Qabihah Says The Lady Of The Oleander Became The Sultan Of Cairo
Dear Readers,
Once I left my father's house I took up residence in the Arab Quarter of Cairo in a mansion with an extensive garden. Immediately I ordered my servants to plant rows of oleander bushes and to spend their time cultivating them. They were the source of my power. I did not mean to neglect them.
Now that I had removed the threat of putting a master in charge of me in the guise of a husband, I was free to do as I pleased. I meant to hold court. I invited the prominent men of the city to my house to feast. When I was running low on money, I took one of them as a lover. (You must get the idea that I was rather attractive and well-endowed in those days to judge by how my suitors had acted). The chosen one showered me with gifts. I returned the favor by making his enemies my enemies.
One of my devices was to invite the enemy to dine. Then I poisoned him at dinner by mixing the sap of the oleander leaves in the dressing for the salad or in the sauce for dessert. Sometimes I mingled it with the gravy for the meat. At other times I sent the enemy a bouquet of flowers. One of them would be an oleander sprig well-concealed in the center of the arrangement. Or I would send it to his chief wife. My lover would know what I was doing and he would approve. Sometimes I met their children in the street and offered them honey treats produced by my poisonous hive.
Woe to the lover who fell afoul of me! He would soon perish, and he knew it. My lovers were eager to placate me, not to rule me. They jostled each other for position and sought my favor. But I would take on no more than one at once no matter what they offered me. The nectar of the oleander was so omnipotent it became like a love potion, or elixir.
Word about me got around. Soon the King of Cairo, the Sultan of Old Cairo, made me his lover and told me the arrangement was permanent. I rose to a position in the city superior to his wives. I, in effect, became the Sultan of Old Cairo myself.
And what did I owe it all to? The oleander bloom!
Sincerely yours,
Qabihah, Witch of Cairo
P.S. You may read about my further adventures in the fourth volume of Dora, Lady Ware's, memoirs entitled Hitler's Daughter.
Once I left my father's house I took up residence in the Arab Quarter of Cairo in a mansion with an extensive garden. Immediately I ordered my servants to plant rows of oleander bushes and to spend their time cultivating them. They were the source of my power. I did not mean to neglect them.
Now that I had removed the threat of putting a master in charge of me in the guise of a husband, I was free to do as I pleased. I meant to hold court. I invited the prominent men of the city to my house to feast. When I was running low on money, I took one of them as a lover. (You must get the idea that I was rather attractive and well-endowed in those days to judge by how my suitors had acted). The chosen one showered me with gifts. I returned the favor by making his enemies my enemies.
One of my devices was to invite the enemy to dine. Then I poisoned him at dinner by mixing the sap of the oleander leaves in the dressing for the salad or in the sauce for dessert. Sometimes I mingled it with the gravy for the meat. At other times I sent the enemy a bouquet of flowers. One of them would be an oleander sprig well-concealed in the center of the arrangement. Or I would send it to his chief wife. My lover would know what I was doing and he would approve. Sometimes I met their children in the street and offered them honey treats produced by my poisonous hive.
Woe to the lover who fell afoul of me! He would soon perish, and he knew it. My lovers were eager to placate me, not to rule me. They jostled each other for position and sought my favor. But I would take on no more than one at once no matter what they offered me. The nectar of the oleander was so omnipotent it became like a love potion, or elixir.
Word about me got around. Soon the King of Cairo, the Sultan of Old Cairo, made me his lover and told me the arrangement was permanent. I rose to a position in the city superior to his wives. I, in effect, became the Sultan of Old Cairo myself.
And what did I owe it all to? The oleander bloom!
Sincerely yours,
Qabihah, Witch of Cairo
P.S. You may read about my further adventures in the fourth volume of Dora, Lady Ware's, memoirs entitled Hitler's Daughter.
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