L'esclave du pacha, suivi de Histoire de ma grand'tante

"In peril on the sea" by Montague T. Hainsselin is a novel written in the mid-19th century. Set between Constantinople and the Anatolian interior, it unfolds as an Orientalist romance and adventure centered on Baïla, a Mingrelian odalisque possessed by the formidable pasha Djezzar and coveted by a daring young Frenchman, with intrigue, jealousy, and mortal risk close at hand. It probes captivity, power, and the dangerous pull of forbidden desire. The opening of the story frames a traveler’s tale: a narrator walking near Paris with an Orientalist friend hears of a drama the friend learned in Asia Minor, then the narrative shifts to Sivas and the harem gardens. There, Baïla—lavishly described amid fountains and palms—startles when a young Frenchman slips past the guards, speaks to her, and vanishes, sparking her curiosity and Mariam the nurse’s alarm. A brisk backstory follows: sold in Mingrelia, trained at Trébizonde, nearly bought by a decrepit official in the Constantinople slave bazaar, Baïla is instead claimed by Djezzar Pasha and becomes his volatile favorite, even as his cruelty and his pet lion, Haïder, loom over all. Rumor then hints the pasha has shot a “dog” near the garden; fearing it was the foreigner, Baïla marks his fading footprint with a small cross, yet soon asserts triumphant sway—famously cowing Haïder with a flurry of narghilé canes and drawing Djezzar back to heel. In the city she suddenly glimpses the Frenchman alive, who signals devotion with a shining token pressed to his heart, and her thoughts turn inward: less capricious, more intent on freedom and on learning who he is. She presses Mariam, who reluctantly admits a secret encounter and her terror of discovery, and at last, with the pasha away, a bribed gardener smuggles a man into the garden. The segment closes as Baïla, freshly bathed, trembling yet resolute, goes to meet the clandestine visitor. (This is an automatically generated summary.)