Page:Sixteen years of an artist's life in Morocco, Spain and the Canary Islands.djvu/64

Rh woman was made of the same flesh and blood as themselves, was added to the intrusive officiousness of the maniac, whose hands were still itching to seize and appropriate some portion of my dress.

It was altogether a strange scene, and notwithstanding the rather disagreeable circumstances with which it was attended, I could not help regarding all that passed before me with the greatest interest. In addition to the ludicrous absurdities of human nature, I was surrounded by much that was exquisite in art, graceful in form, and even beautiful in nature. The appearance of the mosaic pavement, as, chequered by the rays of the sun which fell upon it, it shone through the fig-leaves and the cane-work trellis, was exceedingly brilliant. Then, there were the rich and variegated colours of the magnificent flowers which were disposed about the Patio, as the heliotrope and the jasmin, the odours of which, in the sultry heat of the afternoon sun, were so oppressive as to produce a kind of languid faintness. To these was added the sweet and powerful scent of the datura, which as evening drew on, filled the surrounding air with its delightful fragrance. It was altogether of of those attractive spots, in which, but for the company with which the place was filled, one would delight to linger and to meditate.