My Husband

... In the house of His Excellency Sheikh Bahij Takieddine were four ladies: his mother, his wife, and two others. They rose in greeting, and the mistress of the house came forward a few steps, beaming and welcoming.

And I thought for a moment: how good it is that we keep our Lebanese character and our traditions; and how good that some of us should reach high seats while their souls remain modest!

Mrs. Suad is the daughter of the poet Sheikh Amin Takieddine. She was brought up in Egypt and educated in the convent schools, from which she graduated proficient, alongside her studies, in the arts of needlework and painting...

My eye comes to rest on the wall before me — on a beautiful oil painting which, I learn afterwards, Mrs. Suad brought with her from Egypt, from her father's house, on the day she was wedded to her cousin... The picture is a work of art bespeaking a deep understanding of art and a refined taste.

Mrs. Suad Takieddine talks with me, her hands in constant motion in her lap — she is knitting a sweater, perhaps for one of her little ones; she is most careful of her time, and lets not a minute of it go to waste.

Between sips of coffee I put my question to her:

— Tell me, Madam, what does His Excellency the Minister enjoy most?

— What he enjoys most is his profession; he throws himself into it from early morning, and very often forgets his mealtimes. His happiest hours, as I sense them, are spent in the atmosphere of the law courts, among his colleagues the judges and the lawyers.

... I interrupt her to inquire:
— You mean that he prefers his profession to his home?
Mrs. Suad laughs tactfully and corrects me:

— I mean, rather, that he prefers his profession to the ministerial seat! As for his home, you have not yet come to that...

When our talk reaches His Excellency Sheikh Bahij as a husband, Mrs. Suad pauses, at a loss for an answer; whereupon the lady his mother asks leave to answer this question herself, to spare her daughter-in-law an awkward position! And the mother launches out, with much pride and dignity, on Sheikh Bahij's respect for his wife and the extent of his trust in her, until she says:

"My son Bahij never objects in any matter of the household; he leaves the tying and the loosing to his wife, trusting in her wisdom and her sound judgment. Even in the building of his new house he delegated to her the supervision of the architect in his stead; his own visits to the 'worksite' are merely for the pleasure of looking on! Rarely among men will you find one more contented or larger of heart..."

I thank Mrs. Umm Said for her valuable observations and return to my hostess, Mrs. Suad, and ask her:

— And what is the extent of your influence with His Excellency in personal petitions?

I notice that she has been referring to her husband by his first name. She answers:

— Bahij the lawyer is another man from Bahij the husband. He allows no one whatsoever — not even me — to interfere in the affairs of his work; he accustomed me to this trait of his from the very first days of our marriage, and I no longer permit myself to meddle in his personal petitions.

— And would Madam tell me of His Excellency as a father?

"He loves his children to the point of worship; but his many duties keep him so continuously at work that he can rarely sit quietly with his children whenever sitting with them would please him. So you see him stealing minutes to refresh himself by teasing them and playing with them, and inquiring into their progress at school."

... I was listening to her talk, my eye on the little girl crawling over the salon floor, interrupting her mother now and then in an angelic voice; and in my heart I pitied Sheikh Bahij, who can never take his fill of delight in this innocent childhood. And what, after all, do we take from our children but these pure, refreshing embraces?

— Finally, I say to my hostess, will you not tell me something of His Excellency's taste in dress, and of who chooses his clothes?

— As to his dress, he is always careful to be neat, without excess of dandyism... But there is one thing he takes a special delight in fussing over and choosing himself — the cravate, or necktie! In this alone he has his own particular way; in everything else it is I who buy his clothes according to my own taste, and he is always pleased with them... or is he compelled to be pleased, having not time enough to attend to them himself!!?