live, and wash his dirty linen in the midst of his admirers; he

escapes, he has a room of his own, he leads a private life; if he

had nothing else, he has the holidays, and the more unhappy

Tembinok' is always on the stage and on the stretch.

In all my coming and going, I never heard him speak harshly or

express the least displeasure. An extreme, rather heavy,

benignity--the benignity of one sure to be obeyed--marked his

demeanour; so that I was at times reminded of Samual Richardson in

his circle of admiring women. The wives spoke up and seemed to

volunteer opinions, like our wives at home--or, say, like doting

but respectable aunts. Altogether, I conclude that he rules his

seraglio much more by art than terror; and those who give a

different account (and who have none of them enjoyed my

opportunities of observation) perhaps failed to distinguish between

degrees of rank, between 'my pamily' and the hangers-on,

laundresses, and prostitutes.

A notable feature is the evening game of cards when lamps are set

forth upon the terrace, and 'I and my pamily' play for tobacco by

the hour. It is highly characteristic of Tembinok' that he must

invent a game for himself; highly characteristic of his worshipping

household that they should swear by the absurd invention. It is

founded on poker, played with the honours out of many packs, and

inconceivably dreary. But I have a passion for all games, studied

it, and am supposed to be the only white who ever fairly grasped

its principle: a fact for which the wives (with whom I was not

otherwise popular) admired me with acclamation. It was impossible

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