I may succeed, perhaps, in particularizing some of the individual
features of Fayaway’s beauty, but that general loveliness of appearance
which they all contributed to produce I will not attempt to describe.
The easy unstudied graces of a child of nature like this, breathing
from infancy an atmosphere of perpetual summer, and nurtured by the
simple fruits of the earth; enjoying a perfect freedom from care and
anxiety, and removed effectually from all injurious tendencies, strike
the eye in a manner which cannot be portrayed. This picture is no fancy
sketch; it is drawn from the most vivid recollections of the person
delineated.
Were I asked if the beauteous form of Fayaway was altogether free from
the hideous blemish of tattooing, I should be constrained to answer
that it was not. But the practitioners of this barbarous art, so
remorseless in their inflictions upon the brawny limbs of the warriors
of the tribe, seem to be conscious that it needs not the resources of
their profession to augment the charms of the maidens of the vale.
The females are very little embellished in this way, and Fayaway, and
all the other young girls of her age, were even less so than those of
their sex more advanced in years. The reason of this peculiarity will
be alluded to hereafter. All the tattooing that the nymph in question
exhibited upon her person may be easily described. Three minute dots,
no bigger than pinheads, decorated either lip, and at a little distance
were not at all discernible. Just upon the fall of the shoulder were
drawn two parallel lines half an inch apart, and perhaps three inches
in length, the interval being filled with delicately executed figures.
These narrow bands of tattooing, thus placed, always reminded me of
those stripes of gold lace worn by officers in undress, and which are
in lieu of epaulettes to denote their rank.
Thus much was Fayaway tattooed. The audacious hand which had gone so
far in its desecrating work stopping short, apparently wanting the
heart to proceed.
But I have neglected to describe the dress worn by this nymph of the
valley.
Fayaway—I must avow the fact—for the most part clung to the primitive
and summer garb of Eden. But how becoming the costume! It showed her
fine figure to the best possible advantage; and nothing could have been
better adapted to her peculiar style of beauty. On ordinary occasions
she was habited precisely as I have described the two youthful savages
whom we had met on first entering the valley. At other times, when
rambling among the groves, or visiting at the houses of her
acquaintances, she wore a tunic of white tappa, reaching from her waist
to a little below the knees; and when exposed for any length of time to
the sun, she invariably protected herself from its rays by a floating
mantle of the same material, loosely gathered about the person. Her
gala dress will be described hereafter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account