Note 177 — THE STORY OF THE THREE SHARPERS.[17] (continued 3)
Richard Francis Burton translation · Edition 2
In Moslem tales decency compels the maiden, however much she may be in love, to show extreme unwillingness in parting with her maidenhead especially by marriage; and this farce is enacted in real life (see vol. viii. 40). The French tell the indecent truth,
Désir de fille est un feu qui dévore:
Désir de femme est plus fort encore.