292 FLORA IIISTORICA. 



civilized part of mankind. In some mode or other 

 this art has been employed in all quarters of the 

 globe, and as each nation considers the customs of 

 those who differ from themselves in the manner of 

 disguising their persons as ridiculous, it proves the 

 absurdity of the practice. 



]Madame de Latour observes, that from north to 

 south, from the east to the west, amongst savage 

 people, and in civilized nations, the taste for paint- 

 ing is universal. The wandering Arab, the seden- 

 tary Turk, the beautiful Persian, the small-footed 

 Chinese, the blooming Russian, the phlegmatic Eng- 

 lish, the indolent Creole, and the lively trifling French 

 women, all wish to please, and all like to do so by 

 painting themselves. In the deserts of America the 

 savages paint their bodies red with the root of a spe- 

 cies of Bugloss, that is indigenous to their country. 

 The ancient Britons painted their bodies of a blue 

 colour. Duperron tells us that a young savage 

 girl, who wished to attract his attention, took slily 

 a piece of coal, and, retiring to a corner, pounded 

 it, and blacked her cheeks Avith the powder, then 

 returned wdth a triumphant air, as if this ornament 

 had rendered the eff*ects of her charms more secure. 

 Galen notices the use of the Bugloss root as a 

 cosmetic in his time, and the rouge made from the 

 roots of this plant is said to be the most ancient as 

 well as the most innocent of all the paints that are 



