All this success increased the adulation and worship of the Mahdi to an extraordinary extent, and as for himself, although he was continually warning his followers to despise the good things of this world, and to abandon all luxurious modes of life, he surrounded himself with every sort of comfort and luxury, appreciating to the utmost the very pleasures which he declaimed so violently. He urged moderation in eating and drinking, yet he secured for himself every dainty which Khartum could possibly produce. He now wore shirts and trousers of the finest material, and, before putting them on, his wives were obliged to perfume them with incense and other costly fragrances. His wives attended on him in turns, but no regularity was preserved. They anointed his body with all sorts of precious unguents, but his speciality was the expensive "Sandalia" (a perfume prepared from sandal-wood and oil), and so saturated was he with these perfumes that when he went forth the air was laden with sweet-smelling odours. The courtyard of his harem was full of women, from little Turkish girls of eight years old to the pitch-black Dinka negress or copper-coloured Abyssinian; almost every tribe in the Sudan supplied its representative, so that one might say the entire Sudanese woman-world was to be seen here. Amongst this vast concourse four only were lawful wives; the remainder were considered as "ghenima," or booty, and were looked upon as slaves and concubines. His principal wife was called "Aisha," or, as she is better known in Omdurman, "Om el Muminin" (the Mother of the Faithful). She was a woman of considerable influence, for the wives of all the principal emirs visited her, and she was assisted by them in elaborating an extensive system of espionage. Alas, how many unfortunate girls were left weeping day and night for their miserable state, robbed by this Aisha of their happiness and liberty! The Mahdi's dwelling was built for the most part of the captured loot. From the boards of General Hicks's stable he had two huts built, and near these a hut made of mortar and a small magazine. This man, who hitherto had but a small straw mat, now lay on fine bedsteads originally brought from Jedda and captured in Khartum, while the floors were spread with Persian carpets. Here was this Divine Mahdi leading indoors a life of the most immoderate uxoriousness, whilst outside his fanatical followers hailed him as the direct messenger of God, sent to purge the world from the evil practices of the hated Turk.