But, In The
Reign Of Louis XIV., Muley Ismail Having Heard An Extremely Seductive
Account Of The Princesse De Conti (Mademoiselle De Blois), Natural
Daughter Of The Grand Monarch And Mademoiselle De La Valliere, By Means
Of His Ambassador, Abdullah Ben Aissa, Had The Chivalrous Temerity To
Demand Her In Marriage.
"Our Sultan," said the ambassador, "will marry
her according to the law of God and the Prophet, but she
Shall not be
forced to abandon her religion, or manner of living; and she will be
able to find all that her heart desires in the palace of my
sovereign - if it please God."
This request, of course, could not be granted, but the "king of
Christian kings" replied very graciously, "that the difference alone of
religion prevented the consummation of the happiness of the Shereef of
Shereefs." This humble demand of the hand of the princess mightily
amused "the Court of Courts," and its hireling poets taxed their wit to
the utmost in chanting the praises of the royal virgin, who had attacked
the regards (or the growls) of the Numidian Tiger, as Muley Ismail was
politely designated. Take this as a specimen, -
"Votre beaute, grande princesse,
Porte les traits dont elle blesse
Jusques aux plus sauvages lieux:
L'Afrique avec vous capitule,
Et les conquetes de vos yeux
Vont plus loin que celles d'Hercule."
The Maroquine ambassador, who was also grand admiral of the Moorish
navy, witnessing all the wonders of Paris at the epoch of the Great
Monarch, was dazzled with its beauty and magnificence; nevertheless, he
remained a good Mussulman.
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