"They very politely invited Bababalouk to be of their party; but his head was full of other concerns."
— Beckford, William (1760-1844)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
J. Johnson
Date
w. 1782, 1786, 1816
Metaphor
"They very politely invited Bababalouk to be of their party; but his head was full of other concerns."
Metaphor in Context
Beneath this dome, a general silence prevailed; for there was nothing to disturb it but the jaws of Bababalouk, who had untrussed himself to eat with greater advantage; being anxious to make amends for his fast, in the mountains. As his spirits were too high to admit of his sleeping; and hating to be idle, he proposed with himself to visit the harem and repair to his charge of the ladies: to examine if they had been properly lubricated with the balm of Mecca; if their eye-brows, and tresses, were in order; and, in a word, to perform all the little offices they might need. He sought for a long time together but without being able to find out the door. He durst not speak aloud for fear of disturbing the Caliph; and not a soul was stirring in the precincts of the palace. He almost despaired of effecting his purpose, when a low whispering just reached his ear. It came from the dwarfs, who were returned to their old occupation, and, for the nine hundred and ninety-ninth time in their lives, were reading over the Koran. They very politely invited Bababalouk to be of their party; but his head was full of other concerns. The dwarfs, though not a little scandalized at his dissolute morals, directed him to the apartments he wanted to find. His way thither lay through a hundred dark corridors, along which he groped as he went; and at last, began to catch, from the extremity of a passage, the charming gossiping of the women which not a little delighted his heart.
(pp. 105-7)
(pp. 105-7)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
2 entries in ESTC (1786, 1791).
First published anonymously as An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: with Notes Critical and Explanatory (London: J. Johnson, 1786). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
Text from William Beckford, Vathek: Translated from the original French, 3rd edition (London: Printed for W. Clarke 1816).
First published anonymously as An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: with Notes Critical and Explanatory (London: J. Johnson, 1786). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
Text from William Beckford, Vathek: Translated from the original French, 3rd edition (London: Printed for W. Clarke 1816).
Date of Entry
06/05/2013
