“Can we?” we cried simultaneously.
“I believe so,” the grandfather replied.
“Go now—this minute?”
The old man nodded.
It was a case of speechless delight with us. The old pasha turned to his company. “I am going to take the little hanoums to the show, and who wishes to come is welcome.”
We dashed back to the haremlik and made ready in the greatest excitement. Our excitement was shared by all the women. They came in to see us made ready, and told us to be sure to remember everything in the show to repeat to them.
The show was given in a common garden café, such as the small bureaucracy and proletariat of Turkish masculinity frequents; but the Turks are essentially democratic, and our party did not mind this in the least.
The limits of the café were indicated by canvas hung on ropes to screen the show from the unpaying eye. Within were seats at twopence apiece, and seats at a penny. Djimlah and I were installed in special chairs at threepence, placed in front of the first row, which the men of our party occupied—and then the show opened.
It took place behind a piece of white cheese cloth, lighted by oil lamps, and a few wooden puppets acted the play. A great deal of swearing, beating, killing and dying took place in the most picturesque Turkish. The audience laughed to hysterics. As for Djimlah and me, we were simply delirious with joy. Nor did our pleasure end with that evening. We learned a lot of the vernacular of the piece, and the next day acted it for the delectation of the entire harem, who made us repeat it several times, Djimlah being half the characters, and I the other half.
When I tried to repeat my histrionic success at home—being all the characters—I saw my father give a glance at my mother, who, not knowing a word of Turkish, sat unperturbed, while our two men guests were doing their best to suppress their laughter. As I wanted my mother to enjoy it too, I began to explain the whole thing to her, but, by one of those cabalistic signs which existed between my father and myself, I understood that I had better not explain; and after we were alone my father said to me: