe that the only realization of it consists in
   words and designs. With regard to the other methods described above,
   they can only be practised if both man and woman are free from
   physical defects, and of analogous construction; for instance, one or
   the other of them must not be hunchbacked, or very little, or very
   tall, or too obese. And I repeat, that both must be in perfect health.
   
   I shall now treat of coition between two persons of different
   conformation. I shall particularise the positions that will suit them
   in treating each of them severally.
   
   I shall first discourse of the coition of a lean man and a corpulent
   woman, and the different postures they may assume for the act,
   assuming the woman to be lying down, and being turned successively
   over on her four sides.
   
   If the man wants to work her sideways he takes the thigh of the woman
   which is uppermost, and raises it as high as possible on his flank, so
   that it rests over his waist; he employs her undermost arm as a pillow
   for the support of his head, and he takes care to place a stout
   cushion beneath his undermost hip, so as to elevate his member to the
   necessary height, which is indispensable on account of the thickness
   of the woman's thighs.
   
   But if the woman has an enormous abdomen, projecting by reason of its
   obesity over her thighs and flanks, it will be best to lay her on her
   hack, and to lift up her thighs towards her belly; the man kneels
   between them, having hold of her waist with his hands, and drawing her
   towards him; and if he cannot manage her in consequence of the obesity
   of her belly and thighs, he must with his two arms encircle her
   buttocks, But it is thus impossible for him to work her conveniently,
   owing to the want of mobility of her thighs, which are impeded by her
   belly. He may, however, support them with his hands, but let him take
   care not to place them over his own thighs, as, owing to their weight,
   he would not have the power nor the facility to move. As the poet has
   said:
   
     If you have to explore her, lift up her buttocks,
     In order to work like the rope thrown to a drowning man.
     You will then seem between her thighs
     Like a rower seated at the end of the boat.
     
   The man can likewise couch the woman on her side, with the innermost
   leg in front; then he sits down on the thigh of that leg, his member
   being opposite her vulva, and lets her raise the upper leg, which she
   must bend at the knee. Then, with his hands seizing her legs bind
   thighs, he introduces his member, with his body lying between her
   legs, his knees bent, and the points of his feet against the ground,
   so that he can elevate his posterior, and prevent her thighs from
   impeding the entrance. In this attitude they can enter into action.
   
   If the woman's belly is enlarged by reason of her being with child,
   the man lets her lie down on one side; then placing one of her thighs
   over the other, he raises them both towards the stomach, without their
   touching the latter; he then lies down behind her on the same side,
   and can thus fit his member in. In this way he can thrust his tool in
   entirely, particularly by raising his foot, which is under the woman's
   leg, to the height of her thigh. The same may be done with a barren
   woman; but It is particularly to be recommended for the woman who is
   enceinte, as the above position offers the advantage of procuring her
   the pleasure she desires, without exposing her to any danger.
   
   In the case of the man being obese, with a very pronounced rotundity
   of stomach, and the woman being thin, the best course to follow is to
   let the woman take the active part. To this end, the man lies down on
   his back with his thighs close together, and the woman lowers herself
   upon his member, astride of him; she rests her hands upon the bed, and
   he seizes her arms with his hands. If she knows how to move, she can
   thus, in turn, rise and sink upon his member; if she is not adroit
   enough for that movement, the man imparts a movement to her buttocks
   by the play of one of his thighs behind them. But if the man assumes
   this position, it may sometimes become prejudicial to him, inasmuch as
   some of the female sperm may penetrate into his urethra, and grave
   malady may ensue therefrom. It may also happen - and that is just as
   bad - that the man's sperm cannot pass out, and returns into the
   urethra.
   
   If the man prefers that the woman should lie on her back, he places
   himself, with his legs folded under him, between her legs, which she
   parts only moderately. Thus, his buttocks are between the woman's
   legs, with his heels touching them. In performing this way he will,
   however, feel fatigue, owing to the position of his stomach resting
   upon the woman's, and the inconvenience resulting therefrom; and,
   besides, he will not be able to get his whole member in the vulva.
   
   It will be similar when both he on their sides, as mentioned above in
   the case of pregnant women.
   
   When both man and woman are fat, and wish to unite in coition, they
   cannot contrive to do it without trouble, particularly when both have
   prominent stomachs. In these circumstances the best way to go about it
   is for the woman to be on her knees with her hands on the ground, so
   that her posterior is elevated; then the man separates her legs,
   leaving the points of the feet close together and the heels parted
   asunder; he then attacks her from behind, kneeling and holding up his
   stomach with his hand, and so introduces his member. Resting his
   stomach upon her buttocks during the act he holds the thighs or the
   waist of the woman with his hands. If her posterior is too low for his
   stomach to rest upon, he must place a cushion under her knees to
   remedy this.
   
   I know of no other position so favourable as this for the coition of a
   fat man with a fat woman.
   
   If, in fact, the man gets between the legs of a woman on her back
   under the above-named circumstances, his stomach, encountering the
   woman's thighs, will not allow him to make free use of his tool. He
   cannot even see her vulva, or only in part; it may be almost said that
   it will be impossible for him to accomplish the act.
   
   On the other hand, if the man makes the woman lie upon her side, and
   then places himself, with his legs bent behind her, pressing his
   stomach upon the upper part of her posterior, she must draw her legs
   and thighs up to her stomach, in order to lay bare her vagina and
   allow the introduction of his member; but if she cannot sufficiently
   bend her knees, the man can neith