The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-05-01

send one of an imagination like mine
of into the realms of fancy, and taake
one believe it the promised land, and
cause the whole soul to be satisfied with
the picture, which needed no imagina
ton to embellish.
My attendant reused me from my
dreams of perfect peace by pointing to
the fountain and signifying that I was
also to get in. My four friends then
made their appearance with the ser.
wants and our luncheon, and nobody
can tell of the comical look of us five
sitting round the baskets eating, and
without any clothes on. I have seen
many sights in my life, but we women
around those baskets, with chicken
legs in our hands and glasses of wine,
and other things, were too perfectly
ludicrous for anything, and / laughed
till I couldn't eat. And my dreams OF
luxurious, sleepy, sensuOus paradise,
filed with uDdulating figures of trans
cendent beauty, were gone, and I was
fully possessed of the demon of mirth,
and I provoked the others into my own
state of mind, and we were soon the
maddest of the crowd In the perfumed
waters.
It was two full hours before our wild
sport ended, and we slid out of the wa
ter and sat talking in little knots of
four or five, while the attendants were
drying our hair, and separating it till il
stood out in light puff all around our
heads. Not tangle was left In it, and
no comb or brush was used. Then we
were laid on the same marble divans,
though with thick bathing towel this
xr1s1O 4In nLA -
punched and pulled and rubbed all our
joints, and cracked all our knuckles,
and elbows and shoulders, till thought
I should be always even more unsteady
than ever. TheYFdon't give you the
least chance to make a protest to this
sort of thing. They roll you and rub
you, up and down and round and round,
till you only want chance to get your
hands free to "punch their heads, "
when all at once, painting and perspir-
ing, they grin at you and say E0ekbey,
which means {" all right" and then you
can put on your handsome bathing
dress, and have your towels spread out
on the divan about you. Then the
other ladies came about me like bees
around holly-hock, and proceeded to
admire me from head to foot.
Then the attendants came in and we
all followed them through a succession
of rooms. resting a short time in each,
and drinking lemonade and shGrbet,
and eating cOnserves made of roses and
violets-or, at least, favored with the
perfume of those flowers. Then we
went into another room cooler still,
where most of the ladies smoked while
they chatted of their dresses, husbands,
firtations. etc. One thing surprises
me: the perfect freedom with which they
tell each other of their fiirtations, some
of which go somewhat beyond the de-
corum of our American hirtatiOns even.
After the ladies had all finished smok-
ing their marghilas and little histories
of how they had managed to throw dust
into the eunuch's eyes, etc., they pro-
ceeded to perform their toilettes, some
thing wonderful to see. I am a wo-
man, and I thought I krew all their
| little faults and something of the intri-
| cacies of the toilette /: but I learned
more that day than I ever thought any
one knew. First, an old woman came
to each woman or girl, bearing a dress.
ing-case filed with the most marvellous
| of compounds for the improvement oI
the beauty under their care. Little
/ looking glasses were given to each wo
man. and then commenced the opera
| ton. All the superfuous hairs on the
face were removed by little pincers
! then the women brought out stiff little
brushes made of bristles, and after dip
! ping them into preparation of arsenic
proceeded to, by means of pulling the
| skin of the face tightly, puncture il
with the sharp bristles, which thus
! leaves an indelible white beneath the
| surface, which is perfectly dazzling IL
! its traDsparence and brilEancy.
Next, the eyebrows are carefully
brushed with a soft brush, and then the
smoke of frankincense, mixed with the
| oil of rose, is laid on while the eye
1ashes are dyed with some vegetable
| dye, which leaves them brilliant black
and under the eyelids and on the upper
| lid is laid a sort of pale brown, which
! gives the whole eye beauty and Ian
guor most bewitching. Then, when {
a rich carmine, or rather rose-leaf pink
is artistically spread on the cheeks, an6
the full lips of deep cherry co'or, the
faces in their coloring are most lovely
These colors do not fade or rub of, but
stay until another long-protracted batl
of vapor and tepid water opens The
pores for another application.
The toilet finished, the beauties, na
tural and manufactured, regarded them
selves in their hand-glasses with evident
satisfaction, and each other with con
tempt. Some of them, who were quite
plain in the water, became beautiful
after the operation was complete. Theil
luxuriant hair was in general braided
and loaded with a profusion of orna
ments, not excepting diamond stars anC
other jewels, and sometimes with long
strings of gold coin, plated in, which
jingled with every motion. It was {
novel sight to see these women all sit
ting about on little stools with theil
ancient hand-maidens, all submitting tC
these intricacies of toilet that are KEEP
so secret by more civilized women, al
seeming here to be a matter of course