Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume 2 (of 2): A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present dayLanaghan, Mrs.
History
Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume 2 (of 2): A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day
Lanaghan, Mrs.
Antigua -- Description and travel; Antigua -- History
Smart as these beaux are, the fair sex make a much greater
display. Their favourite colours are pink, blue, and bright
yellow, and of these their dresses are generally composed; but
the manner in which these several shades are arranged defies all
description. For example—a dress of white gauze or net, over a
yellow slip, is profusely decorated with quillings of blue
ribbon, interspersed with red flowers; or perhaps a blue dress is
ornamented with green trimmings. Of course these dresses are made
in the height of the fashion, very long skirts with flounces, and
tight sleeves, with lace ruffles, and streamers of varied tints,
while the long kid or lace gloves, are drawn up the arm to the
exact point at which such articles are worn. Among the bijouterie
displayed upon these _gala_ nights, may be distinguished a
diversity of brass bracelets, two or three encircling the same
arm; numberless rings, in which the “lively diamond,” the ruby’s
“deepening glow,” the sapphire’s “solid ether,” the “purple
amethyst,” the yellow topaz, and the green emerald, are
wonderfully imitated in coloured _glass_; these _choice gems_ are
liberally bestowed upon every finger, and I am not quite sure
that the _thumb_ is exempted. Splendid brass chains also encircle
their (not) _swan-like_ necks, long pendants gleam from their
ears, and very pink silk stockings, with red, blue, or yellow
shoes, are called in, to astonish with their brilliancy of hue,
the eyes of their attendant youths. But notwithstanding all this
finery, it is upon the adornment of their heads that these ladies
lavish the most time and pains. This may surprise some, when they
consider how devoid the negroes are of that great natural
ornament which Rowland, by the aid of his incomparable
“Macassar,” so kindly and bountifully offers to dispense; but
still it is no less true, for what Dame Nature denies, art
bestows in the shape of a false set of curls, or a complete
_toupée_. These ringlets are cleverly fastened on by bands of
different coloured cotton-velvet, and the back of the head is
covered with wreaths of flowers and bunches of ribbons. Those
whose natural hair is long enough, wear it in what they term
“French curls;” but they never fail to have a sufficient quantity
of flowers intermixed with them.
The gentlemen are particularly polite to the ladies, attending to
their little wants with the greatest assiduity, and watching
their every movement, to anticipate, if possible, their wishes.
The ladies are also quite graceful in their manners, and forget
not to practise those pretty little airs of affectation which
some of their white sisters so ably perform.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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