OF THE OLD WORLD. 211 



in curls all round the head. Their dress consists 

 of a waist-cloth and a kind of cotton sheet, which 

 they wear like a Roman toga, thrown over the body, 

 leaving the arms and legs bare. The men are de- 

 cidedly the finest-looking race in Hindostan, having 

 a noble independent bearing, and none of that 

 cringing and fawning obsequiousness which is 

 observable in every other caste of native. The 

 women are tall and commanding, with figures for 

 the most part fiiultless ; erect but remarkably 

 graceful, somewhat slight perhaps, but exquisitely 

 rounded ; every line full of softness and beauty, 

 every limb in fine symmetry, supple, and delicate. 

 The head is peculiarly small and elegant, the face 

 oval, and generally of the Israelitish type. The 

 features are small and finely chiselled ; the mouth 

 beautifully formed, and graced with pearl-like teeth ; 

 the eyes large, lustrous, wild, soft and gazelle-like ; 

 the eyebrows are much arched and finely pencilled ; 

 the lashes very long and full ; the hair of the head 

 abundant, full of natural waves, and flowing in 

 ringlets over the neck and shoulders. Their skins, 

 of a softness beyond that of other women, are of a 

 rich, clear, olive colour, several shades lighter than 

 the men, in consequence of less exposure to the 

 weather ; and their hands and feet are comparatively 

 small and beautifully formed. They arrive at ma- 

 turity at a very early age, and it is no uncommon 

 thing to see outside the huts a pretty little girl, 

 under twelve years of age, with an infant on her 



