Page:Sixteen years of an artist's life in Morocco, Spain and the Canary Islands.djvu/53

42 puzzled herself, when trying on my gloves, by placing each on the wrong hand.

I was also fortunate enough in having an opportunity of witnessing the process of a lady's toilet, and of closely watching the various means by which the Moorish beauty endeavours by art to heighten the charms which nature may have given her. As great rejoicing were going on at this time in a neighbouring house, on account of the birth of a son to a rich official, and my hostess had been invited to take part in them; and as it was now nearly time for her to set off to the house of joy, she proceeded to prepare her toilet, not at all abashed with which I regarded the process. The first thing she did was to paint her face with a white creamy mixture, then to connect the eye-brows by a thick black daub of about half an inch in width, the thickest part coming over the nose. The eyes, also, had an extra tint of al cohol, and the cheeks were painted with two triangular patches of pure scarlet, which, from its coarse colour, and the extreme abruptness of its edges, communicated to them the appearance of a badly-painted mask. An artificial mole or two having been added to complete the adornment of the visage, the face was considered perfect, and regarded with considerable